we re were landed four minutes or so we should be getting the first parachutes which will help their descent. Doug hurley and bob behnken will be making history. We welcome viewers from around the world. Youre watching bbc news. Lets take a look at the live pictures from nasa. This is the craft which will be splashing down in the gulf of mexico. We can see the parachutes have already come out to slow the descent of the aircraft, rather of the seven seater vehicle which has got two astronauts on it at the moment, doug hurley and bob behnken. Remember, this is the first time in more than a0 years since the end of the Apollo Programme that we have seen a splashdown. 0ur science correspondent Jonathan Amos joins me from cambridge. We can also talk to libbyjackson, who is Human Exploration Programme manager at the uk space agency. Libby, a slightly scary moment . manager at the uk space agency. Libby, a slightly scary moment . I am watching the pictures right now, its a beautiful moment. We havent seen its a beautiful moment. We havent seen since 1975. I have never seen it live. It is great to see all four parachutes out and working. That is a great sign. Looking forward to seeing the crew landing shortly. The parachutes are open. This was a test flight parachutes are open. This was a test flight after all. And everyone has worked together to mixture everything goes to plan. Jonathan, they have used dummies, they have done it with cargo many times, spacex, but there is nothing quite like the human aspect in all of this. How important is it, do you think, for a revival of the space programme, because its hard. Sometimes it is easy to forget,
rather, that actually it has been a long time since we have really had astronauts going up and down on a regular basis in craft of this kind as regular basis in craft of this kind as opposed to the Shuttle Programme, which ended nine years ago now. Yeah, absolutely. The shuttles were retired in 2011 and since then american astronauts and indeed european astronauts have been relying on the russians to get them up relying on the russians to get them up and down to the space station. This changes the paradigms completely because not only do we have coming forward now with their capital, dragon, but we also have the boeing corporation fairly shortly to introduce their star liner capital and that means we have two independent means of getting astronauts up and down, certainly from the united states, but then you have that there is russian system which we will continue to use, so if we have a problem with one of them, then we had to and if we have a
problem with two of them then we have one so we wont be in that situation where we cant get up to the space station or get down and theres a problem with supplies, cargo, and then we have to take people off the space station because we cant run it properly. This really opens up the full exploitation of the space station really for the rest of its time, but critically it allows nasa to divert its money, lets put it like that, divert its money to the big plan to ta ke divert its money to the big plan to take people back to the moon and on to mars. They think that this sort of contracting out that they are now doing with his private companies is going to save them billions and that is money they can usefully use elsewhere. Libby, and i right in saying that we are now seeing the final set of parish etc slowing the craft down to give a gentle follow to the water that might go, here we are. There we are. They are safely down. The dragon craft is back on
planet earth, albeit floating. Libby, they will be floating for a while, they wont just libby, they will be floating for a while, they wontjust pop their heads up and wave to the cameras. They are not, but i think you can already see the boats heading off towards them very quickly so it is going to be moments before they are joined by the craft. It is bubbling the right way up. It looked like a very ge ntle the right way up. It looked like a very gentle landing which will make eve ryo ne very gentle landing which will make everyone very happy. It can be quite bumpy inside the capitol in london. The craft heading towards it and then ina the craft heading towards it and then in a little while the craft will be skipped out of the water with both of the astronauts still on it and onto another ship. 0nce with both of the astronauts still on it and onto another ship. Once it is out of the water, the crew will get out of the water, the crew will get out of the capital. It would be a bit of luck to get seasickness after a journey like that, 21 hours in
space coming to temperatures of 3. 5 thousand degrees fahrenheit. And then to not to put a fine point on it, throw up inside the capitol because the water is very choppy. It, throw up inside the capitol because the water is very choppylj know they had sick bags in there just in case. Pickup and what jonathan was saying about the importance of this as a catalyst for development of commercial opportunities into space. Itsjust a question of taxpayer funded organisations like yours and others saying this is such an expensive thing we have to get the private sector to do it, they can do it a bit cheaper, or is it more about the other potential developments that could come from this, that it is not any morejust could come from this, that it is not any more just about governments rivalling each other for control of space. It is both of those and much more. By opening it up to other players, to commercial players and innovation, the spacex caps a comedy
first and that has been designed in over 15 years, the Space Shuttle still flew when i was a baby, so by opening up the commercial players you see different innovations, you see you see different innovations, you see different ways of doing things. So it is important and it is going to bring in new revenue streams. The spacex to bring in new revenue streams. The s pa cex ca ps to bring in new revenue streams. The spacex caps allows up to seven people to fly. Spacex will be selling tickets on the open market. But that funding is going to support the development of the International Space station and a potential next space station. We are looking at a private one being built in future. The International Space station is hugely important for the science that takes place at the Technological Development and if these Government Agencies are going
to send humans back to the moon and one day onto mars, which are the exploration goals, we cant afford to keep a lower orbit space station running with government money, but we needed there to allow the technology to be tested out and develop and it is really good to think it is opening up and that allows so many more people one day to fly but also businesses now can buy access to the space station, they can develop things and send things up into space and that will bring innovation and new materials perhaps, new medicines, one day all of which will benefit us back here on earth. Jonathan, i should just kind of let people know that as the two of you are talking, we are seeing pictures provided from hawthorn in california from the headquarters of spacex and also the pictures of the actual comedy fall into the sea of the gulf of mexico. Jonathan, we saw inside the craft. It isa jonathan, we saw inside the craft. It is a seven seater, so you can see the commercial potential there. Big
questions are raised by commercial exploitation of space. When in the past we have had it so strictly regulated that regulated successfully at international level. Well, i dont think you need to worry that it is going to become less regulated. Basically, the way that the system has been built by spacex is that they have been given the freedom to innovate, to design, but they have had to meet very strict requirements that have been laid down by nasa and nasa has stated them every single step of the way and it would not have allowed its two astronauts to climb inside this vehicle if it did not believe that it was as safe as all of the vehicles that the government owned and operated that had gone before it. So we are certainly in a phase now where we are going to open things up. We talk about other people going on these capsules. It looks very likely that the hollywood Actor Tom Cruise is going to fly in
one of these capsules to go and make a movie on the International Space station, which is going to be quite an event, but it is really going to open things up. I dont know if you fa ncy open things up. I dont know if you fancy going. Im not sure ive got enough with the ticket price. Fancy going. Im not sure ive got enough with the ticket pricelj think its a lovely dream, but i dont think its a very realistic one for most people. But as you say, it could have really big ramifications. Let me ask you then, libby, about that and about the opportunities there in terms of what this opens up because theres a lot of scientific work going on at the International Space station, but presumably, for example, for europe, for the uk presumably, for example, for europe, forthe uk and presumably, for example, for europe, for the uk and other parts, india for the uk and other parts, india for example and its space programme, they are looking at other things, looking at commercial development and looking people being put on other planets and extracting minerals. What is it thereafter . That was quite faint, im afraid. It is certainly true that there are
commercial opportunities out to the men and onto mars. The Artemis Missions which are going to be human is returning to the men, an International Partnership with nasa and the European Space agency and the uk will play a spa, those are also going to be in partnership with commercial players. He in the uk, we have a company that is looking at providing a commercial service around the men for may be communications and that will help the science missions. Understanding the science missions. Understanding the men helps us understand where the men helps us understand where the earth came from and how it is involved, so there is a great commercial opportunity out there and with all of these missions as we head further out into the social system. Thank you both so much for being with us for this genuinely historic moment and wonderful that there is such good news for the news that bob behnken and doug hurley are both safely back on planet earth after their 21 hour journey
both safely back on planet earth after their 21 hourjourney on the spacex craft, a new year in Space Exploration has perhaps opened up, certainly in the commercial expectation of travelling into space. Youre watching bbc news. And now time for a look at the weather prospects. Good evening. Pleasantly warm in the sunshine again today with fewer showers, but there have been a few heavy ones across the north, and thats because were closer in the north to this area of low pressure. Weve also got a little low pressure slipping towards the south. It may bring some cloud into cornwall, some rain for the channel islands, but any thundery showers that we have this evening will fizzle out through the night and many places will become dry under the starry skies. Given temperatures havent been quite as high today, theyll tumble further overnight five or six in the glens of scotland so it will feel cooler again to start monday. The start of our working week looks like we will see
a good deal of sunshine. We are not without showers, though. Its not a totally dry picture. It will start in the north and the west, close to that area of low pressure, but migrate eastwards through the day, developing and becoming heavy, possibly even thundery, into the afternoon across eastern areas. But many, many places will escape and stay dry. Just a bit more cloud starting to come in, as you can see, for northern ireland, western scotland later, ahead of our next weather front. Temperatures probably not quite as high as today but still feeling pleasantly warm in the gentle breezes, but the wind does pick up as we go through tomorrow evening and overnight, yes, bringing in some rain, northern ireland, western fringes of scotland, england and wales our next atla ntic low. So that will arrest the fall in temperatures. Not as cool tomorrow night. But a much cloudier day as we head into tuesday, so, actually, for a time this week, it will be wetter before the warmth returns later in the week. So, a little bit of everything for everyone. Lets take a closer look at tuesday. Weve got that rain marching across northern ireland, slowly clearing across scotland, the northern half of england and wales. To the south, the High Pressure is Still Holding on,
so there will be some hazy sunshine certainly for the southern half of england and wales. And here, itll become really quite warm. Weve got that warmer southwesterly Atlantic Wind taking over, which could pile up to 50 mm more of rain through the course of tuesday, tuesday night into wednesday, across the highlands of scotland, and obviously feeling cooler here with the wind and the rain. That continues as we go, as i say, into wednesday, gradually pushing southwards, potentially reaching the far south and east before it fizzles out, and weve got the next weather system just brushing close by to the northwest. All the time, High Pressure is keeping things more settled further south. And as the week goes on, as i say, the temperatures start to build once again, pushing towards 30 degrees by friday. Right, were going to take you back to look at the live pictures coming to look at the live pictures coming to us from nasa as the two astronauts, bob behnken and doug hurley, arrived back. They splashed
down about ten minutes ago now after a21 down about ten minutes ago now after a 21 hour journey down about ten minutes ago now after a 21 hourjourney which began just after half past midnight uk time and after half past midnight uk time and a journey that has taken them, of course, from an docking at the International Space station, where they have spent the last couple of months. It is the first crude mission by nasa from home soil in nine years, ever since the Shuttle Programme was discontinued, but really the shuttles were taken out of service and really america has had no craft to do it with so they contacted spacex and boeing jointly, so contacted spacex and boeing jointly, so between the two of them they have the options for that to take them into space and its really like providing a taxi service, if you like, for astra not to need to go up and down and for you, if you can afford it. Tickets are available from spacex. Elon musk will be delighted that the success of crew dragon. The company have argued that crew dragon, which is there a seven
person vehicle, which was the one that these two astronauts were in, the first time people have been in them as opposed to dummies are cargo, they argue that they could do it, they could repeat doing it and they could provide a successful process. We have certainly see that. Lets rejoin Libby Jackson process. We have certainly see that. Lets rejoin libbyjackson and our science correspondence. How significant is this in terms of the craft theyre using and the potential . Just explaining first of all whats going on at the moment, the pictures we can see. So they are making the vehicle safe. This craft, like a lot of space craft, use some quite nasty chemicals to position and move itself around space. So the need to make sure that the environment around the craft is safe before they can move in. Theyll need to pick those parachutes up,
which have become detached because they