Spacecraft for the benefit of Life On Earth. Space is an integral part of society. Our way of working only functions with satellites for telecom, for navigation, for earth observation, for weather forecasting, for many things. So, we need the satellites for our daily life. The country that first sent a person into space is crashing back to earth, because of its war in ukraine. If russia doesnt partner up with another nation l or field its own Space Station, which given the current circumstances and sanctions i is quite unlikely, it might not have any crewed space flight. What became a story of collaboration is now once again one of competition and conflict. China has its own Space Station. India wants one. And private companies are getting in on the act, too, sending up their own rockets. Im pallab ghosh, the bbc� s science correspondent. Come with me on a journey into the future of human exploration, and the new space race. Archive long before man had mastered the earth, i he lifted up his eyes and began to dream of conquering space. | through the centuries, he nursed the dream. I until today, the dream has substance. Man has crossed the threshold. The first great frontier of the universe. Man has entered space. That man was yuri gagarin of the soviet union. He was the first person in space. An achievement that stunned the world and was a huge triumph for the soviets. Thousands turned out to moscows red square to meet their new hero. Its obviously a moment of huge pride. A huge amount of national pride, as we can see the crowds here on red square, and obviously yuri gagarin story also lent itself to this. He was almost the perfect hero. Juliana suess is an expert from the think tank rusi, the Royal United Services institute. She looks at how International Relations shapes space policy. It was a huge moment, of course. Yuri gagarin became the most known person on the planet almost instantly when he completed that flight, when he returned safely down to earth, especially since the us was actually very close to launching their own first human into space just shortly afterwards. So, there was a bit of a race for sure. It was a huge moment in the sense that it was a tremendous achievement that had barely been dreamed about just years beforehand. Obviously, we saw the launch of sputnik, the first artificial satellite into space, in 1957. So, only four years after, there was a tremendous Quick Development into launching a satellite to actually launching a human and returning him safely back down to earth. All eyes were now on a world that laid beyond earth. The soviet union and the United States each wanted to show that they could get to the moon first. It became known as the space race. Russia had put the first person in space. American prestige was taking a beating. And on the ground, us president John F Kennedy was losing the so called cuban missile crisis. He had threatened the soviets with nuclear war if they went ahead and built a Military Base right on americas doorstep. In september 1962, president kennedy delivered a speech in houston, texas, designed to rouse spirits and change the dynamic. We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the otherthings, not because they are easy, but because they are hard. But it wasnt an easy journey. Space exploration is expensive and dangerous. There were many setbacks on the way. In just a few years, in 1969, the world watched in awe as us astronaut Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon, uttering the immortal words. Thats One Small Step for man, One Giant Leap for mankind. I theyve got the flag up now, and you can see the stars and stripes. For that brief moment, the entire world was as one. Beautiful, just beautiful . But it was an American Flag that was planted on the lunar surface. The underlying tensions were still there. That competition was broken in 1975, when spacecraft from both sides docked high above the earth, a technical and diplomatic triumph. The hatch opened. There was an historic handshake between a russian cosmonaut and a us astronaut and a new understanding in space that many hoped would change things on the ground. I was a teenager at the time. And, yes, for me, that was the herald of all things that were going to create world peace. Absolutely. And astronauts and cosmonauts, weve always had this connection and really worked closely. And the scientists will be the same. When you work really closely with a group of people, whatever their nationality, you do learn to trust. I still trust some of those russian people with my life. Helen sharman was the uks first astronaut. She flew with the soviet cosmonauts. The handshake in orbit led to her mission on the Space Station mir in 1991. Seven years later, the soviets launched the first stage of the International Space station. An american module called unity docked onto it, paving the way for a golden era of cooperation between the two superpowers. It was a symbol of what humanity could achieve if nations put aside their differences and work together. The world and space were changing. Demand for better communications, Environmental Monitoring and technology was driving a renewed interest in sending satellites into orbit. Space, were so dependent on it without even noticing it. Everyday bank transactions, you know, the gps that you use to check when the next bus is running those kind of things that we perhaps dont even notice, but its there. And lift off. Theres lots of money to be made in space now. Its becoming very busy. In 2021, around 5,000 satellites were launched. 20 years ago, it was just 800. More than 70 countries now have Space Programmes of their own. China has built its own Space Station, and others like india, south korea, japan and the uae are well advanced in Launching Rockets of their own. How do you see it developing . Josef aschbacher is head of the European Space agency and is determined to keep europe in the new space race. Hes had a £2 billion increase in funding, despite the financial squeeze facing governments. Space is an integral part of society. 0ur way of working only functions with satellites for telecom, for navigation, for earth observation, for weather forecasting, for many things. So, we need the satellites for our daily life. But on the other side, theres also an Economic Growth sector which is extremely large. And space is one of those which is expanding, as you, as everyone knows, very fast and, actually, much faster now than in the last two decades. So, yes, we cannot lose out. And therefore, we need to really participate strongly in this sector because i want to create opportunities for our companies in our Member States to really participate in this, and also find new business opportunities, create new services, new information, new technology, which we are developing. And, yes, This Is Money very well invested. The International Space station has been part of that growth in activity. Its a partnership of 15 countries and is seen as a beacon of international collaboration. But the war in ukraine has damaged that relationship. Western nations have stopped working with russia. Conflict on earth has led once again to conflict in space. Here, at an exhibition in paris where countries and companies are selling their experience and hardware space is big business. They all want to be part of the next big push. Theyre concerned about how sanctions against russia might affect them. Before the ukraine war, it looked as if there was going to be a new era of collaboration with russia. Since then, joint missions have been put on hold or scrapped altogether, but many think that this is just a blip and that the great space faring nations will once again come back together. But that blip is significant. Planned Moon Missions between the European Space agency and russia, involving a series of orbiters and landers, has gone, as has a joint mars rover project to search for Signs Of Life on the red planet. Is it your hope that collaboration can resume once hostilities end 7 one should never say never, as you would say in the uk. At the moment, its unthinkable, and this is crystal clear. Of course, a lot depends on what happens in the war in ukraine how it ends, under which conditions, what is the leadership in russia, whether or not european leaders will re engage with a new russia. The International Space station is now the focal point for this renewed tension. The west has no choice but to continue to collaborate with russia here because the 155 is not owned by any one nation. Each depends on the other for it to operate. It was a symbol of peace 20 years ago when its construction began, with the us and the soviet union leading the way. But when it was cut out of space projects with the west, the russians threatened to pull out of the Space Station but chose not to go through with it in the end. Helen sharman believes that if the ambitious missions to other worlds are to succeed, Space Agencies will have to come together once again. Ultimately, i can see us absolutely collaborating again, very openly and fully internationally is my hope. To go to mars. I mean, thats the dream. In the shorter term future, there are other possibilities too, but i think were going to have to learn to trust again. So i think theres a lot of ground work that needs to be rebuilt with the russians. But keeping together with the russians on 155, it provides us with at least a starting point. In fact, since war broke out, a us rocket sent up a russian cosmonaut to the Space Station. Anna kikina, seen here in the middle with long flowing hair. She was greeted by others on board during a recent crew change. International collaboration continues among the astronauts and cosmonauts. And that cooperation is still continuing on the ground, in the very heart of moscow, at Russian Space h0. It was here at star city that britains second astronaut, tim peake on the left trained for his 2016 mission to the Space Station. Star city is a sort of International Hub for space flight. Its where a lot of the astronauts go for training. And it really is the place that brings it all together. This would still be happening. So astronauts and cosmonauts in training havent been recalled despite the war. Russias soyuz rocket is a reliable workhorse of the space age. It was a taxi service that took astronauts to the iss when safety concerns grounded americas shuttle. But the Russian Technology is old and now is of less use to its former international partners. So once a Space Station is decommissioned, could russia the first nation into space be the first one out . If the russians havent figured out an alternative by then, and obviously we know that especially european and American Space agencies are looking towards the potential of commercial Space Stations, if russia doesnt partner up with another nation or field its own Space Station, which, given the current circumstances and sanctions, is quite unlikely, it might not have any crewed space flight. And theres no shortage of others to fill russias place. Chinas Space Programme is advancing and pretty much to schedule too. In the last ten years, its launched more than 200 rockets. Like the west, chinas satellites are both vital for Everyday Communications and military purposes. Its technical achievements bring with it much sought after international prestige. Its new Space Station, called tiangong, is now occupied. China has invited other nations on board and made a call for proposals for scientific Experiments Mirroring and rivalling the wests International Space station. And its ambitions dont end there. Like america, china also has plans to put an astronaut on the moon. So, is this the new space race . China has invited other nations on board and made a call for proposals for scientific Experiments Mirroring and rivalling the wests International Space station. And its ambitions dont end there. Like america, china also has plans to put an astronaut on the moon. So, is this the new space race . I think the context is slightly different this time around. 0n the back of the cold war, we saw the space race, because, in essence, this was about the missiles attached and the rockets attached to the space flight programmes, so every single space launch was a show of power. And obviously we still see power playing out in space and Space Stations play a huge part in that too. Three, two, one boosters and ignition. And liftoff of artemis i we rise together back. To the moon and beyond. Currently, americas Space Spending still dwarfs chinas. Nasas latest mission, artemis, has begun and is ambitious. Its a long term commitment. The eventual aim is to have a Human Outpost On The Moon by 2030. And it comes at a colossal price 93 billion with the american taxpayer footing the bill. The Budget Of Nasa is increasing every year by 6 , 7 , 8 . If i take china, the missions to the moon, the missions to mars, the Human Space Flight capability, the satellites in earth, observation and telecommunication and navigation, its enormous. And im pretty sure that the growth rates of the Chinese Space budget is much higher than that of nasa or esa. So as china grows as a space power, could russia work with them . It almost seems the natural step that after the iss cooperation will end, which it definitely will after 2030, because the Space Station will be decommissioned, that russia would turn to china because its already working with china on a couple of other missions. That being said, i dont think china would be the preferred partner and i think vice versa. Im not sure russia would be the preferred partner for china either. China has already launched tiangong, its Current Space station. Its currently building it, its currently fully developing it, in which case russia would join this partnership on a new Space Station as a junior partner. Whereas, as part of the iss, russia was very much an equal partner to nasa, to jaxa the Japanese Space Agency and esa. But with china, that wouldnt happen. Its an expensive business. No one country can do it alone. New partnerships are being forged. Notably with the new brash billionaires on the block. Elon musk and his company, spacex, is already taking passengers into orbit, and now his sights are set on building rockets to go to mars. And not to be outdone, amazons jeff bezos wants to build a commercial orbiting station. He even paid for the actor who played star trek� s captain kirk to boldly go where hes always wanted to go before. What you have given me is the most profound experience i can have. Im so filled with emotion about what just happened. I just. Its extraordinary. Its going to be that commercialisation and its going to be that that brings companies together worldwide. And then we really wont care where those companies are registered. What matters is that were doing stuff together and were doing stuff for the benefit of the rest of the world. Space is opening up, a place for everyone. The europeans and americans are choosing their future astronauts from all walks of life more women and diverse ethnic backgrounds and those with disabilities. With so many satellites in orbit, space is now a much more crowded place. These days, its as much about business as it is exploration. Yet the set of International Laws governing all this hasnt been updated for more than 50 years, signed during those early days of conflict. Archive the Foreign Minister presided at the signing of the Treaty Banning Nuclear weapons from outer space. I he pledged britains. Wholehearted support. Without such a treaty, Life On Earth would be| under continual threat, a nightmare existence. So far, 31 nations have joined in the treaty. I between west and east, i this is the best cooperation for a long time. There currently isnt, really, a functioning rule set for how to behave in space. The Outer Space Treaty from 1967 is still the main rule book about how to behave in space. It doesnt talk about companies, it doesnt talk about billionaires. Space is entirely different to what it was like in 1967. The moon and other worlds could be mined for valuable resources, so a new set of rules were proposed by the un in 1979 to regulate commercial exploitation. But the us, china and russia have all refused to sign it. We are using the same orbits for our satellites, we are using the same moon surface, if china, the us, europe and other countries are going to the moon and putting rovers there, putting astronauts there. Its one moon surface and we need to find a way to work together, to establish rules of engagement, to establish how we work there. This handshake on apollo happened at the time of the cold war, when tensions were extremely high, and the biggest nations at the time were really fighting each other in different ways. And, yes, today, we have huge tension, but i do hope we do find unity and, yeah, peace in space. There is orange soil well, dont move it till i see it. Its now 50 years since astronauts were last on the lunar surface. Its all over orange hey, it is i can see it from here. Soon, theyll be back in large numbers and from many different countries. Big navy salute. This image from the early days of Human Space Flight was seen across a world riven with strife and conflict. It showed that from space, there were no borders, just one beautiful planet. Humanity is poised for its next big leap into the cosmos. The question is whether the new space race will be driven by conflict or usher in a new era of peace and collaboration. Hello. Big contrast in the weather across the uk on tuesday. Weve got up to 21 degrees in the scottish highlands. Plenty of sunshine generally across the highlands. This image from the afternoon in durness. Further east, edinburgh lots of low cloud mist and murk being dragged in on the easterly wind. This was newington, just nine degrees. But similar temperatures really along much of the north sea coast on tuesday afternoon. Wont be much different either, i fear this wednesday. Perhaps brighter though across Eastern England as the area of cloud and showery rain that we saw hanging around on tuesday moves away westwards. But it is those north sea temperatures that are real killers to the temperatures adjacent to the north sea, even on land at this time of year with an easterly wind. Basically, we pick up cold air thats been sitting across the north sea and feed it straight into eastern coasts. Further west with some sunshine, things do get a chance to warm up. And were looking at highs towards the west today in the best of any sunshine of 15 or 16 degrees, a bit more cloud for wales. In the southwest, though, one or two showers around here could be a shade cooler. Pollen levels down from the very high levels across england and wales that we saw earlier this week, but still very high in a few spots and high quite widely across the uk for any allergy sufferers. Now looking to thursday, those isobars on that chart opened up a little bit there. For the keen eyed amongst you, that should mean lighter winds. Going through the night with clear skies, lighter winds, some cold air hanging around there. Youve got all the ingredients to make for a frosty start to thursday. Gardeners can easily be caught out. I know i have been, by putting out tender plants at this time of year and then those temperatures falling away. And even through thursday daytime, we just pull the wind round to a bit more of a north easterly direction. Thats just going to bring in some slightly cooler air than we started the week with perhaps some showers into Eastern England later in the day. What were looking at is our temperatures tending away from the mid teens into perhaps the lower end of double figures for thursday and still perhaps just ten degrees along the north sea coast. Now, end of the week, things start to get more lively. The High Pressure in the north gives way to allow low pressure to come swirling up from the south. That means we will see, i think, some showers spreading across england and wales on friday, more widely across the whole of the uk for saturday and sunday. And then quite a shock to the system, i think as we potentially pick up a northerly wind and some much Colder Weather for early next week. Live from washington, this is bbc news. Welcome to viewers on pbs in america. Fox news settles dominion Defamation Case for more than three quarters of a billion dollars. Lies have consequences. The truth does not know red or blue. A man in missouri, accused of shooting ralph yarl, who rang his doorbell by mistake, hands himself into police. And we speak to a Country Music superstar and his tribute to kyiv