Tuscany 1609
Night falls over a Tuscan villa in 1609. Galileo Galilei, immersed in his studies of the nightly sky, is disturbed by a visitor – a scholar and friend - doubtful about his latest findings.
Galileo’s villa
Both gentlemen enter into a discussion about the stars and planets, about Galileo’s theories, about the telescope and about the value of science. Galileo demonstrates his observations, while his friend remains uncertain.
Opening title
Touching the Edge of the Universe
ESA’s Main Control Room
Inside ESA’s Main Control Room at the European Space Operations Centre. Tension rises as the operations team perform final checks of the control systems. Each of the supporting specialist teams report their readiness for lift-off. ESA’s new astronomy missions, the space telescopes Herschel and Planck, are ready for launch.
Ariane 5
The Ariane 5 on its launch pad in Kourou, French Guiana. We listen to the countdown…
Ariane 5 launch
… and we see the heavy lifter blasting off into
the afternoon sky. Thundering sound and stunning images of the ascent create a vibrant ambiance on the planetarium dome.
Back in Main Control Room
As tension recedes, Michel, one of the mission’s seniors, talks with Sven, the local press photographer, in the control room. They enter into a dialogue about why these huge and expensive missions are launched and why telescopes are sent into space.
From Galileo to today
In a dialogue, Michel traces the incredible evolution of the telescope from Galileo’s simple instrument to GranTeCan; he points to the light spectrum and explains that there is so much that we cannot see – invisible light that can tell us stories about black holes, gigantic explosions, hidden stars and distant nebulae.
Electromagnetic spectrum
The story of the electromagnetic spectrum is illustrated with examples using European space telescopes, highlighting their scientific purposes and stunning discoveries. The idea of invisible light comes to the audience in a modern format with beautifully illustrated examples.
Herschel und Planck
As Michel and Sven pass to the low-energy spectrum, the two space missions - launched just minutes ago - come into focus: Herschel and Planck, the European space telescopes that will observe the infrared and microwave sky.
ESA’s satellite test facility
With video sequences recorded at ESA’s satellite test facility and clean room at Noordwijk, The Netherlands, the Herschel telescope is fully explained with footage taken during the complex check-out procedure.
The infrared universe
The story continues into the infrared universe, focusing on stellar processes and state-of-the-art knowledge on how stars are formed in distant nebulae. The processes are explained in every-day, comprehensible language using the latest astronomical images.
Baby stars and Red Giants
Stellar phenomena are put into context and illustrated with stunning graphics, including the birth of a star and its demise as a Red Giant or in a violent supernova explosion.
Herschel and Planck space telescopes
Michel and Sven consider what the Herschel and Planck telescopes might find deep in the universe.
The Big Bang
Planck’s story begins in a very early era – after the Big Bang, in a ‘soup’ of exotic particles - when light was captured between matter and gas. We see the dark universe becoming transparent and light becoming colour-shifted.
Scanning the microwave background
As Planck scans the universal microwave background, Michel explains the meaning of this glowing cosmic pattern, spanning the entire universe and projected beautifully onto the dome of the planetarium.
Separation from launcher
At that point, the two men pause, as the separation of both spacecraft from the Ariane launcher is expected. This takes place in the story at the moment in real time since the launch, and we witness all sequences from the control room as they happen.
Life in the universe?
The Herschel and Planck spacecraft are released and begin their long journey into space. The operations team is intently focused on the task at hand – to bring the spacecraft successfully into orbit. Before Michel leaves, Sven asks him a final question: Will we ever find life in the Universe?
Life on Mars?
Michel pauses to answer; perhaps traces of life will be found with a telescope! But success is more likely from a mission that lands on Mars to look for traces of life directly on the ground. As they depart, Michel gives Sven a hint as to where to get first-hand information.
Roving on the Red Planet
Sven goes to find answers – to see Europe’s first Mars rover project, ExoMars. He meets mission engineer Anja in the test facility, where she is checking the robotic functions of ExoMars. While the rover is moving ahead on a sandy bed, she explains the mission in detail.
Orbiting Mars
She states that scientific advances are built on previous observations and on results from earlier missions to Mars, like Mars Express, which is now orbiting the Red Planet. As the satellite moves out of sight, we overfly Mars and descend to the Martian surface via stunning images captured by Europe’s High Resolution Stereo Camera.
ExoMars
Touching down on Mars, we discover ExoMars on the Martian surface – a future scenario, described and explained together with the rover’s functions. Anja expresses a strong commitment toward science and space exploration and encourages young people to stay curious and seek new discoveries.
Galileo’s villa in Tuscany
As we see the empty villa in Tuscany, the narrator concludes the show with a short epilogue. A new day is dawning.