“This is such a mega and amazing programme to be part of,” says an excited Dermot, 40. “I don’t know anyone who isn’t interested in space and I cannot wait to present it. Going live with a TV show is always great but to be able to say, ‘Now we are going live to the Space Station’ will be a fantastic and surreal experience. This isn't your standard Buzz Lightyear stuff but what really goes on in space."
Kicking off with Astronauts: Living In Space tonight (Wed 12 March, 9pm, C4), we’ll find out what it’s really like to live – and work – 220 miles above the Earth’s atmosphere; getting the answers to pressing questions like, 'What do they eat?' and, 'How do they get their groceries up there?'
Filmed and directed pretty much by the astronauts themselves, we’ll hear from Koichi Wakata (Japan) and Rick Mastracchio (USA) who currently call the International Space Station home. We'll see their sleeping quarters ("a great place to relax"), find out what they do with their days – and hear from the wives left behind on the ground. They'll also be opportunities for viewers to interact live with the astronauts via the Internet and Twitter - what are you waiting for?!
In part two – tomorrow night (Houston We Have A Problem, Thu 13 March, 9pm, C4) we’ll learn about the things that can go wrong up there – hearing from the man who almost drowned in his own space suit (yikes!) - and how the astronauts avoid any potential disasters.
Finally, in Live From Space: Lap Of The Planet (Sun 16 March, 7.30pm, C4), we’ll rejoin the astronauts on board the International Space Station, live.
“NASA have been brilliant,” adds Dermot. “They wanted us to do a warts and all documentary, and that is what we have here.”
INTERVIEW WITH AN ASTRONAUT
Catherine 'Cady' Coleman, 53 – who advised Sandra Bullock on her role in Oscar-winning blockbuster Gravity no less, tells us: “Being in space is a wonderful experience and I would have loved to have stayed longer. Before we got up there we spent a day and a half orbiting the spacecraft and I loved the view; it’s so special up there. I talked to my family on the phone every day for six months but it’s not the same as being able to touch and hold them – it’s like a kind of grief being away. For a long time when I got back, I didn’t want to sit in the window seat of an aeroplane – if I couldn’t have a view of Earth from where I wanted to be, I wasn’t interested."
Being in space is wonderful
Mike Massimino, 51, is a veteran of two Space Shuttle missions. He tells us: "The strangest thing about being in space and then coming back again is you get home and think, ‘Earlier today I was in space; now I’m pulling into my driveway.’ Doing a spacewalk (when an astronaut has to do any activity outside of the spacecraft) is when you feel the most alone – when things go wrong you think, ‘How can I call the repairman like I do at home?’ But you're never really that alone; you have a whole team of people watching your every move."
FACT FILE
-
The International Space Station is the most expensive thing ever built - the cost over 10 years including development, assembly and running costs came to $100 billion. Blimey!
-
It travels at a speed of 17,500 miles per hour / 300 miles a minute (that’s seven times faster than a speeding bullet).
-
It’s 'only' 220 miles above the Earth, and it laps the world every 90 minutes.
-
Every six weeks, a rocket is sent up with a ‘special delivery' from Earth; food supplies, water and clothes, plus surprise packages from the astronaut’s families.
-
The Space Station may look small on screen but it’s as big as a five storey house and is “very roomy”, we are told.
-
The astronauts go up there for a six month period, working regular 9-5 days.
-
Spacemen wear nappies. Astronaut Mike Massimino says: “They’re useful things; if you need to go, you can. It’s not a bad back-up plan if you need it!” Indeed...
Astronauts: Living In Space, Wed 12 March, 9pm, C4
Houston We Have A Problem, Thu 13 March, 9pm, C4
Live From Space: Lap Of The Planet, Sun 16 March, 7.30pm, C4