the collaborators from the european space agency, russian space agency, they do have plans to start an orbital gateway at the moon which would basically be a non—permanently crewed space station that would allow us to explore mars and there is talk of that happening as early as 202a. my hope would be that if that does happen and we can use that asa that does happen and we can use that as a test—bed for a future human space flight exploration then i would certainly expect in my lifetime for they are to be a human mission to mars. and that in itself throws up a whole new set of challenges, doesn't it? getting to mars is a lot more difficult than getting to the moon. getting to the moon is hard, but we have done it before and we do have a good understanding of how to do that. mars would be the next big challenge and we can use the moon as our lunch bite into that. in some ways, the exploration of space in the first insta nce exploration of space in the first instance was about rivalry on earth,

some of the political motivation for it sadly came from a negative although it was turned into a positive and there has been a lot of co—operation between nations since then. is there a role for britain in that? the absolutely is. we are not very good here in the uk at singing oui’ very good here in the uk at singing our own praises when it comes to the activities that we do within space. we are world leaders in satellite technology, we contribute to the human space flight programme. obviously, tim peake was our first european space agency astronaut. we have a huge amount of research and by our involvement with the european space agency, we have got a huge number of space scientists and space engineers working on these big european and multinational projects, so european and multinational projects, so there is a very, very alive and kicking space industry in the uk at the moment. so we should be celebrating and commemorating this as much about what's to come as what been? for me, it is. for me, this

big anniversary as an opportunity to look at what humans managed to achieve, take a little bit of stock and say we did this 50 years ago, come on, it is time for us to go onto the next big thing. sophie allen, space engineering lecturer, a pleasure to speak to you as always. a particular gratitude for injuring the weather. i hope they have towels atjodrell bank and hot coffee. thank you very much. authorities in new york city are urging people to stay cool and safe as record—breaking temperatures grip the area. temperatures are set to hit 100 degrees fahrenheit, that's 38 celsius over the wekend. new york mayor bill de blasio declared "a local emergency due to the extreme heat" in the city. temperatures have also risen across europe and are forecast to hit 3a degrees in parts of the uk this week. yesterday a mini—tornado hit parts of greater manchester, damaging buildings and cars. gail—force winds hit altrincham

and mobberley around 5.00pm. now it's time for a look at the weather with nick miller another day of dodging the downpours for many of us. some heavy and thundery showers out there. western parts of the uk turning dry. already dry into northern ireland, drying up in western scotland. more of us seeing the sunshine in wales and west in england. eastern scotland, north—east england, parts of the midlands, east anglia, thundery showers moving through. most of us around 18 to 20 degrees. evening showers in the east will fade away, then try and clear overnight with temperatures dropping a little lower. easierfor sleeping. temperatures dropping a little lower. easierforsleeping. less humid around ten to 1a degrees for overnight temperatures. after sometime tomorrow, some cloud. rain

coming back into northern ireland, western scotland, feeding further east towards north wales, north—east england. elsewhere, much of the day will be dry. low to mid 20s. cool and breezy. hello this is bbc news. the headlines. the uk government says it's deeply concerned about iran's seizure of a british—flagged tanker in the gulf. the boss of the new high—speed rail link hs2 says the cost of the project could rise by £30 billion. events will be held around the world today to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the apollo 11 moon landing. and hackers target the metropolitan police's twitter feed,posting police's twitter feed, posting a series of bizarre messages and calling for the release of a rapper. now on bbc news, the travel show. coming up on this week's show...

it's incredible. we're at the kennedy space center in florida to meet the people who helped to put man on the moon 50 years ago this weekend. when "the eagle has landed", you could the sigh you could hear the sigh in the complete room — you could hear people take a breath. we talked to the person who is determined to become one of the first—ever space tourists. take—off is going to be wonderful. they'll say ‘are we ready to launch?‘ they'll still be flying here. flying, flying, flying and then get ‘yes, go, release. three, two, one, go!‘ and then — whoa! and discover an out—of—this—world experience close to the arctic circle in iceland. theme music.

50 years ago, apollo 11 set off carrying three astronauts towards the moon. two of them actually set foot on it. and our perception of the universe has never been the same since. no single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind... ten... nine... ignition sequence start. six, five, four... it's the only thing that i can think of that was better than sex. three, two, one, zero. all engines running. lift-off! we have a lift—off! the 50th anniversary is clearly a huge milestone for the kennedy space center here on merritt island in florida. and an opportunity to showcase what's going on with future space travel, too.

but first, i want to get a feel for what the atmosphere was like in the run—up to the monumental event in 1969. i think one of the things that we had throughout the apollo programme that i don't see since — passion. almost everyone were passionate about going to the moon, something that had never been done before. the exhibits here are authentic space—ready vehicles that, in the end. didn't make the into orbit, including this command service module. and this is the centrepiece. a magnificent saturn v rocketjust like the one that went to the moon. now upright, it's taller than the statue of liberty, with 7.5 million of thrust. with 7.5 million pounds of thrust. now, it's comprised of three stages,

two of which were jettisoned before the astronauts returned to the earth's atmosphere. it's incredible. between 1967 and 1974, 13 missions launched using a saturn v rocket, including the ten apollo trips. this is one of only three of these rockets left in the world today. i've got to say, all that wiring and cabling, it looks really exposed and raw. but i guess it worked. this is a lunar module for apollo 11. in charge of the engineering of the module was the aptly named charlie mars, and he says the atmosphere was electric. we were in the operations and control building at kennedy, it's where we made all the vehicles and did our tests. i can still remember to this day hearing the count from buzz aldrin, hearing what was going on, so much fuel, move so far,

and the complete silence. when "the eagle has landed", you could hear the sigh in the complete room, you could hear people take a breath. tranquillity base here. the eagle has landed are words that every schoolboy of the coming generation are going to have to learn and pass on to succeeding generations. now, believe it or not, i was actually around during the time of the first moon landing, as a small child, i have to say, but i do remember really vividly friends and family gathering around the tv set to witness what was for us a hugely to witness what was, for us, a hugely important moment in human history. at the time, the space race was closely intertwined with the cold war between the superpowers of the ussr and the usa. and the first country to land on the moon — well, that was a really big thing. over these small depressions... the whole moon programme itself was all a part of politics. you know?

what are we going to do to get away from this disaster in cuba and what are we going to do about all this integration activity about the war over there? we need something different for people to latch onto. well, let's go to the moon. oh, it's beautiful mike. it really is. we came from all over the world, literally, you know, into this environment and we worked our tails off for many years. to get to the moon in the decade, you know, it required a lot of personal sacrifice. john tribes says the astronauts knew they were going to be in the public eye, but didn't quite realise how much scrutiny there would be. neil armstrong was a quiet guy but he always was a gentleman. he was always polite. that's you and neil armstrong? yep. when you've spent 50 years of your life in the public eye, neil backed away. he didn't want to sign anything, he didn't want photos taken, he just wanted to be private

person, neil armstrong. at this museum in nearby titusville, consoles and various space mission memorabilia donated by astronauts and space workers are lovingly showcased. this week is very much about honouring the achievements of the past, but at the kennedy space center, one eye is firmly fixed on producing astronauts and technicians for the future with hands—on training experiences for younger visitors. they'll be needed. we are in a renaissance now. the nation is building three capsules to return to the moon, two of them are being built here. we're building big rockets, state—of—the—art satellite facilities, it's a good time. because the birthplace of american space flight is now reinventing itself as america's spaceport. our long—term vision is to make central florida the gateway to all of the economic activity that's going to be occurring in the solar system over the next 50—100 years.

now, the next space race is not between international superpowers, but between supercorporations run by billionaires who want to be the leading light in the space economy. now, behind me, spacex, one of those corporations, is actually building a starship which they intend to go to mars. to be honest, i'm quite surprised we got this close and can actually see it because corporations like this are normally very secretive about this kind of stuff. so, wow. and i was right to be wary. turns out this is only a prototype that will be used for testing. the real starship's being built elsewhere. while spacex, owned by billionaire elon musk, in the meantime continues to launch rockets from kennedy space center like this, carrying satellites on behalf of the us air force amongst others. command engine start.

two, one... and spacex aren't the only ones in town, blue origin is owned by the richest man in the world, amazon's jeff bezos. we're fortunate here in florida. our goal here is to make sure we have his billionaires and others trying to outcompete one another for who's is bigger, here in florida. trying to outcompete one another for whose is bigger, here in florida. and what about tourism to the moon? we're probably not too far from that. a decade or two, i think? when people start making lots of money by providing tourism in space, then more people will want to do it, which further drives down the price. but for those of us who can't afford the hundreds of thousands of pounds to go up into space, the goal of the kennedy space center is to keep us entertained with interactive exhibits, events and celebrations during this, the year of apollo.

well, if you're keen to reach for the stars on your next earthbound trip, here are some travel show suggestions of places you could head to. you can step back in time and tour the apollo mission control centre in houston, where you can see for yourself where nasa employees held their breath onjuly 20, 1969, as neil armstrong became the first person to set foot on the moon. the room recently had a $5 million restoration, complete with apollo—era coffee cups and ashtrays to help take you back. this weekend, four—day music festival ‘blue dot‘ will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the moon landing atjodrell bank observatory in the uk. the venue was recently awarded unesco world heritage status to acknowledge the key, yet lesser—known monitoring role it played in the apollo 11 mission. if you've ever wondered how weightlessness feels, then star city's space centre in kazakhstan offers zero gravity fights. the previously top secret location

is where cosmonauts have trained since the great space race of the 1960s. and the international dark sky association is on a mission to preserve the night and has created a programme to reward those that are doing their bit to protect the darkness of our skies. last month, the grand canyon became a dark sky park by dimming over half of their 5,000 lights, meaning you've got a pretty good chance of spotting a shooting star. well, stay with us on the travel show. because coming up... we meet the man who's determined to become one of the world's first—ever space tourists. suddenly you go from all this sort of noise and power and everything — it's silent and you're floating around. you're looking at the beautiful earth, you're weightless, so there's like nothing.

and discover the crucial but little—known role that iceland played in those moon landings 50 years ago. well, right now i'm in the playalinda beach area, which is a favourite viewing spot for the hundreds of thousands of people who lined this road to watch the current generation of rocket launches, often ferrying cargo to and from the international space station. now companies like spacex and boeing do that under contract from nasa and sometimes from the very same launch pad that the apollo 11 mission took off from, 50 years ago. the exciting thing everyone is waiting for is the first commercial manned trip into orbit, which is one of those companies is vying to do, which will be really exciting. now, if you want to find out the timings of these launches, you can do that by going to the kennedyspacecenter.com website, but there are also live streaming websites where you can watch the launches wherever you are in the world. as we have been finding out, space tourism is going to be big business.

but what would it be like to be one of those first paying customers to go up into orbit? well, we have met a man who has lined up to do just that. my name is per wimmer, i am a financier, philanthropist, adventurer and soon—to—be astronaut. when i was growing up it was not even possible to think about going into space. travelling the earth, i have experienced so many great things, but as a 21st—century human being, space has got to be the new frontier. the earth is more or less discovered, and wherever you show up there is a soft drink dispenser or something, someone has been there before. space is not so. it has been less than 600 people to space ever. it is amazing, we as humankind have travelled in a band of about 11 kilometres, ten kilometres up in the air more or less, and one kilometre down in the water where most submarines would be cruising.

that's it. we've got to change that, and i'm planning on doing it. my dad tried a little bit to persuade me not to go, he thought it was a little bit of a waste of money, waste of time, when there's other good things to do on earth, but i think he also realised that there is no chance that he would be able to persuade me otherwise — i am going to space, that is not up for negotiation. october 31, 2014 was the most tragic day ever, for me. it was the day that we buried my dad. i get a phone call from one of the danish tv stations and they asked me, "what do you think about the galactic rocket?" i was like, what? and i immediately looked up online, and i saw my rocket, smashed on the ground, and i could read, one of the astronauts died, and i was like, my god,

you gotta be kidding me, this is just awful. the same day as my dad's funeral, i also saw my dreams of space being crushed. but having said all that, no point in time did it ever change my determination. i did not regret, and i did not even think about not going to space. in fact, the opposite. it only reinforced my desire to go to space. why? because, never give up on your dreams, always live them out. there will be setbacks, accidents do happen. we are here for a limited period of time, enjoy life to the max, and that is what i am doing through my adventures and living out my dreams, and my biggest dream is to go into space. in order to go into space, there's basically two things you need to train for. number one is pressure on your body. we have to be able to take six gs this way on the chest, that is the equivalent of you lying on the floor and having six people standing on top of you.

that is a lot of pressure. therefore it is a good idea to train. the way we do that is through the centrifuge. the second thing you need to prepare for is obviously when you get into space, and you are there, you have to be able to be in a weightless environment, you have your liquids in ears all spinning around, and you are just not used to it. the way we train for it is going into an aleutian 76 massive cargo aeroplane, going up to an altitude of 16 kilometres, and then we nosedive down for 30—110 seconds at a time, accelerating on the way down into, towards earth, thereby creating these plus—g/minus—g, that's zero—g weightlessness, and we are floating around, spinning around, and you are completely like a bird, it's fantastic. take—off is going to be wonderful. the boom, it really kicks in,

we will then wait for the signal from ground control, they will say "are we ready to launch," yes, we're ready to launch. and we will still be flying here, flying, flying, and then yes, go, release — three, two, one, go...and then, whoah...that then drops down, the mothership then goes a little on the side, go away, to get out of the way and then it goes like this... straight into space. once you are in space you suddenly go from all this sort of noise and power and everything, and it suddenly switches off — it is silent and you are floating around, you are looking at the beautiful earth, you are weightless... so there is like nothing. it is the beautiful silence. once we are effectively turning the rocket around and heading back in to earth, you are then going to hit the atmosphere and we will experience 3000 degrees centigrade outside the cabin, it is going to get very hot.

arguably, that is the most dangerous part of the whole trip. iam not scared, iam not indifferent or ignorant to the dangers that potentially are there, i am aware that it is not a risk—free exercise. but few things in this world are, particularly if they are exciting. what is the point of living if you can't feel alive? you've got to get out there and try it, and it probably sounds more dangerous than it actually is to be honest. and good luck to per when he finally heads off into space. this bar in the 1960s used to be called the mousetrap, and it was a frequent haunt for astronauts who wanted to let off steam. but if they weren't here, nor in the kennedy space center, they would be found in the most unlikely of places — iceland, which played a little—known but important part in the preparations for the moon landing. as cat moh has been finding out. in the early 1960s, nasa searched the globe to find a training landscape that resembled the moon,

and they finally found it here in iceland. close to the arctic circle, lava deserts and glaciers cover over 60% of its rugged landscapes. so nasa sent its budding apollo astronauts here to learn about geology and practice collecting rock samples. the reason the astronauts were trained in iceland was because most of them were pilots, and they were best pilots from the military. they were focused on the sky, but nasa wanted them to look down to the ground and study the rock below their feet. this crater was formed 10,000 years ago, and it was one of the sites that the apollo astronauts visited while they were training for their visit to the moon, and this is a classic site there where they would have done the moon game, when actually compete where they actually compete against one another, to collect the best samples, and the geologists look over

what they bring back and tell them who did the best in this particular field. back in 1967, local sheep farmer ingolfurjonasson was 19 years old when one day, visiting astronauts neil armstrong and bill anders asked tojoin him on a fishing trip. the exploration museum open here in the town of husavik back in 2014 to pay tribute to the role iceland played in the 1969 moon landings. i get a lot of groups to this museum, i had a group from the central bank of iceland three years ago, and i told them that they are familiar with our currency and how it can go up and down pretty quick. this is a coin, this is an icelandic coin that flew ten times around the moon in 1968. it has never gone up so fast, and it came down pretty quickly as well.

tourism in iceland has been enjoying a boom in recent years. but many people coming here are not aware of the apollo connection when they are visiting or instagramming its lu nar—type landscape. jack schmitt was the only scientist who actually walked on the moon. he told me that armstrong picked up a lot of skill during his time in iceland, and it contributed greatly to his collection of rocks that he brought back from the moon. perhaps it's no surprise that the country once home to viking explorers also helped to put man on the moon back in 1969.

and that is all we've got time for on this, the 50th anniversary of the historic moon landing. butjoin us next week if you can, when... we're on new york's public transport system with the volunteer crime fighters, the guardian angels, as they celebrate their 40th anniversary. we are going to end up taking the a train, riding it up to 190th street. we will find out how they are still working to keep the subway safe, and meet the new generation of recruits who say time's up for anyone who targets women travellers. he grabbed my mother's purse and pulled her down the stairs. but this was the turning point, the drive to help people. that's next week. in the meantime, don't forget to follow us on social media where you can share your travel stories with the world. but for now from me, rajan datar,

and the rest of the travel show team here at the kennedy space center in florida, it's goodbye. most m ost pla ces most places will get sunshine at some stage today but there are further heavy showers to be had. understand too. western parts of the uk will see quieter weather during the day as low pressure begins to bump the isobars. dry in northern ireland and western scotland, drying up ireland and western scotland, drying up wales and western parts of england on through this afternoon eventually seeing fewer showers and more in the way of sunshine here.

showers this afternoon still there through eastern scotland, north—east england, the midlands, north east anglia and some back in the south—east and some of these will be heavy and thundery in places. most of us around 18 to 22 degrees, 24 in the warmer parts of the south—east. breezy out there still, that's not worse than that at royal portrush. broken cloud and sunshine but a big big change tomorrow. waterproofs will be worn again and the wind and wet weather will pick up. this is saturday finishes. the showers will fade from the east and mainly dry and clear overnight, the wind using and clear overnight, the wind using a touch. fresher, less humid, easier to sleep, overnight temperatures around ten to 14 degrees. part two of the weekend, a day of sunshine but cloud moving back into northern ireland. the rain comes from it and that leads to a wet afternoon. rain pushing across scotland towards

north west england, north wales, then the rest of the england and wales will stage dry for the rest of the day. quite when they with fat and very wet for a time overnight sunday night into monday through parts of north—west england and western scotland. pushing northwards after a cloudy start elsewhere, sunny spells developing and the heat starting to build. a sign of things to come next week. plus 40 celsius returning to parts of continental europe and we tap into some of that. med 21 spots for scotland and ireland, 30 and above for wales and england. looks like a few days of fine weather across much of the uk. a gradual thundery breakdown coming in from the west as we go deeper into the week.

this is bbc news, i'm shaun ley. the headlines at eleven. iran seizes a british—flagged oil tanker in the gulf, the uk government says there'll be serious consequences if it isn't released. we will respond in a way that is considered but robust. we are absolutely clear that if this situation is not resolved quickly, there will be serious consequences. a warning from the chairman of the high speed 2 rail project, its cost could rise by £30 billion. hackers target the metropolitan police's twitter feed and post a series of bizarre messages. it's 50 years ago today that neil armstrong took the giant leap