The BBC has commissioned a new five-part series about the planets and moons in our Solar System hosted by Professor Brian Cox.
Over the course of the show, Cox will go on "five epic journeys" to our near neighbours, exploring the volcano-covered surface of Venus, the frosty mountain-tops of Pluto and Jupiter's intriguing moon Io.
"We are living through a golden age of exploration. As we speak, there are spacecraft in orbit around or on the surface of five of the eight planets in our solar system, and there are a host of new missions close to launch or en-route to their targets," said Cox.
"The latest, the European Space Agency's 'Juice' spacecraft, was launched towards Jupiter last week. As new data cascades in, we are building an ever more accurate picture of our solar system.
"Rovers on Mars are exploring ancient lake beds, two new missions to Jupiter's ice moons aim to probe their oceans for life, and the New Horizons spacecraft has forced us to contemplate biology beneath the frigid nitrogen glaciers of Pluto.
"Are we alone in the Universe? Maybe the answer will be found in our cosmic backyard. The exploration of the solar system is therefore about much more than the exploration of space - out there - beyond Earth.
"It is allowing us to paint a picture of our place in the Universe, and that picture is getting more detailed and more accurate with every bit of data returned in real time from our fleet of explorers scattered from the Sun to the edge of interstellar space."
Called Solar System, the show is due to air on BBC Two in 2024.
Neil Wilkes
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