All language subtitles for 2022.The.Year.From.Space.2023.1080p.WEB.H264-CBFM

Planet Earth, our home.

From the vantage point of space,
astronauts get a unique perspective

on the world.

We have this one tiny planet.

We're just a speck in this universe.

This rock,

Spaceship Earth, is all we have.

We've got to make this planet work.

We really have to work together
as a species.

Less than 650 people have seen
this with their own eyes.

But now we can all share
an astronaut's view.

Every day, hundreds of satellites
take millions of photographs,

revealing Planet Earth
in a whole new way.

From remote volcanoes...

..devastating hurricanes...

..the world's biggest
music festivals...

..fires...

..floods...

..and armies ready for war...

..from space,

you can see it all.

And in 2022, there was more to see
than ever before.

On the cusp of 2022...

..satellites look down on a world
starting to recover

from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Optimism is in the air.

Happy New Year!

There are signs that life
might return to normal.

BIG BEN CHIMES

Above our heads, travelling
at 27,000km an hour...

..satellites orbit the Earth
every 90 minutes.

As the year begins, they see cities
around the globe coming back

to life after lockdown.

In Florida, visitors start
to return to Disney World.

In San Francisco,

the 49ers welcomed back their fans.

And at the Metrocentre in Gateshead,
the car parks are full again.

But it's not just human activity
that can be seen from space.

Satellites also capture the
extraordinary power of the Earth

escaping to the surface.

Volcanoes...

..like Etna smoking away in Sicily.

In Indonesia, Krakatoa still glows
almost 140 years

after the devastating 1883 eruption.

And in the middle of the Pacific
Ocean lies the archipelago of Tonga.

65km north of the main
island of Tongatapu lies

the underwater volcano

Hunga Tonga.

At the beginning of 2022,
volcanologists use satellite

imagery to monitor its awakening.

It erupted semi-regularly
and we weren't particularly worried

about Hunga volcano.

After ten days, scientists conclude
the activity is dying down.

But Earth is full of surprises.

On January the 15th, the island of
Tongatapu is hit by a sonic boom...

SHOUTING

..caused by a massive eruption.

It takes multiple satellites
to capture the true scale

of the blast.

The plume of ash and gas that shoots
into the stratosphere is measured

by Shane Cronin.

The Hunga eruption ejected
something in the order of seven

cubic kilometres of material.

Scientists calculate the power
of this blast is equivalent

to 4,000 Hiroshima bombs.

In the age of satellite imagery,

this is by far the biggest
eruption we've seen.

As the plume reaches
the stratosphere, a pressure wave

is tracked all around the world.

The eruption generates
hurricane speed winds.

It creates an underwater shock wave,
cutting phone and internet cables

linking Tonga to the world.

Roads are flooded.

Walls and fences have crumbled.

Communications are crippled,
leaving relatives in Australia

desperate for news.

Satellite images become
the only way of knowing

what is happening on Tonga.

They reveal the devastating
scale of the eruption.

Tonga's tropical landscape
is covered in a thick layer

of grey volcanic ash.

On some islands,

not a single house remains standing.

So what sort of machine does it take
to get these remarkable pictures,

picking out an individual house
from 400km up?

You'd imagine
it would be pretty big.

Here is one of our satellites.

This is not a scaled down model -
it's actually the real size.

So I can just about
hold it in my hand.

It does expand out with solar panels
to take power from the sun,

and the camera's at the back
and the telescope's at the front.

And so this is what's looking
down as we take images

across the whole Earth.

Each satellite takes up to eight
images per second and there's

about 200 of these satellites.

So we take about 4 million
images per day.

In early February, satellites
capture images

from the outskirts of Beijing.

They show previously

brown hills developing
mysterious white trails.

Turns out this is the venue
for the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Because the hills surrounding
Beijing have very little snow,

300 snow guns are brought in
to create an artificial piste

for the Games.

While the world is watching the
Winter Olympics, military analyst

Jeffrey Lewis is investigating
a set of mysterious images

from the Russia-Ukraine border.

For months, he has been watching
the area around Belgorod.

Those of us working with commercial
satellite imagery, we're seeing

the enormous ring of steel
and death encircling Ukraine.

It didn't look like any other
image that we had ever seen.

We have real concerns about Russia's
unusual military activity.

Russian troops tend to park
their vehicles in predictable

patterns, essentially camping.

We spotted a unit
close to the border.

This was a combat unit that was
intended as the spearhead

of an invasion.

All of the vehicles were lined up
on the verge of going someplace.

Then we see a huge traffic
jam show up on the highway

between the location
of that armoured unit

and the Ukrainian border.

So we know the invasion is going to
start before we are likely to get

another picture of this unit.

By the time we get another picture,
it will be gone and the war

will have started.

So I'm calling and texting reporters
this image, saying, "Look,

"there is going to be an invasion,"
but no-one can see what we see.

Jeffrey Lewis informs the
US military of his fears.

He is just one of many analysts
alerting the world.

But the Russians dismiss
their claims.

But on February the 24th...

..they strike.

I was living in the
left side of Kyiv.

I woke up from sounds from bombs
or rockets and tried to understand

what was going on.

It was very scary.

Putin chose this war, and
now he and his country will

bear the consequences.

You can see destruction
unfold from space.

But you can also see creation.

My first mission just
kind of blew me away.

You really see that
we're all interconnected

on this living, breathing system.

And those aspects that nurture life
do appear frighteningly fragile.

In England's Bristol Channel,

microscopic phytoplankton multiply
in their billions to turn

the sea green.

A vital food source
for other marine life.

Off the coast of Korea,
satellite images show strange

bar-like patterns...

..seaweed farms.

A response to the world's
growing taste for sushi.

And as February comes to an end,
off the west coast of Canada,

satellites capture one of the most
remarkable events of the year.

In British Columbia, the sea
around Hornby Island turns white.

Millions of Pacific herring return
from the open ocean to their native

shores to lay eggs.

These milky white waters
are billions of herring eggs

seen from space.

With the herring come salmon...

..whales, seals, sea lions.

Almost everything eats them.

To witness this tremendous
coming together of life,

you are in a very special
place and moment in time.

After three weeks, the herring
swim back to the deep ocean...

..until next year, when they'll
return to Hornby Island.

March 2022.

As the month begins,
the Russian invasion of Ukraine

is gathering pace.

Satellites show 100,000 Russian
troops and over 3,000 tanks pouring

over the Ukrainian border
from the north, east and south.

Evidence that is confirmed
by reports on the ground.

The Russians attack with
missiles and artillery.

In the chaos,

it's hard to get a clear
picture of what's happening.

But from above, it becomes obvious.

Satellites are monitoring
Kyiv at night

when missile strikes on
key infrastructure plunge

the city into darkness.

The country is being attacked
from all directions.

And the fear now has to be that some
of those Russian troops are heading

here, to the capital.

A military convoy 65km long
can be seen approaching

Kyiv from the north.

Many believe the city
will fall within days.

Images from space pick up
thousands of cars heading

in the opposite direction
towards Ukraine's western border

as civilians try to escape.

22-year-old Sofia Volovyk
was in Kyiv when the war broke out.

I started my way to
the train station.

I felt very, very nervous
because Russians -

they started to bomb.

Your blood is cold but
you still need to walk.

It was very scary.

Over 3 million people rush
to get out of Ukraine.

Sofia and her family are among them.

This exodus creates 30km-long
queues of cars and people

that are visible from space.

I was on the border
and I was there at 5am.

There was a massive queue.

I've spent more than 11 hours
in the queue to cross the border.

While millions of civilians
leave the country,

satellite images pick up
a new development.

North of Kyiv,

the Russian army convoy
has ground to a halt

40km from the city.

Russia's dream of a lightning
victory has stalled.

But the war continues.

Satellites are crucial to seeing
events on the ground in Ukraine.

But they also monitor
the sky above us...

..revealing key data about the
weather that shapes our daily lives.

On March the 14th,

images from space show
a strange phenomenon

approaching Southern Europe.

The air above Spain and Portugal
turns a deep red colour.

Cities like Granada are covered
in a thin layer of orange dust.

The dust is from the Sahara,
but it's only from a space

that you can see the true
scale of the phenomenon.

Every year, between March
and July, westerly winds blow

across North Africa and the
Sahara Desert, picking up millions

of tonnes of dust as they go.

Normally, this dust blows
west across the Atlantic.

But 2022 is different.

Unusual weather patterns blow
the dust northwards towards Europe,

coating everything in its path,
including ski slopes

in the Pyrenees.

Woo-hoo-hoo!

As April comes to the Northern
Hemisphere, spring is in the air.

The tulip fields of Holland
are in full bloom.

In New York City,

Central Park turns green.

And in Luoping County, China,
acres of canola turn the fields

a vibrant yellow.

From space, you can see that the
Earth is this beautiful blue marble,

and more than two thirds
of the Earth's surface

are covered by water.

My mission was for half a year.

When you have been up there
for months and you can see

the coral reefs,

you are longing to just dive
down and jump into the water.

The biggest coral reef of them all
is Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

Easily visible from space,

it's the largest living
structure on Earth.

Knowing how diverse the life
is around the Barrier Reef,

we see how much our planet is
forged by these big oceans.

But despite its size,
the reef is vulnerable

to damage from overheating.

Summer 2022 sees record-breaking
heat in Australia.

Satellite data shows the water
around the reef is almost two

degrees hotter than
in a normal year.

Data from space also shows
that large areas

of the reef are bleaching.

Caused by warming water,

bleaching is dangerous
but not necessarily fatal.

Later in 2022,

satellite data shows the seas
around Australia have cooled.

Researchers discover the coral
is recovering in two thirds

of the Great Barrier Reef.

But a third of the reef
is still battling to survive.

All through April,

on the other side of the world,

satellites observe another
fight for survival -

the continuing war in Ukraine.

By late April, Russian columns
can be seen withdrawing

from the Ukrainian capital.

Russia's offensive
on Kyiv has failed.

Our army destroyed whole
plans of Russians.

Better we die if we give
the city to the Russians.

Satellites reveal devastation
across the country

as the Russians pull back.

And something more sinister.

In Manhush, images from space
reveal freshly dug mass graves.

In a churchyard in Bucha,
another mass grave is identified.

Investigations start
into possible war crimes.

In the south and east
of the country,

the Russian shelling continues.

Civilian targets are hit.

In Mariupol, 40% of the buildings
are destroyed.

In the drama theatre, hundreds
of families have taken shelter.

They've even written the
word "Children" outside.

Here, as many as 600 are killed.

This shopping mall in Kremenchuk
suffers a direct hit.

It is month two of the war,
and there is no end in sight.

When you're looking down
on the Earth and you realise

that people are fighting each other
as opposed to this view

that you have of people
all being part of a single planet...

..it's really saddening.

Images from space can see into
every corner of Planet Earth.

They can reveal changes
in parts of the planet

where humans seldom venture.

This is Glacier Bay in Alaska.

These are floating ice floes
off the coast of Greenland.

And this is the Conger ice shelf
in Antarctica, an area bigger

than New York City
that melted in 2022.

At both poles,

ice has been melting faster
and faster in the last few decades.

Satellite imagery has been key
to monitoring these effects

of climate change.

1,200 miles north of Norway
is the Arctic Ocean

archipelago of Svalbard.

As the days lengthen, scientists
are using satellite imagery

to analyse how the loss of ice
is changing the behaviour of one

of the Arctic's crucial
indicator species -

the walrus.

Despite being big and powerful,
they're also increasingly vulnerable

to the climate crisis.

They use sea ice as a platform for
resting on between feeding trips.

They use it as a platform
for breeding.

Recording walrus numbers by boat
along the thousands of miles

of Svalbard's coastline
would be impossible.

So Rod and his team use satellites
to count walruses from space

and record their location.

His work shows that disappearing
ice floes force walruses

to congregate on land.

The problem with this is that there
may be 10,000 or more walrus

all crammed onto this one beach.

If the walrus get disturbed,
they'll stampede.

And as they stampede towards
the shore, they risk crushing some

of the young calves,
and that can be fatal.

Satellite images help Rod
and his team observe walruses,

seen here as individual dots,
in parts of the Arctic

that are inaccessible to humans.

This data gives a baseline
for researchers hoping

to save a species threatened
by climate change.

But satellites can also reveal
good news about our planet.

In Antarctica, Rod's team
were poring over images

when they spot something
surprising - a brown trail

across the pristine white ice.

They realise the trail
must be penguin droppings.

This leads them to search
for penguin colonies

in completely new areas.

And they find them...

..including on Cuverville Island,
on the edge

of the Antarctic Peninsula.

There was first one new colony
and then another one and another.

Penguin colonies can range
from a few individuals

up to more than 100,000
birds in one location.

We can spot penguin colonies
where no human beings have ever

been before, so it's really
powerful, using satellite imagery.

Satellites help us study
the behaviour of wildlife

in the most remote places.

But they also help us see
human gatherings, whether that's

for sport, like these Super
Bowl fans at the Eagles

ground in Philadelphia...

..leisure,

..like these beach-goers at
Santa Monica, California...

..or politics, like this crowd
in Pyongyang, North Korea,

who are spelling out the slogan
Single-hearted Unity.

June is the month music festivals
came back to Britain after Covid-19.

In Hyde Park, there is a series
of concerts headlined

by The Rolling Stones.

And in Somerset,

Glastonbury Festival,
the biggest of them all, returns.

In 2022, it features both its
youngest headliner, Billie Eilish,

and its oldest, Sir Paul McCartney.

In London,

through a gap in the clouds,
satellites catch an even bigger

crowd gathering at Hyde Park Corner.

Just some of the estimated 17
million Britons across the country

celebrating Queen Elizabeth's
Platinum Jubilee,

70 years on the throne.

While Britain parties,
on the other side of the globe,

in the heart of Central Asia,
Afghanistan is under the heavy hand

of Taliban rule. Largely ignored
by the world since 2021,

it would hit the headlines
again in June 2022.

On the 21st of June, 9km
beneath the Earth's surface,

a magnitude 5.9 earthquake strikes
south-eastern Afghanistan

in the region of Khost.

Radar technology shows how much
the Earth's crust has shifted.

The red area, about five square
kilometres, has risen 40 centimetres

while the blue areas have dropped.

Scientists calculate this
deformation releases an energy

equivalent to 37 times the power
of the Hiroshima nuclear bomb.

Photos from space are used to assess
the damage in remote villages

that have lost communications.

What people are telling us
is that there are villages

up in the mountains which
have been completely flattened.

Updated daily,

images from space guide
rescuers to the areas that need

the most assistance.

Watching from space,

satellites give a unique perspective
as the war in Ukraine grinds on

through May and June.

Before the invasion, Ukraine
was the breadbasket of Europe.

New images reveal previously
flourishing fields pockmarked

with craters from incoming shells.

The Russian invasion
has a devastating effect

on Ukrainian farms.

In 2022, thousands of acres
of ripe wheat are set ablaze.

Farmers risk shelling and land
mines to work in their fields.

These images capture the aftermath
of Russian strikes destroying grain

stores filled with millions
of tonnes of wheat.

But there isn't just evidence
of destruction.

There is also evidence of theft.

And satellites offer the proof.

This image from Sevastopol
shows grain being poured

into a Russian ship.

Eight days later, the same ship
is spotted 2,500km away.

It's unloading in Syria,
one of Russia's key allies.

Through the summer, Russia
is systematically stealing

Ukraine's agricultural produce.

You are hearing the actual
signals transmitted

by the Earth-circling satellite.

One of the great scientific
feats of the age.

Ever since the first satellite,
Sputnik, was launched

in 1957, their numbers
have increased exponentially.

There are now over 5,000 in orbit,
of which more than 900 are involved

in direct Earth observation.

One of the latest,
the James Webb Telescope,

doesn't look down at Earth.

It was built to look up
into the heavens.

And lift-off!

And launched with a mission
to uncover the history

of our universe.

There is the view from the upper
stage camera on the Orion 5

looking at the James Webb
Space Telescope.

In July 2022, the first images
arrive, revealing the universe

as never seen before.

These images are going to remind
the world, especially our children,

that there is nothing
beyond our capacity.

Orbiting the sun,

the James Webb Telescope captures
previously invisible regions

with stars being born - the
aftermath of two galaxies colliding.

And an amazing detail of nebulae
over 160,000 light years away.

My first flight was STS-109.

It was a mission to go and service
the Hubble Space Telescope.

So I was really excited
about the James Webb Telescope.

And we're just seeing
the beginnings of it.

I think the astronomers
will discover things

that we can't even imagine
are out there in the universe.

The James Webb is already
changing our understanding

of the universe and, with
an expected life of 20 years,

it has only just begun.

Back on our home planet,

things are more immediate
as a year of unrest continues.

On the island of Sri Lanka,
in the capital, Colombo,

satellite images show queues of cars
lining up for petrol.

The economy is breaking down.

People are suffering and the people
are living with one meal per day.

Can you imagine? Can you imagine?
I'm so sorry to say this.

On July 9th,
tensions reach boiling point.

The president flees
and thousands of protesters

storm government buildings.

Within days, queues form so big
they can be seen from space.

People are lining up to see
the presidential palace

and get a taste
of his lavish lifestyle.

Hi, Mum.

In Sri Lanka, satellites
capture unrest in the streets.

But around the world, they can
also see people gathering

for worship and celebration.

In St Peter's Square in Rome,
thousands of Catholics gather.

In Iran, worshippers
assemble for prayer

at the Hazrat Masoumeh Shrine.

And in the sacred city of Mecca,

after two years of tight
Covid restrictions,

almost a million pilgrims are
allowed to gather for the Hajj.

But it isn't just religious
pilgrimages taking place.

70,000 people gather in the
Black Rock Desert, Nevada, USA,

for Burning Man -
the music and arts festival.

They build a huge, meticulously
planned, temporary city.

Conditions are extreme,
with dust storms sweeping through.

And after just nine days,
it returns to the desert...

..until next year.

In 2022, weather is one of
the biggest stories of the year.

In July, temperatures across the UK
are in the 30s and rising.

On the 19th,

they soar to a record breaking
40.3 degrees Celsius.

As July continues,

England's green and pleasant land
is left arid and brown.

After weeks without rain,
an official drought is declared

across much of the country.

On heat maps of European cities,
red and orange show hot spots

of above 40 degrees.

All of Europe suffers
as its largest rivers dry up.

The Rhine falls to a depth
of less than 35 centimetres.

And in places, the Po,

Italy's longest river, disappears.

In Spain, reservoirs shrink
to record lows.

It was the same across the Atlantic.

Satellite pictures
show huge water loss

in some of the most iconic lakes
in the US, such as Lake Mead -

the largest reservoir
in the country.

In 2022, heatwave and drought
are a worldwide phenomena.

As August comes,
the conditions are in place

for a record breaking
wildfire season.

In the United States, satellites
capture over 7,000 fires

blazing in California alone.
More than any other state.

In Oregon, the Cedar Creek fire
lasts for over three months.

It's the most active wildfire season
of the decade,

destroying over 7 million acres
of land.

In Europe, data from space is used
to battle the year's record fires,

allowing firefighters to see
the direction and speed

at which the flames are spreading.

Spain is ravaged by wildfires,
with a fourfold increase

from an average year.

In France, an area six times
larger than normal is destroyed.

REPORTER: Tens of thousands
of acres burnt.

Thousands of people evacuated.

Large fires break out, even
in places that rarely see them.

London Fire Brigade had its busiest
period yesterday

since World War II.

The flames were coming towards me
up Church Lane,

so...I've ran as fast as I could.

While Europe and America are ablaze,

satellites above South Asia capture
a natural disaster of another kind.

Startling images in Pakistan
see whole villages vanishing

under muddy floodwaters.

The monsoon season brings rain
every year,

but in 2022 it's unlike
anything seen before.

Data from satellites show
that by late August,

southern provinces have received
more than five times

the average rainfall.

Over a metre of water,
and the effects are devastating.

The Indus River and its many
tributaries burst their banks,

flooding a tenth of the country.

Almost half of Pakistan's
agricultural land is under water.

Across the country,
2 million homes are destroyed

and 1,200 people killed.

It's the worst flooding
in Pakistan's history.

I think seeing these
natural phenomena from space

should humble people.

Climate change,
it's absolutely happening.

We have years and years of data
and we're seeing that happening now

with more intense storms
and flooding.

We need to take it seriously.

In August, satellites capture
celebration and disaster

by the light of the summer sun.

But when viewed from space,

there are some things best
understood in darkness.

During the night,
wealthy cities stand out.

Rome.

London.

New York.

Areas in poverty,
without electricity,

go black as the sunlight fades.

But there's another reason
the lights go out.

War.

GUNFIRE

When I was on the Mir station,
there was the Balkan conflict,

which was quite obvious
because you could see that Europe

is beautifully illuminated,
but then on the eastern side

you could see this whole region
was pitch-black.

And of course, you know,
there was conflict.

While some wars make headlines,

others are only really
obvious from space.

In Ethiopia,
in the region of Tigray,

the regional capital, Mekelle,

is caught in a bloody
and largely unreported civil war

between the Ethiopian government
and rebel forces.

NASA satellites took a time-lapse
of Mekelle over two years

as its power was slowly cut off.

By August 2022,

it was in almost total darkness.

From space, satellites can see
mysterious round indentations

scattered across
the Earth's surface.

There is one in Canada
almost 100km wide.

Another, in the Arizona desert,
is 170 metres deep.

These craters are caused by
asteroids crashing into the Earth

at unimaginable speeds.

Millions of years ago, a strike
like this wiped out the dinosaurs.

A similar impact today
would destroy life as we know it.

In response to this
existential threat,

NASA developed the DART mission.

Almost a year ago,
this tiny spacecraft was sent

on a one-way trip to crash into an
asteroid and redirect its course.

On September 26th, DART was ready
for its suicide mission.

This real time footage
shows what happened next.

It smashed into an asteroid
at 23,000km per hour,

changing its course.

The mission was a success.

DART had done its job.

DART was definitely
a triumph for NASA.

What was so exciting were those
images as the DART spacecraft

were headed toward the asteroid
and getting closer and closer.

Just spectacular.

September 19th, Central London.

The streets are empty of traffic
as huge crowds gather to watch

the funeral procession
of Queen Elizabeth II,

who has died at the age of 96.

The longest serving monarch
in British history,

she reigned for 70 years.

While Britain mourns,
satellite images catch the ripples

of the Ukraine war
spreading across Europe.

In the Baltic Sea,
near the island of Bornholm,

off the coast of Sweden,

there is vast quantities of gas
bubbling to the surface.

The cause is soon established.

The Nord Stream pipeline
has been deliberately sabotaged.

On September 25th, huge queues
of traffic can be seen

at Russia's Georgian border.

Days before, President Putin
had announced that 300,000 men

were to be drafted
into the Russian Army.

In response, over 100,000 potential
conscripts flee to Georgia -

one of the few land borders
Russians can cross without a visa.

September is also a tumultuous
month in the natural world.

Every year in early autumn, when
the oceans are at their warmest,

typhoons and hurricanes
bring havoc to tropical regions.

From space, their terrifying power
and beauty is awe inspiring.

The hurricane looks beautiful
from up there

but, of course, you know
how devastating

the forces of nature are
on the surface.

You feel, thank God I'm just
coasting over it.

Hurricanes need water temperatures
over 26 degrees Celsius to form.

As the world's oceans heat up,

2022 sees more storms than usual,
with greater power.

There was Typhoon Hinnamnor
above South Korea.

Cyclone Emnati near Madagascar.

And on September 20th,

meteorologists spot a massive
hurricane building in the Caribbean.

It's moving fast
and gathering strength.

Satellite images show
where the storm is

but vital information needed
to predict its direction

cannot be captured from space alone.

Critical wind speed and pressure
data has to be gathered

from the eye of the storm.

And that's where aerospace engineer
Nick Underwood and his team come in.

The better job we can do
up in the air,

the better those forecasts
are going to be

and the earlier we can warn people

that they need to get
out of the way.

As Hurricane Ian approaches Florida,

it gathers strength and generates
huge lightning storms.

Nick and his team fly
right into the eye,

braving winds
of 200km an hour.

Storm Ian was definitely the
roughest flight I've been on.

That was definitely the worst.

Whoa!

Satellite radar images illustrate
the intensity of the rainfall.

They show that at 3:00pm
on September 28th,

Hurricane Ian makes landfall
in southwestern Florida

as a Category 4 storm.

WIND HOWLS

It unleashes a four-and-a-half metre
storm surge

and dumps half a metre of rain.

Millions are forced to evacuate.

Thousands are rescued from the
floods and over 100 people die.

As well as helping to track
its course and strength,

satellite images of before and after

reveal the scale of destruction
caused by Hurricane Ian.

The deadliest storm in Florida
for almost a century.

As October begins, Russia is
reinforcing its army in Ukraine.

But the Ukrainians are finding
new ways to hit back.

In 2014, Russia had annexed Crimea.

This satellite time-lapse shows them
building an important strategic link

between Russia and Crimea -
the Kerch Bridge.

In 2022, it became a major supply
route for the Russian Army.

Until this...

EXPLOSION

Both road and rail links
are hit by a massive explosion.

Photos from space
show the burning bridge

and footage from the scene
shows the ferocity of the blast.

It is estimated that the bridge
will not be fully operational

until at least September 2023.

But satellites do much more than
simply follow wars and disasters.

They also keep an eye
on the natural world.

Scientists spot grey whales
off the coast of Mexico.

Data like this helps track
these elusive creatures.

In the Southern Ocean,

the Chatham Islands are home
to nesting albatrosses.

These isolated rock stacks
are so inaccessible,

scientists are using satellites
to count the individual birds.

Each of these white specks
is an albatross incubating an egg.

And in East Africa,
satellites observe

the largest land migration on Earth.

Each of these dots is a wildebeest

standing two-and-a-half metres tall
and weighing around 270 kilos.

Every year, a million
of these creatures

makes their endless journey
from the Serengeti

to the plains of the Masai Mara
in Kenya.

And back again.

The herds are huge
and the distances they cover vast.

The sheer scale makes it difficult
to study their behaviour

from the ground.

But using images from space,

researchers can examine behaviour
across hundreds of miles.

Here, wildebeest are nose to tail.

They are on the move.

But here, across the plain,

another group are lined up
side by side,

presenting a united front
to the herd.

They are grazing
and no-one wants to be isolated.

Here, the herd is strangely
circling a tree.

And this is why.

Egypt - a cradle
of ancient civilisation.

Its pyramids are visible from space
4,500 years after they were built.

In November 2022, the world's eyes
are on the Red Sea resort

of Sharm El-Sheikh for COP27.

JOE BIDEN: Climate crisis is about
the very life of the planet.

COP27 is focused on climate change

but Egypt's most immediate
environmental challenge

comes from another source -
threats to its water supply.

Since the time of the pharaohs,
the Nile has been at the heart

of Egyptian life, seen here
in the centre of a narrow strip

of fertile land
running through the desert.

Now Egypt's water supply
is threatened

by the country's growing population,

which has doubled
in the last 30 years.

Images taken over several decades
show the rapid expansion of Cairo.

And east of the old capital, a new,
carefully planned city is emerging

from this parched landscape,
designed to house 6 million people.

The only source of water for
all these government buildings,

houses and parks is the Nile.

But over 1,600 kilometres south,
near its source,

Ethiopians also need
the Nile's life-giving water.

In 2022, satellites show
the third filling

of the Grand Renaissance
hydroelectric dam.

When full, it will hold back
70 billion cubic metres of water -

more than flows through Egypt
each year.

For the Egyptians,
this restriction of the Nile

is a further threat to their
limited water resources.

Hydroelectricity is one form
of renewable energy,

but, across the world, other clean
power projects are springing up.

Each of these dots is a wind turbine
rising out of Britain's North Sea

with a blade diameter longer
than a football field.

Giant solar farms are also
visible from space,

like this plant near Seville,
where a tower collects the light

reflected by an array of mirrors.

In China, solar panels cover
the hillside by a provincial town.

Other Chinese solar farms
take on more creative shapes.

If you look up on a clear night,

you can see satellites
passing overhead,

and the most visible is
the International Space Station.

It's the third brightest object
in the night sky

after the Moon and Venus.

Two of my flights
were part of building

the International Space Station.

And so here was a collaboration
of five different space agencies

representing 15 countries
that had gotten together and say,

"What can we do for the benefit
of humanity?"

Over the last 22 years,
the Space Station has been visited

by 263 astronauts from 20 countries.

One of them is Thomas Reiter,

who travelled to space twice
ten years apart,

and he observed the human impact
on the Amazon rainforest.

When you are looking down,
you see these huge areas

where the rainforest is cut,

especially comparing my first
mission and the second mission.

Satellites have been tracking
the deforestation of the Amazon

for the last 40 years.

These images show the dense
green canopy disappearing

to make way for cattle and crops.

When you see it with your own eyes,

I have to say,
I really got very worried.

In Brazil, a fifth of its rainforest
has been destroyed

over the last four decades.

But November perhaps
brought some hope.

Brazil's newly elected president,
Lula da Silva,

pledged to stop the deforestation.

The success or failure
of his promise

will be monitored from space
for decades to come.

Space technology can help us
observe changes on our planet.

But it also allows us to venture
far beyond it.

On November 16th, Cape Canaveral,
Florida, is shaken by the launch

of the most powerful rocket
ever built.

Five, four, stage engine start,

three, two, one,

booster and ignition.

And lift off of Artemis 1!

We rise together,
back to the Moon and beyond.

It's been 50 years since
humans stood on the moon.

Artemis 1 is the beginning
of a programme

to establish a base
on the lunar surface.

As it accelerates towards
its escape velocity

of 30,000km per hour,

it's caught on camera
by a passing weather satellite.

Blink and you miss it.

Leaving the Artemis rocket behind,

the Orion spacecraft goes
into orbit around the Moon.

From a distance
of 400,000 kilometres,

it transmits images
of the lunar surface

and the blue marble of the Earth
emerging from behind the Moon.

December 18th -
the World Cup final in Qatar.

It was billed as Messi versus Mbappe

and in an utterly thrilling final
this afternoon,

Argentina are football's
new world champions.

It's the culmination of
a 12-year engineering project -

one of the most ambitious
of the century.

Over the years, satellites
captured seven new stadiums

rising from the desert, built
by an army of migrant workers.

But it's not just stadiums
being constructed.

An entire city called Lusail,
housing 450,000,

was built from scratch.

It is the most expensive
World Cup ever,

but also the most controversial,
with widespread accusations

of the abuse of thousands
of migrant workers.

In Ukraine, the winter has arrived.

In the south, there are celebrations

of recent advances by the Ukrainian
army and their return to Kherson.

But in occupied Mariupol,

satellites show the Russians
are reinforcing their presence.

New military buildings
have sprung up.

A screen around the remains
of the city's theatre

is a graphic reminder
of civilian deaths

in Europe's most bloody conflict
since World War II.

The toll of the brutal attack
on Mariupol can be seen

at the cemetery, where 1,500
new graves have been dug.

As temperatures plummet,

both sides prepare for a long,
frozen winter.

In December,

the Earth's ultimate light show,

the northern lights,
or aurora borealis,

becomes visible
in the northern skies.

Mesmerising from Earth,

it is awe-inspiring from space.

One of my flights, we were actually
kind of low enough

that we were flying
through the upper red tips of it,

and you could hear this crackling
on the radio,

and it did actually seem like
a sci-fi movie at that point.

These fantastical lights originate
130 million kilometres away

in the sun.

A specialist satellite called
the Solar Dynamics Observatory

uses extreme ultraviolet sensors
to capture the activity

of the sun's surface.

Solar flares can be seen emitting
vast amounts of radiation

equivalent
to a billion nuclear explosions.

Known as solar wind,

this radiation smashes into
our upper atmosphere,

creating charged
particles that emit light

and travel along the lines
of the Earth's magnetic field.

I was full of awe, really,

to see something like that from
such a different perspective.

Viewing the Earth from space,

it certainly transforms the way
that you look and think about Earth.

You see everything as one
interconnected system,

including all your family
and friends

and everything you've ever known

is down there on this planet.

It's the place that we call home
and we need to take care of it.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media