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In September 2019, the Swedish-American biologist and NASA astronaut Jessica Meir realised her lifelong dream of travelling to space when she launched from Kazakhstan to the International Space Station (ISS), where she would serve as flight engineer for the next seven months. Featuring remarkable footage – including Meir’s euphoric first steps into the ISS and her participation, with fellow astronaut Christina Koch, in the first-ever all-female spacewalk – this short documentary captures scenes from Meir’s roundtrip journey with intimacy and grandeur. Occurring over the course of many tumultuous months on Earth, including the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the film also ponders what it’s like to experience the trials of humanity from 254 miles above.
Directors: Vladimir Potop, Alina Manolache
Website: Guardian Documentaries
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Architecture
West Africa was once an architectural laboratory. Is it time for a revival?
12 minutes
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Work
A Swedish expat in the Philippines wonders: what’s up with people sleeping at work?
14 minutes
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Biography and memoir
The unique life philosophy of Abdi, born in Somalia, living in the Netherlands
29 minutes
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Cognition and intelligence
What’s this buzz about bees having culture? Inside a groundbreaking experiment
8 minutes
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Earth science and climate
The only man permitted in Bhutan’s sacred mountains chronicles humanity’s impact
22 minutes
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Cosmology
The Indian astronomer whose innovative work on black holes was mocked at Cambridge
13 minutes
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Art
‘If you’re creative, why can’t you create a solution?’ One artist’s imaginative activism
17 minutes
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The ancient world
An ancient Roman’s hilarious (and perhaps relatable) response to a social snub
2 minutes
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Death
A hunter’s lyrical reflection on the humbling business of being mortal
6 minutes