Since the Soviet and American space programmes began blasting off in the 1950s, humans have made major strides into the unknown – and left behind vast amounts of junk. This visualisation was created by the UK aerospace engineer Stuart Grey and depicts the 40,000 or so objects that we’ve left in space since Sputnik’s launch in 1957, including more than 17,000 objects still in Earth’s orbit, which pose a considerable danger not just to our satellites but to any spacecraft with humans aboard.
Director: Stuart Grey
videoHistory
In Stalin’s home city in Georgia, generations clash over his legacy
20 minutes
videoHistory
In the face of denial, this film uncovers the hidden scars of Indonesia’s 1998 riots
21 minutes
videoNature and landscape
‘A culture is no better than its woods’ – what our trees reveal about us, by W H Auden
5 minutes
videoHistory
Hags, seductresses, feminist icons – how gender dynamics manifest in witches
13 minutes
videoFairness and equality
There’s a dirty side to clean energy in the metal-rich mountains of South Africa
10 minutes
videoFairness and equality
‘To my old master’ – a freed slave answers the request to return to his old plantation
7 minutes
videoAnimals and humans
Villagers struggle to keep their beloved, endangered ape population afloat
19 minutes
videoInformation and communication
‘Astonished and somewhat terrified’ – Victorians’ reactions to the phonograph
36 minutes
videoHistory
From Afghanistan to Virginia – the Muslims who fought in the American Civil War
22 minutes