We are in the midst of the greatest era of space discovery. 21st century spacecraft and sophisticated imaging technology are venturing into un-chartered territory every day - and much of the extraordinary phenomenon is happening right in our own cosmic backyard.

In the last few years, Mars has shown many new clues that life may have once existed there and may even exist there today. There is now proof that water once flowed on the surface and that the frozen poles are mostly water, not carbon dioxide as previously thought. Mars has snow, an aurora and lightning generated by dust storms.

It bursts from the sun with the power of 10,000 nuclear weapons and when it hits our planet it could create the largest disaster in recorded history. A magnetic storm from the sun could wipe out electrical power and nearly every piece of electronics in the Northern Hemisphere. It's a planet-wide hurricane of magnetic forces that scramble all 21st Century technology, possibly for good.

One of the universe's most enduring mysteries is time travel. Discover why time travel into the future is unavoidable in the Einsteinian world of relativity. As for the past the laws of physics don't tell us it's impossible, but the bizarre consequences of going into the past and altering the future make for mind-bending science. Finally go for the future by traveling to the nearest star, 4.3 light years away in only 45 days.

They've discovered water on other planets, and snatched the actual building blocks of life from a comet's tail. But can space probes find a new Earth and even make contact with alien life? In the 21st century, space probes are photographing, drilling and even sniffing new worlds in the quest for life and scanning thousands of distant suns trying to detect Earth-like planets. It's only a matter of time before space probes unlock the secrets to extra-terrestrial life and the universe itself.

What are the latest discoveries in the deadly world of asteroids? Will a Japanese spacecraft become the first to bring an asteroid sample back home? What would happen to America's east coast if the impact that helped form Chesapeake Bay 35 million years ago struck today? And why did President Obama choose an asteroid as the destination for the next manned mission into space? Learning about these huge space rocks isn't just about science, it's about survival.

Once they were dreaded and thought to be dragons eating the sun - but modern science has dispelled mythology and we now look forward to total Solar Eclipses as one of the most spectacular phenomena in the heavens. Explore the complex movements of Earth, Moon and Sun that produce these unusual events and hear details why we may be the only intelligent beings in the known Universe to witness eclipses like we see on Earth.

Our Sun has served Earth well for almost five billion years. It's bathed us with heat and energy. But like humans, our home star is mortal. In five billion years, it will stop nurturing its planetary offspring. The aging star will bloat out beyond the orbit of our planet incinerating all living things - including humans if we're still around.