'In 50 years we'll be living on the moon, and be on our way to Mars': Stephen Hawking claims this century will be a 'true space age'

The comments were made during last night’s Live from Space programme

The show followed astronauts on the ISS as they made a lap around Earth

During a poignant moment, astronaut Frank Culbertson recalled how he saw smoke rising from New York's Twin Towers while onboard the ISS

Tim Peake, who will be the first official British astronaut in space in 2015, also provided commentary on life in space



Putting the first man on the moon may have seemed like a giant leap at the time, but it will soon seem like a tiny step if Stephen Hawking's plans for space exploration come to pass.

During last night’s Live from Space programme, the renowned astrophysicist said we will have settlements on the moon ‘within 50 years’, and believes there will be people living on Mars by 2100.

And if we fail to colonise new planets, Professor Hawking believes the human race faces imminent extinction because there will be too many of us for the Earth to support.

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Professor Stephen Hawking, pictured, believes we will have settlements on the moon 'within 50 years', and said there will be people living on Mars by 2100

The 72-year-old said: ‘Our planet is an old world, threatened with an ever-expanding population and finite resources. We must anticipate these threats and have a plan B.

‘If our species is to survive the next hundred years, let alone a thousand, it is imperative we voyage out into the blackness of space to colonise new worlds across the cosmos.’

‘If we follow this path, I have no doubt that this century will go down, in the history of humankind, as the true Space Age.’

Last night, the ISS travelled over the Atlantic, before it passed over land above Cape Town. The ISS then headed in a north-easterly direction, and crossed the Indian Ocean. The sun had set and it was night by the time it approached Malaysia and Vietnam

Cady Coleman posted this image of mission control in Houston during the live programme. Coleman was one of the first people to use a robotic arm to capture a free-flying supply ship from the space station, and last night she served as the CAPCOM (capsule communicator) to Rick Mastracchio (right) and Koichi Wakata (left)

THE ROUTE OF THE ISS

The route of the ISS would make Phileas Fogg green with envy - and perhaps with more than a little motion sickness. Travelling at 17,500mph (28,100km/h), the ISS can go around the word 16 times per day - that’s once every ninety minutes. Last night, Channel 4 made contact with the space station as it passed over Los Angeles while Californians were enjoying a mid morning coffee.

The ISS then proceeded down the west coast of the United States and Mexico. In Latin America, it saw mountains and jungle as it passes over the north of the Andes, and cut across the south of Brazil. This was followed by a long haul over the Atlantic, before it made landfall again around Cape Town.The ISS then headed in a north-easterly direction, and crossed the Indian Ocean. It was night when it approached Malaysia and Vietnam. The last land spotted by the space station was part of Japan, after which the ISS rocketed over the Pacific, to once more fly over the west coast of the United States – by which time Californians were sitting down for lunch.

Professor Hawking made the comments during Channel 4’s Live from Space: Lap of the Planet programme, during which astronauts from the International Space Station (ISS) were broadcast live from orbit.

The ISS is the third brightest object in the night sky, after the sun and the moon, and can be seen as a tiny light on a clear night.

The show provided a clearer view of just what goes on, onboard the ISS including what they get up to all day in their celestial home and office.

In one scene, astronaut Rick Mastracchio revealed he has regular contact with home: ‘I spend more time talking to my kids up here than I do down there,’ he joked.

And there were plenty of stunning sights of planet as the ISS made an entire lap of the Earth in just 90 minutes.



However, images from Nasa archives also revealed a darker side to Earth.

During one poignant moment, American astronaut Frank Culbertson, recalled how he saw smoke rising from New York's Twin Towers while onboard the ISS.

The haunting photos and video, first revealed earlier this month by MailOnline, were shot by Culbertson as he looked down helplessly on New York on September 11, 2001.

British astronaut Major Tim Peake is one of the stars of a two-and-a-half-hour pioneering live broadcast from the ISS and Mission Control in Houston on Sunday on Channel 4. Video grab from the show is pictured During the show, American astronaut Frank Culbertson, recalled how he saw smoke rising from New York's Twin Towers while onboard the ISS in 2001. This image from the Landsat satellite shows smoke still rising at 11.30am on September 12

He said his first instinct was to grab a camera - and hours later he would discover a close friend, a pilot at the controls of one of the hijacked planes, was one of the dead.



Like all live TV, the programme had its technical challenges, with Nasa losing signal from the ISS a number of times.

Helping to make sense of what we will be seeing is Britain’s first ever astronaut, Major Tim Peake, 41, a former Army helicopter pilot who is due to visit the ISS for a 6-month mission next year.

Understandably, Major Peake always keeps a look out for the space station when it passes above him.

‘I always get excited when I see the ISS,’ he admitted, ‘and I even have an app on my phone which gives me an alarm whenever it is getting close! Of course, it’s a bit different when you’re going up there yourself.’

Major Peaked explains what life will be like for him when he does get there.

The International Space Station (ISS), pictured, is constantly hurtling through space at some 17,500mph (28,100km/h) at an altitude of some 250 miles (402km)

‘The daily working routine is punishing,’ he said. ‘Much of the time, we will performing scientific experiments, and then clearing them up.’

As well as having to become proficient scientists, the astronauts also have to learn to dock manually visiting vehicles with the ISS, go on space walks, and, perhaps most challenging of all, deal with each other

During Major Peake’s six-month mission he will have very little downtime, but when he does, like many of the astronauts, he might head to a seven-window cupola from where the crew can gaze down on the planet they call home.

‘Although the cupola is meant to be a place that is used for observing Earth and controlling robotic arms,’ said Major Peake, ‘I know that many use the cupola simply to take in the amazing view.’