2000 AD

The International Space Station - a triumph of human intelligence

In November 2000, the first astronauts arrived on the International Space Station. Since then, we have had a permanently manned base among the stars.

We can venture into space because our species has built up a knowledge of physics and engineering, generation after generation, to the point where we can launch a rocket from Earth's surface that travels at a speed of seven miles every second. That makes us the only creature on Earth - possibly the only creature in our galaxy, or even our Universe – to have left its home world. So how did we become such a unique animal?