The Planets

By the end of 1974, Mars, Venus, Mercury and Jupiter had all been visited by spacecraft. For the first time scientists saw in sharp detail the continents, mountains, valleys and volcanoes of other worlds. Tonight's programme shows how these geological features give clues to the way the planets evolved; how they have helped scientists in their attempt to reach back 5,000 million years to understand the formation of the solar system itself.

Other episodes for this season

The Killer Dust
Episode 1 - The Killer Dust
A Time to Be Born
Episode 2 - A Time to Be Born
The Unsafe Sea
Episode 3 - The Unsafe Sea
The Change of Life
Episode 4 - The Change of Life
Project Fido
Episode 5 - Project Fido
The Planets
Episode 6 - The Planets
The Long, Long Walkabout
Episode 7 - The Long, Long Walkabout
The Overworked Miracle
Episode 8 - The Overworked Miracle
Not the Cheapest, But the Best
Episode 9 - Not the Cheapest, But the...
A Spoonful of Roughage
Episode 10 - A Spoonful of Roughage
Brain Poison
Episode 11 - Brain Poison
The Bulldog's Last Bark?
Episode 12 - The Bulldog's Last Bark?
Benjamin
Episode 13 - Benjamin
The McMaster Experiment
Episode 14 - The McMaster Experiment
The Glazed Outlook
Episode 15 - The Glazed Outlook
The Three Chord Trick
Episode 16 - The Three Chord Trick
The Cleanest Place in the World
Episode 17 - The Cleanest Place in the...
Strange Sleep
Episode 18 - Strange Sleep
The Greatest Advance Since the Wheel?
Episode 19 - The Greatest Advance Sinc...
How Do You Read?
Episode 20 - How Do You Read?
The Sickly Sea
Episode 21 - The Sickly Sea
Happy Catastrophe
Episode 22 - Happy Catastrophe
To Die, to Live - The Survivors of Hiroshima
Episode 23 - To Die, to Live - The Sur...
Cannabis
Episode 24 - Cannabis
Meditation and the Mind
Episode 25 - Meditation and the Mind
The Trobriand Experiment
Episode 26 - The Trobriand Experiment