Human Universe: How do astronauts return to Earth?

A new five-part BBC series, Human Universe, begins on Tuesday night in which Professor Brian Cox tackles some of the most profound questions ever asked: Why are we here? How did the universe make us? What made the universe? Are we alone? And what is our future?

In the first episode he travels from the Rift Valley in Ethiopia to the ancient city of Petra in Jordan and ends up on the steppes of Kazakhstan.

He joins a search-and-rescue mission in the depths of winter as they collect two cosmonauts and an astronaut as they arrive back on Earth, after months living aboard the International Space Station.

Watch the first episode of Human Universe at 21:00BST on Tuesday 7 October on BBC Two.