Sir David Attenborough backs bid to buy estate 19 hours ago Share Save Evie Lake North East and Cumbria Share Save The Wildlife Trust/PA Rothbury Estate in Northumberland is a 15-sq-mile (38. 8-sq-km) tract of former grouse moor, woodland and farmland Sir David Attenborough has championed a bid by conservationists to raise £30m to buy the entirety of a vast upland estate. The Wildlife Trusts and Northumberland Wildlife Trust are attempting to complete the purchase of the Rothbury Estate, a 15-sq-mile (38. 8-sq-km) tract of former grouse moor, woodland and farmland, with plans to boost wildlife, restore bogs and promote nature-friendly farming. With a year to go to raise the £30m needed to secure the entire estate, or risk it being broken up and sold off, Sir David has urged people to back the bid. In a video, the naturalist and broadcaster said time was running out to save Rothbury Estate. John Millard The area is popular with walkers and nature enthusiasts due to its dramatic setting It is the largest area of land to be put on sale in England in decades and sits in the heart of what nature experts said could be a 40-mile (64km) "wild" corridor, stretching from the coast to Kielder and the Scottish border, and includes the Simonside Hills Who owns the Rothbury Estate? Rothbury Estate was owned by the Duke of Northumberland's youngest son, Lord Max Percy, and had been in the family for about 700 years. The partnership between Northumberland Wildlife Trust and the Wildlife Trusts was given two years in October 2024 to raise the £30m needed to buy all of the estate. The Wildlife Trusts Sir David Attenborough has urged people to support the plans for the Rothbury Estate Sir David said: "People know and love the Simonside Hills that rise here, they walk the ridges and listen for the calls of the curlew, they watch for red squirrels and admire the views as they scramble among the crags. "They walk along its remote paths and marvel at the astonishing rock carvings left by our distant ancestors, who once lived here. " He said the Wildlife Trusts would work with local farmers and communities who lived and worked at Rothbury to care for the area, breathe new life into its habitats and create a place where people and nature could thrive side by side. "Please help us make this vision a reality," he added. About £8m, in donations ranging from £5 to £5m, has already been raised, but the race is on to secure the remaining two thirds. A fundraising appeal has been launched online. Peter Cairns Red squirrels are among the wildlife which call the estate their home Northumberland Wildlife Trust chief executive Mike Pratt said the purchase was a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" to do something meaningful for nature at a large scale through restoring and protecting habitat and increasing access to the countryside. The estate is home to rare wildlife, including curlew, mountain bumblebees, lapwings, red squirrels, cuckoo and merlin, as well as Atlantic salmon and critically endangered eels, but the conservationists say nature could be richer still. Their plans include bringing in large herbivores including ponies, hardy cattle and eventually even bison to graze the land naturally, and there are hopes pine martens, beavers and golden eagles could recolonise the landscape. 'A great canvas' Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Craig Bennett, CEO of the Wildlife Trusts said the Rothbury Estate was the biggest piece of land to come on the market in England for more than 30 years - and is larger than the city of York. "That's why it's such a unique opportunity," he said. "We know that the UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world and I've had enough in my lifetime of looking at lots of graphs that point nature going downwards. "We want to bend the curve on that and start to bring nature back at scale. " The Wildlife Trust/PA A dwarf cornel, an extremely rare and delicate flower, was spotted at Rothbury The trusts said local people would benefit from greater access to the estate, with potential for building new paths, developing a visitor and education centre and creating new jobs. Mr Pratt described the Rothbury Estate as sitting in an area which could be a "special area for nature recovery" - the only opportunity of that scale in England. "It's got a fantastic and interesting landscape already but when you look in detail a lot of the finer biodiversity, like everywhere else, is not there as it should be," he said. "It represents a great canvas to restore nature in that beautiful landscape

Bird flu confirmed at commercial poultry premises A 3km (1. 9m) protection zone has been put in place around the commercial poultry premises near Lakenheath A protection zone has been put in place following a case of bird flu at a commercial poultry premises. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the H5N1 virus was confirmed at a property near Lakenheath, in Suffolk, on Sunday and all birds would be culled. 9 mile) protection zone and 10km (6. 2 mile) surveillance zone were put in place around the premises and would remain until the declaration was withdrawn. It is the first confirmed case in the East of England since an outbreak near Attleborough in Norfolk, in August

Water companies told to refund £260m to customers for poor performance 13 hours ago Share Save Mark Poynting, Climate and science reporter, BBC News and Jonah Fisher, Environment correspondent Share Save PA Media England and Wales' water companies have been ordered to refund more than £260m to customers for poor performance. The economic regulator Ofwat says 40% of that money has already been taken off this year's bills, with the rest to come off next year's. But bills are still due to rise steeply until 2030 to fund upgrades to the water system. Earlier today, the Environment Agency (EA) gave England's water companies their worst ever combined marks in its annual rating system for their environmental performance in 2024, amid a spike in serious pollution incidents. Industry body Water UK acknowledged that "the performance of some companies is not good enough" but pointed to investment since last year. Thames Water – the UK's largest water company - has been penalised the most at £75. 2m for its performance in the 2024/25 year. It was also given the lowest, one-star rating by the EA. A spokesperson for the company said: "Transforming Thames is a major programme of work that will take time; it will take at least a decade to achieve the scale of change required. " And Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds acknowledged: "We are facing a water system failure that has left our infrastructure crumbling and sewage spilling into our rivers. "We are taking decisive action to fix it, including new powers to ban unfair bonuses, and swift financial penalties for environmental offences," she added. Where companies fail to meet agreed targets on areas such as pollution and leaks, they are forced to make "underperformance" payments. Essentially that means customers get cheaper bills than they otherwise would have. In the chart below, the size of these payments, in millions of pounds, are shown by the negative numbers on the left. All are given in 2017-18 prices. Where companies exceed targets, they get "overperformance payments" and can charge customers more, shown by the positive numbers on the right. That only applied to United Utilities and Severn Trent Water. But in spite of these underperformance payments, customers are experiencing significant rises to bills. In April, they rose by an average of 26% in England and Wales, after Ofwat approved water company plans for billions of pounds of investment. And they are due to rise further until at least 2030 to help upgrade water supplies and reducing the amount of sewage being spilled. Ofwat described overall performance in 2024/25 as "mixed". It acknowledged progress in some areas like internal sewer flooding, where water from a sewer enters buildings. But it said "there remain areas where companies and the sector must do more", including pollution and supply interruptions for some. In its report, the Environment Agency (EA) gave England's main water and sewerage companies their worst ever combined score for environmental performance in 2024 since their ratings began in 2011. In his foreword, the EA's chair, Alan Lovell, wrote: "Many companies tell us how focussed they are on environmental improvement. But the results are not visible in the data. " The EA's collective rating for the nine companies was 19 stars - down from 25 stars in 2023. No year had previously got fewer than 22 stars. The EA says its assessment criteria has been tightened over time, so its ratings do "not mean performance has declined since 2011" and it had seen "some improvement" up to 2023. But Mr Lovell said: "This year's results are poor and must serve as a clear and urgent signal for change. " The EA gave seven companies two stars - "requiring improvement" - and Thames one star. Only seven one-star ratings had ever been previously given. And only Severn Trent got the top rating of four stars. How does your water company rank for environmental performance? It is the latest bad news for Thames Water, which has become mired in financial trouble. It reported a loss of £1. 65bn for the year to March, while its debt pile climbed to £16. "We know we need to further improve for our customers, communities and the environment, and that is why we have embarked on the largest ever investment programme, delivering the biggest upgrade to our network in 150 years," a Thames spokesperson said. The EA reported in July that "serious" pollution incidents by water companies in England had increased by 60% in 2024 versus 2023. It attributed last year's environmental performance to three factors – wet and stormy weather, long-standing underinvestment in infrastructure, and increased monitoring and inspection "bringing more failings to light". In response to today's findings, James Wallace, chief executive of campaign group River Action UK, said: "Water companies in England and Wales are still underperforming, especially on serious pollution incidents, exposing the bankruptcy of the privatised water model. "We urgently need a complete overhaul of this failed system to ensure that bill payers receive a fair service and that our rivers are properly protected from pollution. " From 2027, the EA will replace its current star ratings with a new system – a scale from one to five, from "failing" to "excellent". The government argues this will give a more accurate reflection of performance, with companies not able to achieve the top rating unless they "achieve the highest standards across the board"

Fining firms for sewage spills will get 'quicker and easier', says government 1 day ago Share Save Jonah Fisher Environment correspondent Share Save Getty Images Under the new proposals water companies could face automatic fines for some rule breaches Fining English water companies for spilling raw sewage will soon become quicker and easier, the government has said. New proposals would see automatic fines of up to £20,000 issued for some minor offences and make it simpler to punish more serious ones. In recent years data from the water industry's own monitoring equipment has shown how frequently rules are broken around sewage spills. But the regulator, the Environment Agency, has by its own admission struggled to act. "I want to give the Environment Agency the teeth it needs to tackle all rule breaking," said Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds, announcing the proposals. "With new, automatic and tougher penalties for water companies, there will be swift consequences for offences – including not treating sewage to the required standard, and maintenance failures," she said. The plans will be put to a six-week public consultation starting on Wednesday. The English water companies welcomed the proposals, with a spokesperson for trade body Water UK saying: "It is right that water companies are held to account when things go wrong. " Getty Images Water companies are only supposed to spill raw sewage under specific exceptional conditions like very heavy rain. In recent years the fitting of monitors to all sewage outflows in England has highlighted just how much raw sewage is being discharged, and how few of the rule breaches lead to the Environment Agency taking action. BBC News investigations have identified thousands of occasions when sewage was spilled during dry weather and occasions when treatment works released sewage before they treated their legally stipulated volume. A recent BBC report revealed that the EA attended just 13% of reported pollution incidents and often had to rely on information from the water companies themselves. The government says it's expecting the new system to raise between £50m and £67m each year but it is hoping the policy will make the water companies change their ways. If fines are levied, the government says shareholders will have to cover the cost and it won't be added to customer water bills. For the most serious pollution offences, the enforcement system remains the same. The EA has to take water companies to court and prove to a criminal standard that an offence has been committed "beyond a reasonable doubt". If that prosecution results in a conviction the company could have to pay a large fine, possibly in the millions of pounds. The new proposals are focused on more minor offences which happen frequently and have in the past gone largely unpunished. The plans would see automatic financial penalties of up to £20,000 introduced for rule breaches such as failure to report a significant pollution incident within four hours, failure to report spill data properly or if emergency overflow outlets discharge sewage more than three times in a year. For some more serious offences the government wants to make it easier for the EA to take action. So it's proposing that the burden of proof be reduced from "beyond all reasonable doubt" - the norm for criminal proceedings - to "on the balance of probabilities", which is used in civil cases. The fines which the EA can impose without going to court could be increased to a maximum of half a million pounds. The reduced burden of proof for some offences is already written into law, having been part of the Water (Special Measures) Act which received Royal Assent in February 2025. This six-week consultation is to determine which offences should be included, and the level of the fines. "Fines of £500,000 are pocket change to billion-pound companies like Thames Water," says James Wallace, the CEO of campaign group River Action. "Higher penalties and urgent, wholesale reform are essential to prevent negligent firms polluting our rivers and short-changing their customers

'It's harder to be a parent than a space shuttle commander', trailblazing Nasa pilot tells BBC 1 day ago Share Save Rebecca Morelle Science Editor and Alison Francis Senior Science Journalist Share Save Tony Jolliffe/ BBC News From a very young age, Eileen Collins wanted to be an astronaut She's the astronaut who smashed through the glass ceiling. Eileen Collins made history as the first woman to pilot and command a Nasa spacecraft - but despite her remarkable achievements, not everyone will know her name. Now a feature-length documentary called Spacewoman, which chronicles her trailblazing career, looks set to change that. We meet Collins at London's Science Museum. She's softly spoken, warm and very down to earth - but you quickly get a sense of her focus and determination. She clearly has inner steel. "I was reading a magazine article on the Gemini astronauts. I was probably nine years old, and I thought that's the coolest thing. That's what I want to do," she says. "Of course, there were no women astronauts back then. But I just thought, I'll be a lady astronaut. " NASA Nasa's Space Shuttle programme flew for three decades But that little girl set her sights even higher - she wanted to be at the controls of a spacecraft. And the only way to achieve this was to join the military and become a test pilot. In the Air Force, she stood out from the crowd and was selected to join the astronaut programme. She was to fly Space Shuttles - Nasa's reusable "space planes". She knew the eyes of the world were on her when her first mission launched in 1995. "As the first woman to pilot the Space Shuttle, I worked very hard at that because I didn't want people to say, 'Oh look, the woman has made a mistake'. Because it wasn't just about me, it was about the women to follow me," she says. "And I wanted there to be a reputation for women pilots that was: 'Hey, they're really good'. " Eileen Collins Eileen Collins with her young daughter Bridget She was so good in fact that she was soon promoted to commander, in another first. Collins was also a parent to two young children. The fact that she was a working wife and mother was frequently brought up in press conferences at the time, with some journalists seemingly astonished that she could be both. But Collins says being a mum and a commander were "the two best jobs in the world". "But I'm going to tell you it is harder to be a parent than to be a space shuttle commander," she laughs. "The best training I ever had for being a commander was being a parent - because you have to learn how to say no to people. " NASA A huge investigation was launched after the Columbia disaster Nasa's Space Shuttles, which flew for three decades, reached breathtaking highs, but also some terrible lows. In 1986, the Challenger spacecraft suffered a catastrophic failure seconds after launching, killing all seven crew members on board. And in 2003, the Columbia shuttle broke up in the skies over Texas at the end of its mission, killing its crew of seven as well. A piece of insulating foam on Columbia's fuel tank broke loose during launch, damaging the heat shield with devastating results. Columbia was unable to withstand the fiery re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, disintegrating as the world watched on in horror. Collins shakes her head at the memory of the disaster, and of the friends whose lives were lost. But with her job as commander, she had to pick up the mantle - she was to be in charge of the shuttle's following flight. Did she think about quitting at that point? "People throughout the shuttle programme were counting on the commander to stick with it," she says quietly. "I think quitting the mission would have been the opposite of brave… and I wanted to be a brave leader. I wanted to be a confident leader. I wanted to instill that confidence in other people. " But when her mission finally took to the skies in 2005, the nightmare scenario happened again. A chunk of foam broke away during launch. This time, though, there was a plan in place to check the damage. But it meant undertaking one of the riskiest maneuvers in space history. Collins had to pilot the shuttle through a 360 degree flip while flying beneath the International Space Station. It allowed colleagues on the orbiting lab to photograph the craft's underside and check if the heatshield had been breached. "There were engineers and managers saying it couldn't be done, all these reasons why it was too dangerous," she says. "I listened to the discussion, they knew I was the commander, and I said: 'It sounds like we can do it'. " NASA Collins remained cool and calm under pressure With her hands steady at the controls, her voice calm as she spoke to mission control, Collins piloted the craft through a slow, graceful somersault. With the shuttle's underside now visible, the damage was quickly spotted - and a spacewalk was carried out to repair it. It meant Collins and her crew would make it safely home. This was Collins's last flight. She tells us that she always planned to stop after her fourth mission - to give others a chance to go to space. And she's watched plenty of astronauts follow in her footsteps. Does she have any advice for the next generation dreaming of the stars? "Do your homework, listen to your teacher, pay attention in class and read books, and that will give you something to focus on," she says in a matter-of-fact way. Those who follow Collins to space will learn just how much she achieved, not only as a woman, but as a formidable pilot and commander. She says she has no regrets about bringing her astronaut career to an end. She made her decision and didn't look back. But there's still a wistful look in her eye when we ask if she'd be tempted if a seat on a spacecraft became free. "Yes, I would love to go on a mission someday. When I'm an old lady, maybe I'll get a chance to go back in space

com/2025/10/19/opinion-the-hurricane-season-that-still-isnt-steve-milloy/ By Steve Milloy Cynical, disaster-seeking climate change hysterics have been pushing, for decades now, a narrative that global warming, especially warming ocean temperatures, increase the risk of hurricane activity. Every year, they seem to be eagerly awaiting devastating superstorms to prove them right. And the 2025 hurricane season looked ripe. In May, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted a more-active-than-average season (which runs from June 1 to Dec. The Washington Post hyped this prediction into: “The forecast underscored the dangers of a historically active stretch of Atlantic hurricane activity. ” And, indeed, the stage was set for the perfect storm to cause catastrophic impact on the American Southeast: NOAA fretted hurricane-fueling warm ocean waters; the South had just come off of a record year of domestic net migration raising the potential human cost; and climate change-denying President Trump had scaled back the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) which, alarmists claimed, would significantly hinder disaster response. (RELATED: What Happened To Climate Change, The Existential Threat Of Our Time?) There was an ominous anniversary, too. Late summer 2025 marked exactly 20 years since the catastrophic Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. “Now more than ever, NOAA is prepared for what the hurricane season may bring,” said Laura Grimm, NOAA’s acting administrator, at an event announcing the forecast in Jefferson Parish, La. , to mark the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. ” Yep, the narrative of a disastrous 2025 hurricane season fueled by man-made climate change wrote itself; all the alarmists had to do was wait. June and July passed quickly and quietly without a single U. August showed promise as Hurricane Erin swelled into a threatening category 5 hurricane. The alarmists manned their stations, and the media began sowing panic over this climate-induced superstorm. Unfortunately for the catastrophists, the storm never got closer than 200 miles from the U. By early September, the Atlantic was still pitching a shutout. 10, the day at the center of the peak hurricane window, saw zero hurricane landfalls and no storms on the horizon. No devastating storm has yet hit, and time is running out for the season. There are six weeks remaining. Sure, anything could happen in that time. But so far nothing has. Instead of just admitting the error of their ways, the climate activists at the Washington Post doubled down this week and claimed that the lack of storms is actually evidence of manmade climate change. This never-admit-error mindset underscores the climate movement’s willingness to twist any outcome into proof of their radical worldview. With them, it’s always: “Heads I win; tails you lose. ” When ideology is put aside and actual scientific principles are followed, the picture is crystal clear: there is no relationship between man-made emissions and increased hurricane frequency, intensity or any other aspect of hurricanes. All hurricane activity remains within the bounds of natural variability, according to NOAA. Hurricane tracking reveals that there have been no changes in trends, even though man-made emissions have steadily risen during the same period. And while promoters of climate change narratives like to highlight the increased costs in storm damage, they ignore the fact that population growth in coastal regions is the main driver in this phenomenon – not increased storm strength. Even the Washington Post has had to admit this. The superstorms that weren’t, serve as a stark reminder: the climate agenda thrives on fear. Rain or shine, the alarmists’ forecast of planetary doom remained the same. In doing so, they show their hand – prioritizing political agenda over evidence. It’s time to separate rhetoric from reality and liberate ourselves from climate hysteria. Steve Milloy is a biostatistician and lawyer. He posts on X at @JunkScience

From Hollywood to horticulture: Cate Blanchett on a mission to save seeds 6 hours ago Share Save Rebecca Morelle Science Editor and Alison Francis Senior Science Journalist Share Save Tony Jolliffe/BBC News Cate Blanchett has teamed up with Kew's Millennium Seed Bank She's a Hollywood A-lister, with a mantelpiece groaning under the weight of awards. But Cate Blanchett has taken an unexpected diversion from her day job - to immerse herself in the world of the humble seed. Her eyes light up as she enthuses about the banksia species from her native Australia. "It's quite a brutal looking seed pod that only releases its seed in extremely high temperatures," she tells us. "It does look like a cross between a mallet and a toilet brush. So they're not always pretty, but yet what comes out of them is so spectacular. " RBG Kew Australia's banksia seed pods explode open after being exposed to fire We meet her at Kew's Millennium Seed Bank (MSB) at Wakehurst botanic garden in Sussex. She lives locally and teamed up with the project as it celebrates its 25th anniversary. "Really, I stumbled upon Wakehurst. I was just in awe of the landscape and I always feel regenerated by being in the natural world," she says. "And then I discovered the seed bank, and I literally had my mind blown by the work that goes on here… and I thought, anything I can do to be connected to it - I found it so inspiring. " The MSB is home to more than 2. 5 billion seeds collected from 40,000 wild plant species around the world. The seeds, which come in every shape, size and colour, are carefully processed, dried and then stored in freezers at a chilly -20C. RBG Kew Cate Blanchett and a team from Kew met The King to talk about the seed bank The conservation project was opened by The King - then the Prince of Wales - in 2000. He's taken part in a special episode of a Kew podcast about the project called Unearthed: The Need For Seeds with Cate Blanchett. In the recording he talks about his concerns that many plant species are being lost. "I know how absolutely critical it all is, and the destruction of rainforests, the extinction of endless species, which have very likely remarkable properties," he tells the podcast. When the seed bank first opened, it was seen as a doomsday vault - a back-up store of seeds to safeguard wild plants from extinction. But 25 years on, the collection is being used for a different purpose: to restore environments that are under threat. Tony Jolliffe/BBC News The MSB has more than 2. 5bn seeds - including these blue Ravenala agathea seeds "We want those seeds to be back out in the landscape," explained Dr Elinor Breman from the MSB, who's been showing Cate Blanchett the team's work. "We're just providing a safe space for them until we can get them back out into a habitat where they can thrive and survive. " This includes projects like one taking place on the South Downs. A special mix of seeds from the MSB are being sown to help restore the rare chalk grasslands there. And this restoration work is being repeated around the world. "We've been to every kind of habitat, from sea level to about 5,000m, and from pole to pole - literally," explained Dr Breman. "And we're involved in restoring tropical forest, dry deciduous forest, grassland, steppe - you name it - we're trying to help people put those plants back in place. " Kevin Church/BBC News Seeds from the seedbank are being used on the South Downs in Sussex The seed bank also helped to restore plants after intense wildfires swept across Australia in 2019. Cate Blanchett says this meant a lot to her. "There are almost 9,000 species of Australian plant that are stored [at the MSB]. And we know that bushfires are getting increasingly more intense. And it's sad to say - but knowing that insurance policy exists, is of great solace to me. " Working as an ambassador for Wakehurst has meant that the actor has had a chance to get hands on with the seeds. "Have I got dirt under my fingernails? Well, I'm trying to turn my brown thumbs green," she laughs. "You know, living in Sussex, you can't not but become a passionate gardener. So I've had a lot of questions about how one stores seeds as a lay person, and I've learned a lot about that. My seed management has definitely, definitely improved. " And after spending so much time with the researchers at the MSB, is she at all tempted to swap the film set for the lab? "I wish I had the skill - maybe I could play a scientist," she laughs

Nasa Apollo missions: Stories of the last Moon men 8 August 2025 Share Save Ben Fell BBC News Share Save NASA Who will be the next human to leave their footprint on the surface of the Moon? They were the pioneers of space exploration - the 24 Nasa astronauts who travelled to the Moon in the Apollo missions of the 1960s and 1970s. The death of Apollo 13 commander Jim Lovell, who guided the stricken mission safely back to Earth in 1970, means there are now just five people remaining who have escaped the relative safety of Earth orbit and ventured deeper into space. More than 50 years since a human last set foot on the Moon, the race to put people back on the lunar surface is heating up once again. Nasa hopes its Artemis programme will lead to astronauts living on the Moon this decade. China is also aiming to have people on the lunar surface by 2030, having landed a probe on the far side of the Moon in June 2024. A number of private companies have tried to send scientific craft to the Moon, although the mishaps have outnumbered the successes. Nasa had intended to launch Artemis 2, its first crewed lunar expedition since Apollo 17 in 1972, last year but that date has slipped into 2026, as the space agency says it needs more time to prepare. Meanwhile, companies such as SpaceX and Boeing continue to develop their own technology, although not without their setbacks. The issues with Boeing's Starliner which left two astronauts stranded on the International Space Station were embarrassing for the aerospace giant, while the "rapid unscheduled disassemblies" of SpaceX's Starship have become a customary sight to space watchers. These delays highlight the sad fact that the number of remaining Apollo astronauts is dwindling. NASA Apollo 13 was Jim Lovell's final mission Along with Frank Borman and Bill Anders, Jim Lovell made history when the three undertook the first lunar mission on Apollo 8, testing the Command/Service Module and its life support systems in preparation for the later Apollo 11 landing. Their craft actually made 10 orbits of the Moon before returning home. Lovell was later supposed be the fifth human to walk on the lunar surface as commander of Apollo 13 - but of course, that never happened. Instead the story of his brush with death was immortalised in the film Apollo 13, in which he was played by Tom Hanks. Watch: Moment Jim Lovell told earth "Houston, we've had a problem" as Apollo 13 suffered a fault Following his retirement from Nasa in 1973, Lovell worked in the telecoms industry. Marilyn, his wife of more than 60 years, who became a focus for the media during the infamous incident, died in August 2023. But what of the remaining five Moon men? Who are they, and what are their stories? Buzz Aldrin (Apollo 11) NASA Buzz Aldrin, right, along with his crewmates Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins, before their mission to the Moon On 21 July 1969, former fighter pilot Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin left his lunar landing craft and became the second person to step on the surface of the Moon. Almost 20 minutes beforehand, his commander, Neil Armstrong, had been the first. Aldrin's first words were: "Beautiful view". "Isn't that something?" asked Armstrong. "Magnificent sight out here. " "Magnificent desolation," replied Aldrin. The fact that he was second never sat comfortably with him. His crewmate Michael Collins said Aldrin "resented not being first on the Moon more than he appreciated being second". But Aldrin was still proud of his achievement; many years later, when confronted by a man claiming Apollo 11 was an elaborate lie, the 72-year-old Aldrin punched him on the jaw. And following Neil Armstrong's death in 2012, Aldrin said: "I know I am joined by many millions of others from around the world in mourning the passing of a true American hero and the best pilot I ever knew. " Despite struggles in later life, he never lost his thirst for adventure and joined expeditions to both the North and South Poles, the latter at the age of 86. Allow X content? X’s cookie policy privacy policy ‘accept and continue’. This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to readandbefore accepting. To view this content choose Accept and continue While embracing his celebrity, he has remained an advocate for the space programme, especially the need to explore Mars. "I don't think we should just go there and come back - we did that with Apollo," he says. And his name has become known to new generations as the inspiration for Buzz Lightyear from the Toy Story series of films. In January 2023, at the age of 93, he married for a fourth time. Charles Duke (Apollo 16) There are only four people still alive who have walked on the Moon - Charlie Duke is one of them. He did it aged 36, making him the youngest person to set foot on the lunar surface. In a later BBC interview, he spoke of a "spectacular terrain". "The beauty of it… the sharp contrast between the blackness of space and the horizon of the Moon… I'll never forget it. " But he had already played another significant role in Nasa's exploration of the Moon. After Apollo 11 touched down in 1969, it was Duke - in mission control as the Capsule Communicator, or Capcom - who was waiting nervously on the other end of the line when Neil Armstrong said: "Houston, Tranquility Base here. " NASA Charlie Duke, along with Jim Lovell and Fred Haise in Mission Control, during the Apollo 11 mission In his distinctive southern drawl, Duke replied: "Roger, Tranquility. We copy you on the ground, you've got a bunch of guys about to turn blue, we're breathing again. " "I really meant it, I was holding my breath the last minute or so," he later told the BBC. In 2022, Duke told the BBC he was excited about Nasa's Artemis mission - but warned that it wouldn't be easy for the new generation of astronauts. "They've picked near the South Pole for the landing, because if there's any ice on the Moon, it would be down in that region. So that's gonna be difficult - because it's really rough down there. But we'll pull it off. " Charlie Duke now lives outside San Antonio, Texas, with Dorothy, to whom he has been married for 60 years. Fred Haise NASA Fred Haise and his crewmates seemed surprised by their celebrity after they returned to Earth. Fred Haise was part of the crew of Apollo 13 that narrowly avoided disaster in 1970 after an on-board explosion caused the mission to be aborted when the craft was more than 200,000 miles (321,000km) from Earth. The whole world watched nervously as Nasa attempted to return the damaged spacecraft and its crew safely. Once back, Haise and his crewmates James Lovell and Jack Swigert became celebrities, to their apparent surprise. "I feel like maybe I missed something while I was up there," he told talk show host Johnny Carson when the crew appeared on The Tonight Show. Haise never made it to the Moon. Although scheduled to be commander of Apollo 19, that mission was cancelled because of budget cuts, as were all other flights after Apollo 17. He later served as a test pilot on the prototype space shuttle, Enterprise. Like many of his fellow Apollo alumni, after leaving Nasa, Haise continued to work in the aerospace industry until his retirement. Harrison Schmitt (Apollo 17) NASA Harrison Schmitt was the first scientist to visit the Moon Unlike most other astronauts of the time, Schmitt had not served as a pilot in the US forces. A geologist and academic, he initially instructed Nasa astronauts on what to look for during their geological lunar field trips before becoming a scientist-astronaut himself in 1965. Schmitt was part of the last crewed mission to the Moon, Apollo 17, and along with commander Eugene Cernan, one of the last two men to set foot on the lunar surface, in December 1972. After leaving Nasa in 1975, he was elected to the US Senate from his home state of New Mexico, but only served one term. Since then he has worked as a consultant in various industries as well as continuing in academia. He is also known for speaking out against the scientific consensus on climate change. David Scott (Apollo 15) NASA David Scott was the seventh person to walk on the Moon

Jim Lovell, Apollo 13 astronaut, dies aged 97 9 August 2025 Share Save Share Save Watch: Moment Jim Lovell told earth "Houston, we've had a problem" as Apollo 13 suffered a fault Astronaut Jim Lovell, who guided the Apollo 13 mission safely back to Earth in 1970, has died aged 97. Nasa said he had "turned a potential tragedy into a success" after an attempt to land on the Moon was aborted because of an explosion onboard the spacecraft while it was hundreds of thousands of miles from Earth. Tens of millions watched on television as Lovell and two other astronauts splashed back down into the Pacific Ocean, a moment which has become one of the most iconic in the history of space travel. Lovell, who was also part of the Apollo 8 mission, was the first man to go to the Moon twice - but never actually landed. Acting Nasa head Sean Duffy said Lovell had helped the US space programme to "forge a historic path". In a statement, Lovell's family said: "We will miss his unshakeable optimism, his sense of humor, and the way he made each of us feel we could do the impossible. He was truly one of a kind. " Tom Hanks, who played Lovell in the 1995 movie Apollo 13, called the astronaut one of those people "who dare, who dream, and who lead others to the places we would not go on our own". Hanks said in a statement on Instagram that Lovell's many voyages "were not made for riches or celebrity, but because such challenges as those are what fuels the course of being alive". NASA Teenage rocket maker One Saturday, a 16-year-old hauled a heavy, three-foot tube into the middle of a large field in Wisconsin. He had persuaded his science teacher to help him make a makeshift rocket. Somehow, he had managed to get his hands on the ingredients for gunpowder - potassium nitrate, sulphur and charcoal. He pulled on a welder's helmet for protection. He packed it with powder, struck a match and ran like hell. The rocket rose 80 feet into the air and exploded. Had the chemicals been packed slightly differently, he would have been blown to pieces. For Jim Lovell, this was more than a childish lark. In achieving his dream to be a rocket scientist, he would become an American hero. But it was not going to be easy. Getty Images The crew of the ill-fated Apollo 13: Jack Swigert, Jim Lovell and Fred Haise James Arthur Lovell Jr was born on 25 March 1928 - just a year after Charles Lindbergh made his historic trip across the Atlantic. "Boys like either dinosaurs or airplanes," he said. "I was very much an airplane boy. " When he was five years old, his father died in a car accident. His mother, Blanche, worked all hours, struggling to keep food on the table. University was well beyond their financial reach. The answer was the US Navy, which was hungry for new pilots after World War Two. It was not building rockets but at least it involved flying. Lovell signed up to a programme that sent him to college at the military's expense while training as a fighter pilot. Two years in, he gambled and switched to the Navy Academy at Annapolis, on Chesapeake Bay, in the hope of working with his beloved rockets. It was a lucky decision. A few months later, the Korean War broke out and his former fellow apprentice pilots were sent to South East Asia. Many never got to finish their education. Marriage was banned at Annapolis and girlfriends discouraged. The navy did not want its midshipmen wasting their time on such frivolities. But Lovell had a sweetheart. Marilyn Gerlach was the high school girl he had shyly asked to the prom. Women were not allowed on campus and trips outside were limited to 45 minutes. Somehow the relationship survived. Just hours after his graduation in 1952, the newly commissioned Ensign Lovell married her. They would be together for more than 70 years, until Marilyn's death in 2023. Getty Images Jim and Marilyn Lovell were high school sweethearts He did everything he could to advertise his love of rocketry. His thesis at the Navy Academy was in the unheard-of topic of liquid-fuel engines. After graduation, he hoped to specialise in this pioneering new technology. But the navy had other ideas. Lovell was assigned to an aircraft carrier group flying Banshee jets off ships at night. It was a white-knuckle, high-wire business fit only for daredevils. But for Lovell, it was not enough. Kennedy's men In 1958, he applied to Nasa. Project Mercury was America's attempt to place a man in orbit around the Earth. Jim Lovell was one of the 110 test pilots considered for selection but a temporary liver condition put paid to his chances. Four years later, he tried again. In June 1962, after gruelling medical tests, Nasa announced its "New Nine". These would be the men to deliver on President Kennedy's pledge to put American boots on the Moon. It was the most elite group of flying men ever assembled. They included Neil Armstrong, John Young and, fulfilling his childhood dream, Jim Lovell. Getty Images Apollo 8 was Nasa's most dangerous mission yet Three years later he was ready. His first trip into space was aboard the two-man Gemini 7. Lovell and fellow astronaut Frank Borman ate a steak-and-eggs breakfast and blasted off. Their mission: to find out if men could survive two weeks in space. If not, the Moon was out of reach. With the endurance record complete, Lovell's next flight was in command of Gemini 12 alongside space rookie Buzz Aldrin. This time they proved that man could work outside a spacecraft. Aldrin clambered awkwardly into the void, spending five hours photographing star fields. Now for the Moon itself. The crew of Apollo 8 would be the first to travel beyond low Earth orbit and enter the gravitational pull of another celestial body. It was Nasa's most dangerous mission yet. 'Get the camera' The Saturn V rocket that shot Lovell, Borman and William Anders out of our atmosphere at 25,000mph (40,233km/h) was huge - three times larger than anything seen on the Gemini programme. As navigator, Lovell took with him a sextant to take star readings - in case the computers failed and they had to find their own way home. Sixty-eight hours after take-off, they made it. The engines fired and Apollo 8 slid silently behind the Moon. The men heard a crackle in their headsets as the radio signal to Mission Control faltered and then failed. The spellbound astronauts pinned themselves to the windows, the first humans to see the far side of our nearest celestial neighbour. And then, from over the advancing horizon, an incredible sight. "Earthrise," gasped Borman. "Get the camera, quick," said Lovell. Getty Images The image of Earth from Space captivated the World It was Christmas Eve 1968. America was mired in Vietnam abroad and civil unrest at home. But at that moment, it seemed that humanity was united. The people of the world saw their planet as the astronauts saw it - fragile and beautiful, shining in the desolation of space. Lovell read from the Book of Genesis, the basis of many of the world's great religions, to the people of the Earth. "And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. " For him, it was an image that changed our world forever. He put his thumb against the window and the whole world disappeared behind it. It was the most moving experience of his life. As the spacecraft re-emerged from the darkness, Lovell was first to announce the good news. "Please be advised," he said as the radio crackled back into life, "there is a Santa Claus. " At that very moment, 239,000 miles away, a man in a blue Rolls-Royce pulled up outside Lovell's house in Houston. He walked past the dozens of reporters camped outside and handed a box to Marilyn. She opened the star-patterned tissue paper and pulled out a mink jacket. "Happy Christmas," said the card that came with it, "and love from the Man in the Moon. " Getty Images President Lyndon B Johnson, like millions of others, sat glued to his television sets during the Apollo 8 mission They went up as astronauts and came down celebrities. The people of the Earth had followed their every move on TV. There were ticker tape parades, congressional honours and a place on the cover of Time Magazine. And they had not even set foot on the Moon. That honour went, of course, to Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. A year later, Kennedy's dream was posthumously seen to fruition. A small step was taken and mankind took its giant leap. The New Nine had done their job. 'Houston, we've had a problem' In April 1970, it was Jim Lovell's turn. Fortunately, the crew of Apollo 13 did not believe in unlucky numbers. Lovell, Jack Swigert and Fred Haise were men of science - highly trained and determined to follow Armstrong and Aldrin to the lunar surface. But things went badly wrong. They were 200,000 miles above the Earth and closing in on their target when they needed to stir tanks containing vital oxygen and hydrogen. Swigert flicked the switch. It should have been a routine procedure but the command module, Odyssey, shuddered. Oxygen pressure fell and power shut down. "I believe we've had a problem here," said Swigert. Lovell had to repeat the message to a stunned Mission Control: "Houston, we've had a problem. " It was one of the greatest understatements of all time. The crew were in big trouble - a dramatic explosion had disabled their craft. Getty Images Flight controllers at Nasa working out how to get the crippled Apollo 13 back to Earth. Haise and Lovell worked frantically to boot up the lunar module, Aquarius. It was not supposed to be used until they got to the Moon. It had no heat shield, so could not be used to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere. But it could keep them alive until they got there. The world stopped breathing and watched. For a second time, Jim Lovell had brought the world together as one. The first time it had been for Earthrise, the second would be to witness his fight to survive. “For four days," said Marilyn, "I didn’t know if I was a wife or a widow. " Temperatures fell to freezing, food and water were rationed. It was days before they limped back to the fringes of Earth's atmosphere. They climbed back aboard the Odyssey and prayed the heat shield had not been damaged. The radio silence that accompanies re-entry went on far longer than normal. Millions watched on TV, many convinced that all was lost. After six agonising minutes, Jack Swigert's voice cut through the silence. The team on the ground held its breath until the parachutes deployed and the crew was safely down. The mission was Nasa's greatest failure and, without question, its finest hour. Getty Images Jim Lovell, Fred Haise and Jack Swigert are rescued from the Pacific Ocean after their dramatic escape

Skeletons found in mass grave are ancient Roman soldiers, study finds Scientists believe the skeletons, which were found completely intact, belong to men who lived 1,700 years ago Now, researchers from several European archaeological institutions have been able to determine not only when the men lived, but also how they may have died. Mursa was conquered by the Romans during the first century BC and became a large settlement that was also an important centre for trade and craft. The male skeletons, all with various injuries, were found "completely preserved" during excavations in 2011 at the site of the Roman city of Mursa - modern-day Osijek - in Croatia's far east, a new research paper says. Scientists say seven skeletons found in a mass grave in Croatia were most likely Roman soldiers who lived 1,700 years ago. According to the paper, the men in the grave were aged between 36-50 years old, taller-than-average in height, and were "robust" individuals. Their diets were mainly vegetarian, but some had also indulged in a little meat and seafood. All showed various healed and un-healed injuries, including those caused by blunt force trauma, and there were puncture wounds on two of their torsos, which the scientists believe were likely caused by arrows or spear tips. All of the men were suffering from some kind of "pulmonary [affecting the lungs] disease during the final days of their lives". DNA analysis has also revealed the men had a mix of ancestry and that none appeared to be from the local area. The paper noted that the Roman Empire was a particularly violent era and that Mursa was involved in several conflicts. The researchers believe the men were likely victims of the 'Crisis of the Third Century', most probably the battle of Mursa from 260 CE, when there were "numerous battles fought between various claimants to the throne". The paper states that the pit the skeletons were found in would have originally been a water-well - several of which have been discovered in the area. It notes that mass burials and mass graves were "not a customary way of interring the dead in the Roman Empire", and were mostly used in extreme situations and mass casualty events. Given the various angles the skeletons now lie, the researchers say they were "most probably thrown in" the well before being covered with soil. Mursa has been of archaeological importance for years, with various ancient civilisation sites discovered in the area