There is a lot of space in space — 99.99999999% a total unknown to us.

For a long time, looking outward towards this infinite expanse, we have been fascinated with what it holds. The Universe has always been the greatest source of the unknown. Getting to know it helps us not only to understand the mechanisms that govern it but also, and above all, to improve our lives on earth.

Today, commercial space travel makes tangible the dream of departing from our blue planet into the Milky Way to discover space from a perspective that is certainly more reassuring than when Sputnik first ventured out into extraterrestrial orbit.

In this video, the European Space Agency (ESA) guides us through the thirteen things we need to know to pack our bags and set off on our discovery of the Universe!