The history of space science - with Maggie Aderin-Pocock

Join our 2025 Christmas Lecturer, in her Discourse for adults, as she talks about her personal journey into space science, along with the history of the topic. The 2025 CHRISTMAS LECTURES from the Royal Institution will be broadcast on the BBC and iPlayer on the 28, 29 and 30 December, and Premiered on our YouTube channel on 28 December 19:00 GMT. Watch the Q&A for this talk here (exclusively for our Science Supporter members): https://youtu.be/lrwphlw3mP0 This Discourse was recorded at the Ri on 28 November 2025, with thanks to CGI for their support. Join us in the Ri Theatre to hear from our eagerly awaited 2025 Christmas Lecturer, who will deliver our prestigious annual November Discourse, which always takes place before the recording and broadcast of the Christmas Lectures on the BBC. --- The 2025 CHRISTMAS LECTURES from the Royal Institution will be broadcast on the BBC and iPlayer on the 28, 29 and 30 December, and Premiered on our YouTube channel on 28 December 19:00 GMT. Tune in to join space scientist, educator and BBC Sky at Night presenter Dame Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock as she explores the extraordinary breakthroughs that have revolutionised our understanding of the universe. Find out more at http://www.rigb.org/christmas-lectures --- Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYeF244yNGuFefuFKqxIAXw/join Subscribe for regular science videos: http://bit.ly/RiSubscRibe --- Dame Dr Margaret Aderin is a British space scientist and science educator. She is an honorary research associate of University College London's Department of Physics and Astronomy, and has been the chancellor of the University of Leicester since 1 March 2023. Since February 2014, she has co-presented the long-running astronomy television programme The Sky at Night with Chris Lintott. In 2020 she was awarded the Institute of Physics William Thomson, Lord Kelvin Medal and Prize for her public engagement in physics. She is the first black woman to win a gold medal in the Physics News Award and she served as the president of the British Science Association from 2021 to 2022. She is the 2025 Royal Institution Christmas Lecturer. --- The Ri is on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ri_science and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/royalinstitution and TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ri_science Listen to the Ri podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ri-science-podcast Donate to the RI and help us bring you more lectures: https://www.rigb.org/support-us/donate-ri Our editorial policy: https://www.rigb.org/editing-ri-talks-and-moderating-comments Subscribe for the latest science videos: http://bit.ly/RiNewsletter Product links on this page may be affiliate links which means it won't cost you any extra but we may earn a small commission if you decide to purchase through the link. #christmaslectures #spacescience #spaceexploration