Excitement and anticipation surrounds the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, U.S. This momentous endeavour would mark the first time that any civilian has been flown into space. On 28 January, 1986, school children and others watch eagerly on the ground and on television, as school teacher Christa McAuliffe prepares to become the first civilian to join the astronauts. At 11:38 AM, Space Shuttle Challenger lifts off, barrelling towards the atmosphere. However, a mere 73 seconds later, onlookers and the nation watch in horror when the shuttle is suddenly engulfed in flames and breaks apart in the sky. A full-scale enquiry of the crash is launched with NASA officials searching for clues to the shuttle's explosion, desperate to answer the most agonizing question: could this tragedy have been prevented?

The tranquillity of Montserrat, an island paradise in the Caribbean, is shattered in 1995 when the Soufriere Hills erupt for the first time in recorded history. The eruption takes the population of Montserrat by surprise. Scientists flock to the island and closely monitor the volcano over the next two years. Evacuations take place and an exclusion zone is mapped out. Then at 12:45pm on June 25th 1997 two years after the first eruption a massive tremor rocks the mountain. A plume of hot ash and steam soon spews into the air; reaching 45,000 feet in a matter of minutes and shrouding half the island in darkness. There follows 25 minutes of violent activity. When the ash finally settles many hours later, a scene of total devastation is revealed; many villages are buried and 19 people are dead. Many others are lucky to be alive. Montserrat is scandalised by the deaths and an investigation gets underway to discover how and why the deaths occurred.

Over two days in spring of 1996, 9 climbers died on the descent from Mount Everest. A fierce storm, hubris and ambition and a series of errors contributed to make this the deadliest day in the history of the mountain.

The 1972 Munich Olympics holds significant promise, offering a chance to showcase a new Germany to a post-WWII world. However, this hopeful beginning meets a tragic end on September 5 at just after 4:00 AM when Palestinian terrorists kill two Israeli athletes and capture 9 others. As police struggle to handle the crisis, the terrorists anticipate their every move. By 1:30 AM on 6 September, the fighting finally stops, and all of the athletes, five terrorists and one German police officer are dead. With the circumstances behind the police's actions shrouded in mystery, one athlete's wife vows to uncover the truth. An anonymous source begins sending her copies of a classified German report investigating the police protocol. With the help of a hostage crisis expert who analyzes more than 3,000 files, the pieces of the puzzle begin to fit together. Supplemented by expert testimony, eye-witness and family member interviews, this gripping one-hour recount answers the most critical questions: How did the terrorists break into the Olympic village; how did the police's rescue plot go so terribly wrong; and how could this have been prevented?

The summer of 2003 brought a devastating heatwave to France that shook the whole country. Using archive images and unpublished testimonies, we look back at how first responders fought day after day to mitigate its damage. The lessons learned are being applied today as the country and all of Europe face new risks from rising temperatures.

An in-depth look at how Italy's largest cruise ship ran aground off the Italian coast.

In March 2011, as Japan reels from the most powerful earthquake in its history, a 14 metre-high tsunami surges over the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, knocking out its power supply and essential cooling systems. With the plant blacked out, engineers face nuclear meltdown. The reactors begin to overheat leading to two huge explosions that tear the plant apart and dispersing radiation. As Japan faces the worst nuclear emergency since Chernobyl, an international nuclear expert will investigate exactly what happed at Fukushima and see what, if anything, could have been done to prevent it.

In this episode we learn how many ways there are to injure and humiliate yourself unicycling off-road, mounting a segway or arm-wrestling.

Quanzhou marked the end-point of the Maritime Silk Road. Goods, cultures and faiths melded here, and its fame spread as far as mediaeval Europe.

Fleets of unique ships brought Chinese people and goods from Quanzhou around the world, although the emperors nearly destroyed all maritime trade.

Yiwu- the world's largest small commodities market. In 2014, as part of China's Belt and Road Initiative, the city became home to a new freight train network to Europe. Today, it takes only 16 days to reach Madrid on the longest freight train route in the world as compared to over a year on the ancient silk road 2000 years ago. Historian Sam Willis teams up with journalist Li Qiuyuan to dig into Yiwu's trading past and explore how this modern-day rail link is changing how China trades with the west.

2000 years ago, in the time of the ancient Silk Road, the journey between China, Central Asia and Europe often took an entire year. Today, goods can be transported overland in just 14 days thanks to the world's longest rail service, a 13,000 KM route that connects China and Europe. Now, with ancient connections being revived for the 21st century, historian Sam Willis and journalist Li Qiuyuan travel to Chengdu, to explore how a new era of trade is shaping the city.

Embark on an adventure through incredible Guizhou, China with National Geographic explorer and photographer Ben Horton. Discover mystical wilderness, iconic attractions and hidden marvels in "Best of the World's Destinations - Guizhou." Where every moment and encounter is a story waiting to be told.

With all the emergency agencies involved in a simulated plane crash exercise, real problems place airport operations in jeopardy. Dangerous winds close 2 runways, followed by an electrical outage that blanks flight information boards. The worst case scenario becomes a real prospect when the alarm is raised from an explosion inside a passenger terminal.

Fresh from nine months training at the Border Force Academy, Labrador Warner faces his first day on the job as a drug sniffer. Security managers test their screening teams by trying to smuggle a fake bomb past them. Annie faces her moment of truth. Will she pass the test and become a qualified Screening Officer?

Federico Fanti travels to the United Kingdom, the birthplace of paleontology, to explore its origins and the site of the first dinosaur discovery.

Federico Fanti is in Canada to discover the "dinosaur mummies". We discover skeletons, fossilized skin and, above all, a perfectly mummified fossil.

Before humans ruled the world, planet Earth was a land of giants. But of all the beasts that ever lived…which is the biggest? Now experts take us on a journey to uncover the top ten largest of their kind. From bugs the size of hawks, to snakes the size of buses, to sharks that could bite a truck in half, we count down from ten. We investigate the latest discoveries, explore remote sites and follow the science behind the mind-blowing size of these creatures. And using photo-real CGI and dramatic demonstrations we reveal the true scale and awesome abilities of these creatures.

Today, all that's left of the dinosaurs are fossilized bones. But using modern technology we can now go beyond the bones, using fossils to answer 5 eye-opening questions about dinosaur appearance, behavior and lifestyle.

How did prehistoric land mammals evolve into top ocean predators? This episode examines a unique dig site in Egypt that could help solve the mystery.

How did the legendary giant megalodon shark take over the oceans? This episode explores a unique dig site to investigate the mystery.

Executive Produced by James Cameron, "Atlantis Discovered" is a 1x120 detective thriller that seeks out, uncovers and explores artifacts such as archaeological finds, satellite photographs, manuscripts hiding in plain sight, underwater exploration, etc. and attempt to "decode" the artifacts as springboards to further the investigation to get to the bottom of the story.

The deadly volcanic eruption that buried Pompeii in AD79 also claimed another victim: Herculaneum. Positioned closer to the Vesuvius crater, this seaside town was covered in ash five times as thick as Pompeii, yet miraculously is even better preserved. Now, the discovery of an intact skeleton here, the first excavated in 25 years, helps investigators piece together the final hours of Herculaneum and unravel why Vesuvius stuck so violently here.

The Acropolis: Ancient Greece's most magnificent architectural work, perched on top of a rocky hill in Athens was built around 2000 years ago. Thanks to aerial footage, field investigation from the world's leading experts and 3D reconstructions, travel back in time and unravel the secrets of the construction of the Acropolis.

An investigative journey set in the heart of the Aegean Sea. A team of archaeologists unveil what may be the world's oldest maritime sanctuary.

Throughout human history, architecture has served to showcase power and express meaning. But buildings also keep secrets. By accident, and by design, whole cities were written in invisible ink, kept safe from the prying eyes of outsiders. This program explores why ancient people riddled their most impressive creations with secrets, and how modern scientists are learning to uncover them.

In the heart of the Jordanian desert, the ancient city of Petra is full of mysteries. How was this architectural prowess achieved more than 2,000 years ago?

Executive Produced by James Cameron, "Atlantis Discovered" is a 1x120 detective thriller that seeks out, uncovers and explores artifacts such as archaeological finds, satellite photographs, manuscripts hiding in plain sight, underwater exploration, etc. and attempt to "decode" the artifacts as springboards to further the investigation to get to the bottom of the story.

How did the Tasmanian Tiger become extinct? This episode explores a unique dig site in Australia that could help solve the mystery.

How did the legendary giant megalodon shark take over the oceans? This episode explores a unique dig site to investigate the mystery.

How did the Tasmanian Tiger become extinct? This episode explores a unique dig site in Australia that could help solve the mystery.

At JFK, CBP discovers a passenger smuggling thousands of dangerous stimulant pills. In Miami, officers uncover a cache of illegal weapons headed outbound. When COVID-19 hits, CBP responds to the latest smuggling trends. In Nogales, AZ, officers make the largest meth seizure in the port's history. At Newark Seaport, CBP examines a shipment of potential narcotics arriving onboard a large vessel.

HSI tails a truck loaded with narcotics to a meth compound near Los Angeles, and CBP discovers fentanyl and meth in cars using trusted traveler lanes.

124 million people enter the U.S. through our nation's airports each year. It's a nonstop human tidal wave and hid amongst them are an endless stream of contraband. Defending our borders are the vigilant people of the Department of Homeland Security, whose agencies make up a three-tiered defense of American airports. Using every tool available to them, DHS will stop at nothing to catch a smuggler.

CBP Atlanta discovers a suitcase left in the airport by its owner, which contains cocaine concealed in coffee bags. Suspecting a trend, officers begin blitzing flights from the source country and make a second arrest. CBP Miami investigates a series of wildlife trafficking crimes, including an elderly man suspected of smuggling birds to the US in his pants; and a shipment of more than 1400 turtle shell fragments that were forcibly removed from an endangered species. HSI New York arrests a suspected cocaine smuggler who works at JFK and uncovers information that takes-down an entire drug-trafficking ring.

At JFK, CBP discovers a passenger smuggling thousands of dangerous stimulant pills. In Miami, officers uncover a cache of illegal weapons headed outbound. When COVID-19 hits, CBP responds to the latest smuggling trends. In Nogales, AZ, officers make the largest meth seizure in the port's history. At Newark Seaport, CBP examines a shipment of potential narcotics arriving onboard a large vessel.

HSI tails a truck loaded with narcotics to a meth compound near Los Angeles, and CBP discovers fentanyl and meth in cars using trusted traveler lanes.

124 million people enter the U.S. through our nation's airports each year. It's a nonstop human tidal wave and hid amongst them are an endless stream of contraband. Defending our borders are the vigilant people of the Department of Homeland Security, whose agencies make up a three-tiered defense of American airports. Using every tool available to them, DHS will stop at nothing to catch a smuggler.

Prescription drugs cost more in the US than anywhere in the world. That's why nearly 20 million Americans are turning to the black market for their meds and why criminals are eager to cash in on the rising demand. In this episode, Mariana heads to Mexico and India to meet some of the underworld opportunists risking the lives of vulnerable patients.

Mariana heads to the Congo to investigate the illegal trade in wild apes that have them on the brink of extinction. She'll follow the supply chain from the poachers to the middlemen and ultimately to the buyers, many in the Middle East, who use these apes as pets and in sideshow attractions. She'll also spend time with Congolese activists who are fighting to protect apes from extinction.

In this episode we learn how many ways there are to injure and humiliate yourself dipping your dance partner, jumping in the snow and bottle flipping.

Mel deals with an angry family who have missed their connecting flight. Leigh and Andy work against the clock to replace and test the igniter plug in a GE90 engine. Myles is facing his biggest test yet as the atrium of Concourse D is filled with smoke for a fire trial. Leigh is kept busy with another important repair to a 777, a blocked toilet. Gemma deals with one of the tightest turnarounds at the airport and it has arrived late, leaving her 60 minutes to unload a 777 full of cargo and baggage, including 20 tons for flowers for Valentines Day.

Ultimate Airport Dubai 3 has unprecedented access to the world's busiest airport for international passengers, the home of Emirates, one of the world's largest airlines. The series will go behind the scenes to follow some of the 90,000 staff responsible for over 70 million passengers on 350,000 flights a year, 24 hours a day.

Sydney Airport is a city within a city, with thousands of crew keeping operations flowing. The work never slows, from changing a wind sock, painting a runway at midnight, repairing a stuck airbridge before the plane arrives, saving a maintenance worker from a stuck elevator, or putting out a potentially catastrophic fire that traps hundreds of passengers on a recently arrived flight.

With the Prime Minister of Singapore due to arrive, Security at the airport is on high alert. A passenger is detected in possession of a dangerous weapon. Meanwhile the search is on for a woman reported to have collapsed on the street. Duty Manager Mel is excited to learn that hell escort his favourite Pop Artist when they arrive at Sydney Airport.

In the 9th century the Maya civilisation began to disappear. This "collapse" is hotly debated. New discoveries offer a different view. In Mexico the discovery of the lost Kingdom of Sak Tz'i reveals that the Maya did not entirely disappear, and at the city of Chichen Itza a ritual human sacrifice in an underwater cave shows that even through environmental disaster the city thrived.

Archaeologists investigate Egypt's legendary pharaoh, and history's warrior king, Alexander the Great. In Saqqara, we find out how he became pharaoh and won the battle for Egyptian hearts and minds. At Philadelphia, the team uncover a unique catacomb that reveals the legacy of Alexander's reign. And at Taposiris Magna, archaeologists make a stunning discovery at a grand temple-tomb.

The pyramids are Egypt's most iconic monuments, but we still don't fully understand how they evolved. Now archaeologists launch new investigations. They unearth the pyramid builders' lost fleet inside a mysterious cave system near the Red Sea. They use high-tech laser scanning to find the first true pyramid and uncover the world's oldest industrial-scale brewery which made the pyramids possible.

Archaeologists investigate one of the great mysteries of ancient Egypt - the mummy. At the ancient city of Philadelphia, Egyptologists uncover a stunningly preserved mummy dating from the end of Egyptian civilisation. And experts hunt for clues to how the most famous and best-preserved mummies of all - the Royal mummies - survived in such good condition for over 4000 years.

Archaeologists investigate the legacy of the Giza pyramids and the mysterious pyramids that followed. They hunt for the elusive owner of a colossal burial shaft cutting through the ancient pyramid field of Abusir. They investigate a lavish elite tomb next to pharaoh Djedkare's pyramid at Saqqara and excavate the long-lost tomb of pharaoh Sahure - Egypt's only pyramid tomb yet to be explored.

A German town is shocked when mutilated beyond recognition human remains are unearthed. The stabbed, beaten, and decapitated body is found with its head three meters from the rest of the remains. As archeologists investigate further, they uncover and dispel stories of revenants, and instead reveal pieces of human history and proof of ancient human sacrifice.

January 17th, 2008. Approaching the end of its ten-and a half hour journey from Beijing, British Airways Flight #38 is preparing to land in Heathrow. But just as the first officer takes over the controls, and only two minutes before it touches down, the aircraft is inexplicably crippled by double engine failure. Quickly falling out of the sky and with just seconds to react, the captain raises the plane's flaps to reduce drag. And while the plane narrowly misses the buildings and radio antennas in its path, it crashes just short of the runway, ripping off the engines and landing gear. Incredibly, all 152 people on board survive. But can investigators determine what brought down one of the world's most sophisticated jetliners?

En route from Washington, D.C. to Columbus, Ohio, United Express Flight 6291 is on its final approach when the high-performance twin turboprop crashes just a mile from the runway. Three survivors emerge from the inferno, but the disaster claims the lives of the three crewmembers and the other two passengers on board. The charred remains leave little for investigators to work with. That is, until the cockpit voice recorder reveals the smoking gun.

En route from Amsterdam to Cardiff, Wales, the crew of KLM Cityhopper Flight 433 report an engine problem and head back to the airport. But just as they're about to touch down, the dual turboprop banks sharply to the right, the wing grazes the ground, and the aircraft crashes and breaks apart on a field next to the runway. Of the 24 people on board, two passengers and the captain are dead. And when investigators from the Dutch Safety Board pore over the evidence, they determine that a minor circuitry problem sparked a cascading series of fatal errors.

Howard Carter's discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922 made headlines across the world sparking a global frenzy for Ancient Egypt. But over the decades since the find, many of the pharaoh's priceless grave goods have disappeared into museum basements and archives across Egypt. Now all 5,398 objects are being reunited for the first time since their discovery at the new Grand Egyptian Museum. Many have never been seen before but together they shed new light on the short, eventful life of the so-called "Boy King" and are now helping experts realise the sheer scale of Tutankhamun's influence in the ancient world.

Archaeologist Pepi Papakosta is on a mission to find Alexander the Great's lost tomb. Excavating in a public garden in the center of the city he founded 2300 years ago, Alexandria, Egypt, she has discovered a rare, marble statue of Alexander, Greek treasures, and secret tunnels. But Pepi's biggest find is an extraordinary discovery even she was not expecting.

Inside the ancient Egyptian necropolis of Saqqara, Dr Ramadan Hussein and his team work to uncover a unique tomb complex. Ramadan is intrigued by a wall at the bottom of the 100 foot shaft. A hunch tells him it could be a hidden burial chamber. What secrets could it hold? The team have to work fast to remove the unstable rock, but their risky search leads them to one of the biggest discoveries of the dig so far.

In the very deepest level of the tomb complex, Dr Ramadan Hussein and his team discover two priests buried side by side. Their investigation is a rollercoaster ride filled with glittering riches, wealthy priests and the worship of a long lost serpent goddess. But something doesn't quite add up. Only the latest technology will reveal whether these priests are exactly what - or who - they seem.

In the newly discovered tomb complex at Saqqara, one burial chamber stands out. It holds a single, stone sarcophagus while the rest are packed with mummies. Dr Ramadan Hussein and his team face their biggest challenge yet as they battle to lift the 5 ton lid and reveal the mummy within. Using forensic investigation techniques and the latest technology, what secrets can they discover about the tomb's 2600-year old owner?

Archaeology is like detective work, and never more so when you discover a 12 tonne sarcophagus with its seal broken, and a lid that isn't flush with the base. From the gaps in the mortar, Dr Ramadan Hussein has a hunch that the lid was removed and replaced in antiquity. But why? Ramadan and his team investigate the evidence at this potential crime scene to discover what - or who - remains inside.

A German town is shocked when mutilated beyond recognition human remains are unearthed. The stabbed, beaten, and decapitated body is found with its head three meters from the rest of the remains. As archeologists investigate further, they uncover and dispel stories of revenants, and instead reveal pieces of human history and proof of ancient human sacrifice.

An archeologist makes the 22,000-foot journey to the peak of an Argentinian mountain near an active volcano and discovers tiny bundles hidden in the earth. These are the remains of children, perfectly preserved as though they are asleep. Who are these children and how did they perish so far away from home?

A German town is shocked when mutilated beyond recognition human remains are unearthed. The stabbed, beaten, and decapitated body is found with its head three meters from the rest of the remains. As archeologists investigate further, they uncover and dispel stories of revenants, and instead reveal pieces of human history and proof of ancient human sacrifice.

An archeologist makes the 22,000-foot journey to the peak of an Argentinian mountain near an active volcano and discovers tiny bundles hidden in the earth. These are the remains of children, perfectly preserved as though they are asleep. Who are these children and how did they perish so far away from home?

In the 9th century the Maya civilisation began to disappear. This "collapse" is hotly debated. New discoveries offer a different view. In Mexico the discovery of the lost Kingdom of Sak Tz'i reveals that the Maya did not entirely disappear, and at the city of Chichen Itza a ritual human sacrifice in an underwater cave shows that even through environmental disaster the city thrived.

The China Seas - the site of the largest naval battles in history, a 700-year-old mystery and technological wonders, both ancient and modern. State-of-the-art sonar technology is combined with the latest CGI to reveal the biggest battleship ever put to sea, an ancient wonder weapon and the underwater threat that could destroy the World Wide Web in an instant.