Passengers can now select between informative and relaxing ESA channels on Lufthansa flights. ESA’s new relaxation channel features Our Colourful Planet, a collage of spectacular Earth images set to meditative music.

Beginning this month, ESA’s expanded onboard entertainment is a flowing presentation of Earth images from its Envisat satellite. The film, which had its debut performance on the new Airbus A380, is offered on all Lufthansa intercontinental flights.

Launched in 2001, Envisat is the largest Earth observation satellite ever built and transmits 280 gigabytes of data every day.

Some of Envisat’s best images are portrayed in this unique film. Our Colourful Planet shows Earth with its rich landscapes, oceans and coastlines. Human-made landmarks such as the Palm Islands off the coast of Dubai or brightly lit cities like Paris are viewed from the perspective of space.

Space for Europe, ESA’s documentary channel, has been flying since 2009 and is now presenting features on the Mars500 simulated mission to the Red Planet, ESA’s control centre and Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.

The newest feature, produced in cooperation with Euronews, covers the ambitious Mars500 study.

The simulated 520-day mission to Mars began on 3 June when an international team was sealed in an isolation facility in Moscow. The team of six lives and works essentially like astronauts carrying out scientific experiments and daily fitness training.

From human spaceflight to satellite control – how does it work? Part 2 of Space for Europe hears from experts at ESA’s control centre in Darmstadt, Germany. They explain how probes to Mars and Venus, and Earth satellites such as Envisat, are launched into space and kept on track.

A third film segment introduces Europe’s Spaceport, home of the Ariane rockets.

The fact that scientific data and images from satellites also have specific applications on Earth is demonstrated in two final short ESA documentaries: Satellites at the Service of Reindeer and Business Made in Space, about ESA start-up incubators in Europe.

This cooperation with Lufthansa proves that aviation and spaceflight can inspire each other. Both wish you an entertaining time on board!