The Columbus laboratory is the first permanent European research facility in space. There, astronauts carry out experiments and applications in space science, Earth observation and technology. Columbus offers European scientists full access to a weightless environment that cannot possibly be duplicated on Earth.

What is light? We use it every day, but where does it actually come from? The host suggests doing a little experiment. See if you can follow the instructions in Italian and try it yourself.

Luisella Giulicchi, manager of the European Space Agency ESA, answers questions about light, infrared rays, and lightyears.

Luisella Giulicchi, the system manager for the ESA Copernicus Sentinel six mission, explains what an exoplanet is. Two young researchers do a simple experiment to show us how infrared rays work.

One way to tell if there might be life on another planet is through light. Special telescopes, by way of prisms, analyze and break down the light from distant galaxies into parts. Luca Parmitano, an astronaut of the European Space Agency, speaks to us from the Columbus International Space Station.

To reach outer space, the force of gravity has to be overcome, and that requires a certain "escape" velocity. That's where launchers come in.

Observing what happens when the air comes out of a balloon will help us understand how the launcher of a spacecraft works. An electrical propulsion engineer from ESA explains about different kinds of propulsion used in space exploration.

A simple experiment with a bicycle pump shows us how rocket launchers work. Even though rockets were invented for war and for fireworks, they are also used for peaceful purposes.

Astronaut Luca Parmitano talks to us from the Columbus European Space Laboratory. He explains why tadpoles can help us learn a lot about the weightless conditions of outer space.

This segment is all about so-called "Near-Earth Objects," called "NEOs" for short. They are comets, asteroids, metors and man-made objects, as well. What have they done in the past, and what might they do in the future?

This segment talks about the difference between an asteroid and a comet. Important work is being done with the Hera and Dart missions to study how to deviate an asteroid, thus avoiding possible great damage to our beloved planet

In August of 2014, the European Space Agency Rosetta probe reached the comet 67/P. This mission allowed for the collection of a great deal of data about comets. In fact, in this episode, a comet will be fashioned out of fairly common ingredients in a normal kitchen. That's pretty exciting.

Falling in love doesn't follow scientific rules. Silvana and Luciano tell us about how they met and their plans, now that they are of a certain age.

The people who run a seaside restaurant in the province of Marsala describe the place as a little corner of paradise with its pure, curative water and sand, and meals served directly in the water. They are used to speaking Sicilian most of the time, so speaking correct Italian is a challenge. But their love for the place, and their typically Sicilian warmth towards visitors come through.

Benedetto shows us his beautifully landscaped vacation rental property in the Province of Marsala.