Since NASA's first space shuttle, Columbia, rocketed into orbit on April 12th 1981, space shuttles have become the main way humans have explored space.

Europeans also have their own romantic ideas about landing on the moon. In the British feature length animation of the "Wallace and Gromit" series, "A Grand Day Out" the animated duo run out of cheese. This provides an excellent excuse for them to take a trip to the moon, where, as everyone knows, there is plenty of cheese. The film won much critical and viewer acclaim and was nominated for an Oscar.

Since NASA's first space shuttle, Columbia, rocketed into orbit on April 12th 1981, space shuttles have become the main way humans have explored space. In 1998, 77-year-old ex-astronaut John Glenn returned the space. The movie "Space Cowboys" is based on his inspiring story. The film recounts the tale of four elderly ex-astronauts who are sent into space to repair an old Soviet satellite.

More screen space travel stories will be featured in our next weekend edition of "Spotlight".

(CCTV October 6, 2008)