Charles Darwin's ideas speak to the essence of what it is to be human. Different cultures have absorbed and expressed this in different ways. His impact on science and culture is reflected in the array of exhibitions, events and books planned for 2009, in celebration of the bicentenary of his birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his seminal work, On the Origin of Species. A profound experience in Darwin's life was his five-year voyage across the southern oceans aboard the survey ship HMS Beagle. In 2009, a lucky few will be given the chance to retrace Darwin's steps. A modernized replica of the ship will carry a crew of scientists, teachers and students along the route of the 1831-36 voyage. Their experiments will be beamed to classrooms worldwide. Watching from space, astronauts aboard the International Space Station will help the crew to investigate the biology of plankton blooms, coral reefs and other ocean-surface and terrestrial ecosystems.
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