Physicists would love to develop a way of unifying the forces of nature (electromagnetism, gravity and so on) to produce a Theory of Everything.

ECONOMIST: Particle accelerators

Dr Ralph Cordey, who is EADS Astrium's head of exploration and business, told BBC News that the concept of a gravity tug was actually first mooted by two Nasa astronauts, Edward Lu and Stanley Love, a few years ago.

BBC: British plan to tackle asteroids

And for those who know the tale, this gravity-defying, wondrous landscape retains a sense of bittersweet beauty, a faultless paradise somehow infused with lost love.

BBC: The perfect trip: Thailand