Britain's first astronaut is one of the out of this world headliners who will set a course for Norwich when the city plays host to a celebration of science.

Eastern Daily Press: Astronaut Helen Sharman. Pic: Submitted.Astronaut Helen Sharman. Pic: Submitted. (Image: Archant)

Pioneer Helen Sharman, OBE, who became the first Briton in space when she flew to the Mir space station in 1991, is among the first wave of headline acts announced for Norwich Science Festival 2017.

Eastern Daily Press: The Physics event at the Norwich Science Festival at the Forum. Dr Ken's Circus Science Show. Picture: DENISE BRADLEYThe Physics event at the Norwich Science Festival at the Forum. Dr Ken's Circus Science Show. Picture: DENISE BRADLEY (Image: Archant)

The festival, which runs from October 21 to 29, will feature nine days of celebrity talks, shows and exhibitions, hands-on family fun, cutting-edge research and science activities for all ages.

Eastern Daily Press: The Physics event at the Norwich Science Festival at the Forum. Vince Chung, three, with one of the mechanical toys. Picture: DENISE BRADLEYThe Physics event at the Norwich Science Festival at the Forum. Vince Chung, three, with one of the mechanical toys. Picture: DENISE BRADLEY (Image: Archant)

Dr Sharman, who beat 13,000 applicants to win a place on the mission, will talk about her time in space, including the meticulous training at Star City, the launch and landing, how it feels to be weightless, the science experiments she carried out and how she adjusted to life back on Earth.

Eastern Daily Press: Norwich Science Festival logo 2017.Norwich Science Festival logo 2017. (Image: Archant)

Other headline events include So you Think you Know about Dinosaurs?! where scientist Ben Garrod, who presented the BBC TV show Attenborough and the Giant Dinosaur, will reveal the answers to questions such as whether dinosaurs ate their own families, why Allasaurus head-butted its prey to death and whether every Tyrannosaur really was a fearsome carnivore.

Professor Alice Roberts will discuss how man has tamed wildness, using archaeology, history and genetics to reveal the stories of species, such as dogs, cattle and horses, which became our allies.

Norfolk's own Mark Thompson, people's astronomer and patron of the festival, will present his Spectacular Science Show and also host Spaceship Earth, looking at the uniqueness of our planet.

Natalie Bailey, Norwich Science Festival producer, said: 'These shows give a flavour of the huge array of events happening as part of the festival.

'We're particularly pleased to be hosting a rare event with Britain's first astronaut, Helen Sharman, in the atmospheric setting of Norwich Cathedral.'

Norwich Science Festival is co-ordinated by The Forum, with headline sponsorship from Anglian Water and takes place in multiple venues across Norwich.

The first wave of events are bookable via norwichsciencefestival.co.uk. The brochure and rest of the festival events will be available on August 21.