One hundred and seventy years before Envisat left Kourou. another journey began a journey that changed the way people think about life on Earth. On 31 December 1831, HMS Beagle left England on a five year journey to South America and the Pacific. On the Beagle was a young Englishman called Charles Darwin. Darwin was a clever young man from a rich English family. At first he studied to be a doctor, but then decided that he wanted to work for the church. He was also very interested in plants and animals, so when they asked him to travel on the Beagle, he said yes but he didn't get any money for his work on the ship. The Beagle spent five years travelling