Abstract The real time process algebra of Baeten and Bergstra [ Formal Aspects of Computing , 3 , 142–188 (1991)] is extended to real space by requiring the presence of spatial coordinates for each atomic action, in addition to the required temporal attribute. It is found that asynchronous communication cannot easily be avoided. Based on the state operators of Baeten and Bergstra [ Information and Computation , 78 , 205–245 (1988)] and following Bergstra et al. [ Proc. Seminar on Concurrency , LNCS 197, Springer, 1985, pp. 76–95], asychronous communication mechanisms are introduced as an additional feature of real space process algebra. The overall emphasis is on the introductory explanation of the features of real space process algebra, and characteristic examples are given for each of these.