A Brief History of Space Exploration and Its Impact
Mankind’s Dream of Space
Mankind has dreamed about space since antiquity. Throughout history, many civilizations have tried to create machines for spaceflight, but the Chinese, centuries ago, used rockets for military and ceremonial purposes.
The Dawn of Rocket Science
As often happens in science, three different countries (the US, USSR, and Germany) simultaneously developed rocket designs. Fast forward to the mid-1900s, that development improved quickly, and rockets became powerful enough to overcome the force of gravity to reach orbital velocities. This marked the beginning of space exploration.
The Space Race
After World War II, the challenge of flying to space became a dramatic area of competition between the US and USSR, where each wanted to prove the superiority of its technology, its military firepower, and its political and economic system. This is known as the Space Race.
Early Soviet Successes
In the early stages, the Soviets were winning the race, as they were the first to launch a man into Earth orbit. With the Russians accomplishing the milestone of sending a man into space, the US made it their mission to send a man to the Moon and return him safely. This was achieved in 1969 with astronaut Neil Armstrong.
The Boom in Space Technologies
The world of space technologies saw a booming interest and investment. This enabled many more missions to explore space. Since that moment, many technologies have been developed to explore more and more of space.
The Human Cost
However, early space exploration didn’t always bring great news. Unfortunately, many lives were lost to arrive at the point where we are today.
The Benefits of Space Activities
There is no denying the fact that space activities have a positive and beneficial impact on everybody’s life and society, and thus help people to understand that despite the high costs of space activities, there is a significant return to the community in terms of scientific and technological knowledge.
Technological Advancements
Space activities stimulate the development of new technologies and, although they are expensive, space has contributed significantly to humankind. The advancement of its technologies has done a great deal for us on Earth, beginning with the first images of our planet taken by astronauts, which have made us realize how small Earth is compared to the Solar System. Space exploration has provided:
- Communication and education services in remote areas
- Information and entertainment
- New materials to improve the resistance and durability of structures
- Meteorological data
- Enhanced medical instruments
Future Goals and the Search for Life
There are still many existing goals, but steps and advancements are small because of the complexity and the immensity of the Universe. In a couple of decades, we could be able to have unlimited solar energy, or we could become tourists in Earth orbit or on the Moon.
Another important point is the constant research for life in other parts of the Universe. It would be very interesting to be able to answer questions like whether we are alone in the Universe, or unique, or if aliens exist in the same way and form as we imagine them… But for the purposes of such exploration, we really need to improve the technologies, and this may take years or centuries to achieve. The fact is that space activities will always have an important impact on society and humanity.