Space exploration is the activity of humans and machines traveling beyond Earth, including the Moon and other planets. It was first triggered by early humans’ wonder at the stars (see astronomy). Once a realistic picture of our solar system and universe evolved, the desire to travel beyond it became more urgent. This drove the earliest explorers to cross oceans, climb mountains, and explore other continents and countries. It also propelled them to fly into the air, ply the seas, and soar into the heavens.
In the modern age, space exploration has come to include satellites, probes, and manned missions to orbit and land on other celestial bodies. Since 1957 when the Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, thousands of spacecraft have been launched to perform a wide variety of tasks. Despite the wide variety of purposes, spacecraft operate in accordance with common physical laws.
Some of the most important discoveries about our Earth and our solar system have been made by spacecraft, which have gathered data in cislunar, interplanetary, and even intergalactic space. Other important findings have been made by observatories in outer space. The hole in the ozone layer was discovered by an artificial satellite, and archeological sites on Mars and Venus have been identified by spacecraft.
The next step in human spaceflight will be to establish permanent bases in the solar system, which is often called “space colonization”. The US is recruiting signees for its Artemis Accords to lay out a vision for exploration while China collects partners for its own lunar program. Private spaceflight companies such as SpaceX and Blue Origin, are also reshaping the landscape by making it possible to launch rockets and build space stations at much lower cost.
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