Katana VentraIP

Space exploration

Space exploration is the use of astronomy and space technology to explore outer space.[1] While the exploration of space is currently carried out mainly by astronomers with telescopes, its physical exploration is conducted both by uncrewed robotic space probes and human spaceflight. Space exploration, like its classical form astronomy, is one of the main sources for space science.

"Space Exploration" redirects here. For the company, see SpaceX.

While the observation of objects in space, known as astronomy, predates reliable recorded history, it was the development of large and relatively efficient rockets during the mid-twentieth century that allowed physical space exploration to become a reality. Common rationales for exploring space include advancing scientific research, national prestige, uniting different nations, ensuring the future survival of humanity, and developing military and strategic advantages against other countries.[2]


The early era of space exploration was driven by a "Space Race" between the Soviet Union and the United States. A driving force of the start of space exploration was during the Cold War. After the ability to create nuclear weapons, the narrative of defense/offense left land and the power to control the air became the focus. Both the Soviet and the U.S. were fighting to prove their superiority in technology through exploring the unknown: space. In fact, the reason NASA was made was due to the response of Sputnik I.[3] The launch of the first human-made object to orbit Earth, the Soviet Union's Sputnik 1, on 4 October 1957, and the first Moon landing by the American Apollo 11 mission on 20 July 1969 are often taken as landmarks for this initial period. The Soviet space program achieved many of the first milestones, including the first living being in orbit in 1957, the first human spaceflight (Yuri Gagarin aboard Vostok 1) in 1961, the first spacewalk (by Alexei Leonov) on 18 March 1965, the first automatic landing on another celestial body in 1966, and the launch of the first space station (Salyut 1) in 1971. After the first 20 years of exploration, focus shifted from one-off flights to renewable hardware, such as the Space Shuttle program, and from competition to cooperation as with the International Space Station (ISS).


With the substantial completion of the ISS[4] following STS-133 in March 2011, plans for space exploration by the U.S. remained in flux. The Constellation program aiming for a return to the Moon by 2020[5] was judged unrealistic by an expert review panel reporting in 2009.[6] Constellation ultimately was replaced with the Artemis Program, of which the first mission occurred in 2022, with a planned crewed landing to occur with Artemis 3.[7]


In the 2000s, China initiated a successful crewed spaceflight program while India launched the Chandrayaan programme, while the European Union and Japan have also planned future crewed space missions. The two primary global programs gaining traction in the 2020s are the Chinese-led International Lunar Research Station and the US-led Artemis Program, with its plan to build the Lunar Gateway and the Artemis Base Camp, each having its own set of international partners.

agencies limiting women to half as much time in space than men, arguing that there may be unresearched additional risks for cancer.

[95]

a lack of space suits sized appropriately for female astronauts.

[96]

Discovery and exploration of the Solar System

Spacecraft propulsion

List of crewed spacecraft

List of missions to Mars

List of missions to the outer planets

List of landings on extraterrestrial bodies

List of spaceflight records

Archived 22 May 2019 at the Wayback Machine

Building a Spacefaring Civilization

Archived 29 September 2020 at the Wayback Machine

Chronology of space exploration, astrobiology, exoplanets and news

Space related news

Space Exploration Network

NASA's website on human space travel

NASA's website on space exploration technology

"America's Space Program: Exploring a New Frontier", a National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plan

The Soviet-Russian Spaceflight's History Photoarchive

Archived 27 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine – slideshow by Life Magazine

The 21 Greatest Space Photos Ever

"", extensive educational web site and course covering spaceflight, astronomy and related physics

From Stargazers to Starships

NASA Promotional Video (Press Release)

We Are The Explorers

Recent Advancement in Space technology and satellite technology 2024