Age of Space Exploration

The sky calls to us. If we do not destroy ourselves, we will one day venture to the stars. — Carl Sagan

Space exploration began in the 1950s when the Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, into orbit around Earth. This achievement marked the beginning of the Space Race between the Soviet Union and the United States, which continued throughout the 1960s.

In 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first human to journey into space, orbiting Earth aboard the Vostok 1 spacecraft. This remarkable feat was followed in 1969 by the United States' Apollo 11 mission, which saw Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin become the first humans to walk on the Moon.

The Apollo program was a remarkable achievement, demonstrating the incredible technical capabilities of the United States and inspiring a generation of scientists and engineers. However, the program was also incredibly expensive, and following the Apollo 17 mission in 1972, funding for manned missions to space was significantly reduced.

Despite this setback, space exploration continued, with robotic missions becoming increasingly sophisticated and capable. The 1970s saw the launch of several successful unmanned missions to other planets, including the Viking missions to Mars and the Voyager missions to Jupiter and Saturn.

In the 1980s and 1990s, the Soviet Union and the United States collaborated on several space projects, including the Shuttle-Mir program, which saw American astronauts working aboard the Russian Mir space station. In 1998, the first components of the International Space Station were launched, marking the beginning of a new era of international cooperation in space exploration.

Since then, the International Space Station has been continuously inhabited, with astronauts from a range of countries working together to conduct scientific research and advance our understanding of space. In addition to the International Space Station, robotic missions have continued to explore our solar system, with probes visiting comets, asteroids, and other planets.

Looking to the future, there are ambitious plans for human missions to Mars and beyond, as well as a renewed focus on studying our own planet from space to better understand and address global issues such as climate change.