Space the final frontier, goes the familiar line. Ever since, the human race has looked up into the sky and has viewed through a vast endless window. Space exploration could trace its beginning when the telescope was invented. Through that device, we had a closer look on what lies in the cosmos.

To be strict about it though, actual exploration which involves travel and putting a stamp on things did not push through until the invention of rocketry. After World War II, scientists and governments thought of a way of using rocket technology for space travel and exploration.

This spurned the so-called space race during the Cold War period. The Soviets started the salvo, sending Sputnik 1 into space as the first artificial satellite in history. This was followed by Yuri Gagarin's foray in the great beyond as the first man in outer space.

America caught up after President John F. Kennedy had the nation put its mind into the space race and the Apollo program. This bore fruit when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were able to step into the moon in July 1969.

Although man has not gone beyond Earth's natural satellite yet, we have been able to view worlds far from our own galaxy with the help of gigantic telescopes. Satellite technology and the use of unmanned space missions to explore the great depths has been the focus since the 1970s.

Mariner brought back images of Mars, while Voyager probed gas planets Saturn and Jupiter in the 1970s. The planet Mars has been a particular interest for scientists due to its proximity to Earth and its viability as a habitat for humans in the future. A number of rover missions has been sent to the red planet with at least half ending up successful.

Space stations were then set up as research centers. The Soviets' Salyut and the Americans' Skylab missions were the pioneer space stations. The Mir Space Station had a lifespan of 14 years. Currently, there is one active space station, the International Space Station, which is a collaboration of different countries.

Looking beyond, US President George W. Bush is once again looking up, proposing a number of missions to the moon before the year 2020 and possibly a manned mission to Mars before the end of the century.


Image Source: Wikipedia