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Spaceexploration
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Space explorations
is the useof astronomy andspace technologyto exploreouter space.
[1]
Physicalexplorationof spaceis conducted both byhuman spaceflightsandbyrobotic spacecraft.While the observation of objects in space—knownas astronomy—pre-dates reliablerecorded history,  it was the development of large liquid-fueledrocketenginesduring the early 20th century that allowedphysical space exploration to become a reality.Common rationales for exploring space includeadvancing scientific research, uniting differentnations, ensuring the future survival of humanityand developing military/strategic advantagesagainst other countries. Various criticisms of spaceexploration are sometimes made, generally on costor safety grounds.Space exploration has often been used as a proxycompetition for geopolitical rivalries such astheCold War. The early era of space explorationwas driven by a "Space Race" between theSoviet Unionand the United States; the launch of the first man-made object to orbit the Earth, theUSSR'sSputnik 1,onOctober 4,1957, and the first Moon landing by the AmericanApollo 11 craft on  July 20,1969 are often taken as the boundaries for this initial period. TheSoviet spaceprogramachieved many of the first milestonesunderSergey Korolyovand Kerim Kerimov, including the firsthuman spaceflight( Yuri GagarinaboardVostok 1) in 1961, the firstspacewalk(byAleksei Leonov) in 1965, and the launch of the firstspace station (Salyut 1) in 1971. However, the first man-made objects toreach space wereNazi-Germany'sV2 rockets, used as early as theSecond World War.After the first 20 years of exploration, focus shiftedfrom one-off flights to renewable hardware, such astheSpace Shuttle program, and from competitionto cooperation as with theInternational SpaceStation.From the 1990s onwards, private interests beganpromotingspace tourismand now private spaceexploration of the Moon (seeGLXP).In the 2000s, China initiated asuccessful mannedspaceflight program, while Japan and India alsoplan future manned space missions. Largergovernment programs have advocated mannedmissions to the Moon and possibly Mars sometimeafter 2010.
 
Contents
 
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1 History
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1.1 First orbital flights
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1.2 First human flights
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1.3 First planetary explorations
(From top to bottom)
Sputnik 1, the firstartificialsatellite.
CosmonautYuriGagarin, the first personin space. (Photo fromwww.rirt.ru.)
Astronaut BuzzAldrinon the surface of theMoon.
 
o
1.4 Key people in early space exploration2 Future of space exploration
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2.1 Private ventures3 Targets of exploration
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3.1 Astrobiology
o
3.2 The Sun
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3.3 Mercury
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3.4 Venus
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3.5 Earth
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3.6 Earth's Moon
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3.7 Mars
3.7.1 Phobos
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3.8 Jupiter 
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3.9 Saturn
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3.10 Uranus
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3.11 Neptune
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3.12 Dwarf planets
3.12.1 Pluto
3.12.2 Ceres
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3.13 Asteroids4 Rationales5 Opposition6 Related topics
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6.1 Spaceflight
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6.2 Space colonization7 See also8 References9 External links
[edit]
History
See also: Timeline of spaceexploration, Astronomy#History , and Timeline of  first orbital launches by country 
 The first steps into space were taken by Germanscientists duringWorld War IIwhile testing theV2 rocketwhich became the first human-made objectin space. After the war, the Allies used Germanscientists and their captured rockets in programsfor both military and civilian research. The firstscientific exploration from space was the cosmicradiation experiment launched by the U.S. on a V2rocket on May 10, 1946. The first images of Earthtaken from space followed the same year while thefirst animal experiment saw fruit flies lifted intospace in 1947, both also on V2's launched byAmericans and their German advisors. Thesesuborbital experiments only allowed a very shorttime in space which limited their usefulness.
[edit]
First orbital flights
 The first successful orbital launch was of theSovietunmanned
Sputnik 
(
Satellite I 
)
 
missionon October 4,1957. The satellite weighed about 83 kg (184 pounds), and is believed to have orbitedEarth at a height of about 250 km (150 miles). Ithad two radio transmitters (20 and 40 MHz), whichemitted "beeps" that could be heard by any radioaround the globe. Analysis of the radio signals wasused to gather information about the electrondensity of the ionosphere, while temperature andpressure data was encoded in the duration of radiobeeps. The results indicated that the satellite wasnot punctured by a meteoroid. Sputnik 1 was launched by anR-7rocket. It incinerated upon re-entry on January 3,1958.  This success led to an escalation of theAmericanspace program, which unsuccessfullyattempted to launch Vanguard 1into orbit two months later. On January 31,1958, the U.S. successfully orbited Explorer 1on a Juno rocket. In the meantime, the Soviet dogLaikabecame thefirst animal in orbit onNovember 3,1957.
[edit]
First human flights
 
 Yuri Gagarinwas the firstman in space.
 The first human spaceflight was
Vostok 1
(
East 1
),carrying 27 year old Russiancosmonaut  Yuri GagarinonApril 12, 1961. The spacecraft completed one orbit around the globe, lastingabout 1 hour and 48 minutes. Gagarin's flightresonated around the world; it was a demonstrationof the advancedSoviet space programand itopened an entirely new era in space exploration—human spaceflight.
 
 The U.S. first launched a person into space within amonth of Gagarin's flight with thefirstMercury flight, byAlan Shepard. Orbital flight was achieved by the United States when JohnGlenn'sMercury-Atlas 6orbited the Earth onFebruary 20,1962. Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space,orbited the Earth 48 times aboardVostok 6on June 16,1963. China first launched a person into space 42 yearsafter the launch of Vostok 1, onOctober 15,2003, with the flight of  Yang Liweiaboard theShenzhou 5(Spaceboat 5) spacecraft.
[edit]
First planetary explorations
 The first successful interplanetary flyby was the1962Mariner 2flyby of Venus (closest approach 34,773 kilometers). Flybys for the other planetswere first achieved in 1965 forMarsbyMariner 4,  1973 for  Jupiter byPioneer 10,1974 forMercurybyMariner 10,1979 forSaturnbyPioneer 11, 1986 forUranusbyVoyager 2,and 1989 forNeptuneby Voyager 2. The first interplanetary surface mission to return atleast limited surface data from another planet wasthe 1970 landing of Venera 7on Venus whichreturned data to earth for 23 minutes. In 1971the Mars 3 mission achieved the first soft landing on Mars returning data for almost 20 seconds. Latermuch longer duration surface missions wereachieved, including over 6 years of Mars surfaceoperation byViking 1from 1975 to 1982 and over 2hours of transmission from the surface of VenusbyVenera 13 in 1982 (the longest ever Soviet planetary surface mission).
[edit]
Key people in early spaceexploration
 The dream of stepping into the outer reaches of theEarth's atmosphere was driven by rockettechnology. The GermanV2was the first rocket totravel into space, overcoming the problems of thrust and material failure. During the final daysof World War II this technology was obtained by both the Americans and Soviets as were itsdesigners. The initial driving force for furtherdevelopment of the technology was a weaponsrace for inter-continental ballistic missiles (ICBMs)to be used as long-range carriers for fastnuclearweapondelivery, but in 1961 whenUSSRlaunched the first man into space, the U.S. declared itself tobe in a "Space Race" with Russia.
 
 
Sergei Korolevwas the founder of theSoviet spaceprogram.
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky,RobertGoddard,Hermann Oberth
and
ReinholdTilling
laid the groundwork of rocketry in theearly years of the 20th century.
Wernher von Braun
was the lead rocketengineer forNazi Germany's World War IIV-2 rocketproject. In the last days of the war he leda caravan of workers in the German rocketprogram to the American lines, where theysurrendered and were brought to the USA towork on U.S. rocket development. He acquiredAmerican citizenship and led the team thatdeveloped and launchedExplorer 1, the firstAmerican satellite. Von Braun later led the teamatNASA'sMarshall Space Flight Centerwhich developed theSaturn Vmoon rocket.
Initially the race for space was often ledby
Sergei Korolyov
, whose legacy includesboth theR7andSoyuz—which remain in service to this day. Korolev was the mastermind behindthe first satellite, first man (and first woman) inorbit and first spacewalk. Until his death hisidentity was a closely guarded state secret; noteven his mother knew that he was responsiblefor creating the Russian space program.
Kerim Kerimov
was one of the founders of theSoviet space programand was one of thelead architects behind the firsthumanspaceflight(Vostok 1) alongside Sergey Korolyov. After Korolyov's death in 1966,Kerimov became the lead scientist of the Soviet
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