Space Exploration Meaning and History Explained
Space exploration is the observation, study and investigation of extraterrestrial features in outer space. This article discusses space exploration meaning, and history, according to the outline below;
-Space Exploration Meaning: 6 Ways to Define Space Exploration
Space Exploration Meaning: 6 Ways to Define Space Exploration
Space exploration is the act of sending manned and unmanned crafts into outer space for investigation of extraterrestrial features [17].
The above definition highlights two factors; spacecrafts and extraterrestrial investigation. In the light of these factors, we can provide and alternative space exploration meaning, that indicates some important fields that are applicable to the concept;
Space exploration is the application of geology, astronomy, aviation engineering and renewable energy technology, toward the exploitation of resources in outer space.
Artificial intelligence is a very important aspect of space exploration [5]. Its relevance is highlighted in the space exploration meaning that is given below;
Space exploration is an aspect of human endeavor and sustainable development, that is involves the use of artificial intelligence to send automated satellites and probes into the extraterrestrial zones of the solar system.
The term ‘solar system’ is used above to indicate that space exploration projects carried out using automated probes have been largely restricted to our solar system.
Another important factor in the exploration of space is energy. The following space exploration meaning, highlights the role of renewable energy in extraterrestrial programs;
Space exploration is the act of sending rockets propelled and sustained by liquid hydrogen, nuclear energy and hydrogen fuel cell technology, into outer space [12].
An alternative space exploration meaning is given below, based on the features which are studied and explored;
Space exploration is the investigation of asteroids, planets, meteoroids and black holes, among other features of outer space, using specialized technologies.
Aside investigation and inquiry, there are other benefits of space exploration. Some of them are mentioned in the space exploration meaning that is given below;
Space exploration is the act of probing extraterrestrial regions to gain knowledge, expand human habitation, extract minerals, install communication and monitoring systems, and develop advanced technologies.
History of Space Exploration
The history of space exploration can be traced back to the year 1608, when Dutch eyeglass maker Hans Lippershey invented the first telescope [7].
In 1944, the MW 18014; a German rocket was propelled toward space in a test launch. It is considered the first human-designed object to probe the outer space. However, the rocket did not attain orbital velocity.
Sputnik was the first manmade satellite to orbit the Earth [11]. It was launched by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.) on October 4, 1957, at a time of rapid space, rocket and missile technological development.
On November 3, 1957, Sputnik 2 was launched, also by the U.S.S.R; with a dog named Laika onboard [4].
The United States Government established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1958; as an agency in charge of space exploration and advanced military technology.
Explorer was the name given to the first American satellite to be launched successfully into space, on January 31, 1958 [6]. This satellite was used for observation, measurement and study purposes.
The Lunar 2 is considered to have been the first manmade object to successfully land on the Moon, in the year 1959 [8], followed shortly by Lunar 3.
Yuri Gagarin was the first human cosmonaut to to orbit the Earth, for 108 minutes, in 1961 [2]. On June 16, 1963; the Vostok 6 mission was launched, using the Vostok-K 8K72K rocket [15]. It was on this mission that the first female cosmonaut; Valentina Tereshkova, traveled to space.
Projects Gemini and Apollo were launched between the early 1960s and 1972, under the administration of United States President John F. Kennedy [1]. These projects achieved their primary objective in 1969 when the first astronauts were sent to the Moon aboard the Apollo 11 spacecraft, making Neil Armstrong the first human to touch the lunar surface [18].
Other planetary bodies including Mars, Mercury and Venus were investigated using space probes in the 1960s and 1970s.
On April 19, 1971; the Salyut Space Station was launched by the Soviet Union, being the first space station to enter orbit [9].
A decade later, in 1981; reusable space shuttle technology was utilized, beginning with the launch of Columbia shuttle by NASA [14]. In 1986, a major disaster occurred with the explosion of space shuttle Challenger, which caused the deaths of the seven crew members aboard [3].
The Venera 1 spacecraft was used for the first flyby space exploration project of Venus, in 1961 [16]. This was followed by a series of flyby missions involving Jupiter, Neptune, Uranus, Pluto and the Sun, from the 1960s to the 2010s. Data in the form of images were collected by several of the spacecrafts used.
Exoplanet observation has been made possible by advanced space telescopes, since the 1990s.
In the year 1998, the first modular component of the International Space Station (ISS) were launched into orbit [10]. The ISS is a research station or laboratory in low orbit, which has been occupied since 2000.
February 1, 2003 saw the deaths of another seven crew members in the Columbia shuttle disaster, after which space shuttle programs were suspended for a period of time [12].
Developments so far in space exploration include the advent of private space projects, reusable rocket systems and interstellar flights.
The table below highlights some important, historical, space exploration facts;
| Date of Event | Primary Details | Secondary Details |
| July 20, 2021 | Successful manned flight to outer space by private company |
Spacecraft used: The New Shepard Crew members: Jeff Bezos,Wally Funk, Mark Bezos, Oliver Daemen Country/Organisation: U.S, Blue Origin |
| July 11, 2021 | Successful space mission by private company |
Spacecraft used: VSS Unity: Crew members: Richard Branson, Beth Moses, Colin Bennett, Sirisha Bandla Country/Organisation: Virgin Galactic |
| April 16, 2021 | Contract for the building of launchpad for Artemis lunar program awarded to private company | Agency: NASA
Private Organization: SpaceX Contract Value: $2.9 billion Country: U.S |
| January 3, 2019 | First lunar landing on far side of the Moon | Spacecraft used: Change 4
Country: China |
| January 1, 2019 | Space exploration project reaches farthest cosmological object yet | Spacecraft used: New Horizons
Object name: 2014 MU69 Country: U.S |
| December 21, 2015 | First successful return of rocket stage to launch site, denoting advancement in space technology | Rocket name: Falcon 9
Country/ Agency: U.S, SpaceX (private company) |
| July 14, 2015 | First Flyby space exploration project of Pluto | Spacecraft name: New Horizons
Country: U.S |
| March 6, 2015 | First Orbiting space exploration project of a dwarf planet | Spacecraft name: The Dawn Probe
Planet name: Ceres Country: U.S |
| November 12, 2014 | First landing of spacecraft on a comet | Spacecraft name: Philae
Country/Agency: European Space Agency |
| August 6, 2014 | First Orbiting space exploration project of a comet | Spacecraft name: Rosetta
Country/Agency: European Space Agency |
| March 17, 2011 | First Orbiting space exploration project of Mercury | Spacecraft name: Messenger
Country: U.S |
| June 13, 2010 | First return of asteroid samples to Earth; in Rover space exploration project | Spacecraft capsule name: Hayabusa
Country: Japan |
| May 25, 2008 | First successful launch of space rocket capsule into orbit, by private company | Rocket capsule name: Falcon 1
Private company name: SpaceX Country: U.S |
| January 14, 2005 | First landing of a spacecraft on the noon of an extraterrestrial planet | Spacecraft name: Cassini-Huygens probe
Planet involved: Saturn Countries/Agencies: Italy (ASI), European Space Agency, U.S (NASA) |
| July 1, 2004 | First Orbiting space mission of Saturn | Mission name: Cassini-Huygens
Overall duration of project: 19 years, 335 days Spacecraft name: Cassini-Huygens Countries/Agencies: Italy (ASI), European Space Agency, U.S (NASA) |
| June 21, 2004 | Deployment of first manned spacecraft by private organization, achieving suborbital navigation at about 100km | Spacecraft name: SpaceShipOne
Chief operating cosmonaut: Mike Melvill Organization: Mojave Aerospace Ventures |
| February 12, 2001 | First Orbiting space exploration project of an asteroid | Spacecraft used: The NEAR spacecraft
Asteroid name: Eros Country: U.S |
| February 14, 2000 | Successful launch into orbit, of first asteroid-proximal satellite
First close-up, surface image of asteroid |
Spacecraft used: The NEAR spacecraft
Country: U.S |
| November 2, 2000 first resident crew to occupy the International Space Station | First occupation of the International Space Station by resident crew | Crew members: Yury Gidzenko, Sergey Krikalvov, and William Shepherd
Countries involved: Russia, U.S |
| December 7, 1995 | First Orbiting space exploration project of Jupiter | Spacecraft name: Galileo
Country: U.S |
| April 25, 1990 | Launch of first large optical telescope | Telescope name: Hubble Space Telescope
Country/Agency: U.S, and European Space Agency (International Alliance) |
| August 24, 1989 | First Flyby space exploration project of Neptune | Spacecraft name: Voyager 2
Country: U.S |
| March 13, 1986 | First Flyby space exploration project to closely capture a comet | Spacecraft used: Giotto
Comet name: Halley’s Comet Country/Agency: European Space Agency |
| January 24, 1986 | First Flyby space exploration project of Uranus | Spacecraft name: Voyager 2
Country: U.S |
| April 12–14, 1981 | Launch, deployment and return of first reusable spacecraft | Spacecraft name: Space shuttle Columbia
Country: U.S |
| September 1, 1979 | First Flyby space exploration project of Saturn | Spacecraft used: Pioneer 11
Country: U.S |
| July 20, 1976 | Transmission of first images from the surface of planet Mars | Spacecraft employed: Viking 1
Country: U.S |
| July 17, 1975 | First exploration project by international allies in outer space | Spacecrafts involved: Soyuz, and Apollo (The ‘Apollo-Soyuz’ test project)
Countries: U.S.S.R and U.S |
| December 3, 1973 | First Flyby space mission of Jupiter | Spacecraft used: Pioneer 10
Country: U.S |
| December 2, 1971 | First soft-landing of spacecraft on Mars | Spacecraft name: Mars 3
Country: U.S.S.R |
| November 13, 1971 | First orbiting exploration project with spacecraft | Spacecraft name: Mariner 9
Planetary body orbited: Mars Country: U.S |
| April 19, 1971 | Launch of first space station | Space station name: Salyut 1
Country: U.S.S.R |
| December 15, 1970 | First landing on extraterrestrial planet | Spacecraft used: Venera 7
Planet name: Venus Country: U.S.S.R |
| September 24, 1970 | Return of first samples from the moon | Spacecraft used: Luna 16
Country: U.S.S.R |
| July 20, 1969 | Landing of first human on the moon | Name of Spacecraft: Apollo 11
Cosmonaut name: Neil Armstrong Country: U.S |
| December 24, 1968 | Orbiting of the moon by first human cosmonaut crew | Spacecraft name: Apollo 8
Crew members’ names: William Anders, Frank Borman, and James Lovell Country: U.S |
| April 24, 1967 | First record of cosmonaut death on a space exploration project | Spacecraft name: Soyuz 1
Cosmonaut name: Vladimir Komarov Country: U S.S.R Cause of death: Crash due to failed parachute and drogue deployment |
| February 3, 1966 | Soft-landing of first spacecraft on the moon | Spacecraft name: Luna 9
Country: U.S.S.R |
| July 14, 1965 | First pictures of Mars taken from a spacecraft | Spacecraft name: Mariner 4
Country: U.S |
| March 18, 1965 | First capsule tethered to space-walk (float freely) in orbit, within the outer space | Spacecraft used: Voskhod 2
Cosmonaut name: Aleksey Leonov Country: U.S.S.R |
| July 26, 1963 | Geostationary-orbital operation of first satellite | Satellite name: Syncom
Satellite purpose: Realtime data collection, telecommunication Country: U.S |
| June 16, 1963 | First female cosmonaut launches into outer space | Spacecraft used: Vostok 6
Female cosmonaut name: Valentina Tereshkova Country: U.S.S.R |
| December 14, 1962 | First return of data from planetary body in the solar system | Technology utilized: Robotic space probe
Space probe name: Mariner 2 Country: U.S |
| April 12, 1961 | Orbital navigation of the Earth by first human | Spacecraft used: Vostok 1
Human name: Yury Gagarin Country: U.S.S.R |
| August 11, 1960 | First payload recovery from the orbit of Earth | Satellite used: Discover 13
Country: U.S |
| April 1, 1960 | Launch of first applications satellite | Satellite name: TIROS
Purpose of launch: Observation and monitoring of weather condition Country: U.S. |
| October 7, 1959 | First images recorded of the moon | Spacecraft used: Luna 3
Country: U.S.S.R |
| September 14, 1959 | landing of first spacecraft on an extraterrestrial planetary body | Spacecraft name: Luna 2
Planetary body: Moon Country: U.S.S.R |
| November 3, 1957 | launch of first living creature from earth into space | Satellite name: Sputnik 2
Passenger: Dog named Laika Country: U.S.S.R |
| October 4, 1957 | launch of first artificial satellite from earth, into outer space | Satellite name: Sputnik 1
Country: U.S.S.R |
Conclusion
Space exploration is the collection of data from outer space using telescopes and spacecrafts, for purposes of education, resource exploitation and technological advancement.
The history of space exploration dates back to the seventeenth century, with the development of telescopes, and extends to the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, with the growth of spacecraft and satellite technologies.
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