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Space exploration: the story on HearLore | HearLore
Space exploration
On the 20th of June 1944, a German V-2 rocket test launch known as MW 18014 reached an altitude of 176 kilometers, crossing the Kármán line and becoming the first human-made object to enter outer space. This vertical test launch at the Peenemünde Army Research Center did not achieve orbital velocity, meaning the rocket returned to Earth in an impact, yet it marked the true beginning of physical space exploration. Before this moment, the observation of objects in space, known as astronomy, had existed for centuries, but the development of large and relatively efficient rockets during the mid-twentieth century was the catalyst that transformed observation into physical investigation. The early era of space exploration was driven by a Space Race in which the Soviet Union and the United States vied to demonstrate their technological superiority, setting the stage for a conflict that would define the latter half of the twentieth century. The first successful orbital launch followed in 1957 with the Soviet uncrewed Sputnik 1 mission, which weighed about 83.6 kilograms and orbited Earth at a height of about 215 kilometers. It carried two radio transmitters emitting beeps that could be heard by radios around the globe, allowing scientists to gather information about the electron density of the ionosphere and proving that the satellite was not punctured by a meteoroid. Sputnik 1 burned up upon re-entry on the 3rd of January 1958, but its legacy was permanent, opening the door for a new era of human ambition and technological competition.
The First Human in Orbit
The first successful human spaceflight was Vostok 1, carrying the 27-year-old Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin on the 12th of April 1961. The spacecraft completed one orbit around the globe, lasting about 1 hour and 48 minutes, and Gagarin's flight resonated around the world as a demonstration of the advanced Soviet space program. This event opened an entirely new era in space exploration, proving that humans could survive the journey into the void. The Soviet space program achieved many of the first milestones, including the first living being in orbit in 1957, the first spacewalk by Alexei Leonov on the 18th of March 1965, and the first automatic landing on another celestial body in 1966. The first artificial object to reach another celestial body was Luna 2, which reached the Moon in 1959, followed by the first soft landing on the Moon by Luna 9 on the 3rd of February 1966. Luna 10 became the first artificial satellite of the Moon, entering a lunar orbit on the 3rd of April 1966. These achievements were not merely technical feats but geopolitical statements that shifted the balance of power and inspired a generation to look upward. The first crewed landing on another celestial body was performed by Apollo 11 on the 20th of July 1969, landing on the Moon, and there have been a total of six spacecraft with humans landing on the Moon starting from 1969 to the last human landing in 1972.
Common questions
When did the first human-made object enter outer space?
The first human-made object to enter outer space was the German V-2 rocket test launch known as MW 18014 on the 20th of June 1944. This rocket reached an altitude of 176 kilometers and crossed the Kármán line at the Peenemünde Army Research Center.
Who was the first human to travel into space and when did it happen?
Yuri Gagarin became the first human to travel into space on the 12th of April 1961 aboard the Vostok 1 spacecraft. The Russian cosmonaut completed one orbit around the globe in about 1 hour and 48 minutes.
Which planet has the fastest winds in the Solar System and what is the speed?
Neptune has the fastest winds of any planet in the Solar System with speeds measured as high as 2,100 km/h. Voyager 2 visited Neptune on the 25th of August 1989 and discovered this feature along with a conspicuous anticyclone storm system.
When did the first woman go to space and who was she?
Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman to go to space in 1963. She flew before the 1980s when another woman entered space again after rules changed regarding military test pilot requirements.
What is the longest human occupation of space and how long did it last?
The longest human occupation of space is the International Space Station which has been in continuous use since the year 2000. Valeri Polyakov holds the record for the longest single spaceflight of almost 438 days aboard the Mir space station.
When is the first woman planned to land on the Moon?
The first woman to go to the Moon is planned for 2026 as part of the Artemis program. This mission aims to land the first woman and the next man on the Moon specifically at the lunar south pole region.
The exploration of the outer planets has been conducted solely through automated spacecraft, as the distances involved make human travel currently impossible. Jupiter has 95 known moons, many of which have relatively little known information about them, and reaching Jupiter from Earth requires a delta-v of 9.2 km/s, which is comparable to the 9.7 km/s needed to reach low Earth orbit. The Galileo and Juno spacecraft are the only spacecraft to have entered the planet's orbit, while the Pioneer and Voyager programs provided detailed observations through flybys. Saturn has at least 62 known moons, and its largest moon, Titan, holds the distinction of being the only moon in the Solar System with an atmosphere denser and thicker than that of Earth. The Huygens probe, deployed by the Cassini spacecraft, was the only object in the Outer Solar System that has been explored with a lander. Uranus was visited entirely through the Voyager 2 spacecraft, which made its closest approach on the 24th of January 1986, discovering an additional ten previously unknown moons and revealing a magnetosphere profoundly affected by the planet's unusual axial tilt of 97.77 degrees. Neptune, the final planet visited by Voyager 2 on the 25th of August 1989, proved to have the fastest winds of any planet in the Solar System, measured as high as 2,100 km/h, and featured a conspicuous anticyclone storm system rivaled in size only by Jupiter's Great Red Spot.
The Mars Curse and the Red Planet
The exploration of Mars has come at a considerable financial cost, with roughly two-thirds of all spacecraft destined for Mars failing before completing their missions, leading researchers to jokingly speak of The Great Galactic Ghoul which subsists on a diet of Mars probes. This phenomenon is also informally known as the Mars Curse, yet India has become the first country to achieve success of its maiden attempt with the Mars Orbiter Mission, one of the least expensive interplanetary missions ever undertaken with an approximate total cost of 450 Crore. The first mission to Mars by any Arab country has been taken up by the United Arab Emirates, called the Emirates Mars Mission, launched on the 19th of July 2020 and named the Hope Probe. The first interplanetary surface mission to return at least limited surface data from another planet was the 1970 landing of Venera 7, which returned data to Earth for 23 minutes from Venus, while the Mars 3 mission achieved the first soft landing on Mars in 1971, returning data for almost 20 seconds. Despite the high failure rate, robotic missions continue to be launched, including the Spirit rover in 2004 and the Curiosity rover, which has provided decades of data on the Martian surface. The challenges of reaching Mars are immense, involving complex variables and high costs, but the scientific community remains driven by the hope of answering questions about the history of Mars and the possible future of Earth.
The Human Toll of the Void
To date, the longest human occupation of space is the International Space Station, which has been in continuous use since the year 2000, and Valeri Polyakov's record single spaceflight of almost 438 days aboard the Mir space station has not been surpassed. The health effects of space have been well documented through years of research conducted in the field of aerospace medicine, revealing that space motion sickness plagues almost all space travelers within their first few days in orbit. Long-term stays in space reveal issues with bone and muscle loss in low gravity, immune system suppression, problems with eyesight, and radiation exposure. The lack of gravity causes fluid to rise upward which can cause pressure to build up in the eye, resulting in vision problems, while the loss of bone minerals and densities leads to cardiovascular deconditioning. Radiation is an insidious health hazard to space travelers as it is invisible and can cause cancer, and when above the Earth's magnetic field, spacecraft are no longer protected from the sun's radiation. Fortunately, with new and rapidly evolving technological advancements, those in Mission Control are able to monitor the health of their astronauts more closely using telemedicine, and medical systems aboard space vessels such as the International Space Station are well equipped to counteract the effects of lack of gravity and weightlessness.
The Women Who Broke the Glass Ceiling
The first woman to go to space was Valentina Tereshkova, who flew in 1963, but it was not until the 1980s that another woman entered space again. All astronauts were required to be military test pilots at the time and women were not able to join this career, which is one reason for the delay in allowing women to join space crews. After the rule changed, Svetlana Savitskaya became the second woman to go to space, she was also from the Soviet Union, and Sally Ride became the next woman in space and the first woman to fly to space through the United States program. Since then, eleven other countries have allowed women astronauts, and the first all-female space walk occurred in 2018, including Christina Koch and Jessica Meir. Despite these developments, women are underrepresented among astronauts and especially cosmonauts, with issues that block potential applicants from the programs including agencies limiting women to half as much time in space than men, arguing that there may be unresearched additional risks for cancer, and a lack of space suits sized appropriately for female astronauts. The first woman to go to the Moon is planned for 2026, marking a new chapter in the history of human spaceflight.
The Private Space Frontier
Private spaceflight companies such as SpaceX and Blue Origin, and commercial space stations such as the Axiom Space and the Bigelow Commercial Space Station have changed the cost and overall landscape of space exploration, and are expected to continue to do so in the near future. The commercialization of space first started out with the launching of private satellites by NASA or other space agencies, and the next step of commercialization of space was seen as human spaceflight. Flying humans safely to and from space had become routine to NASA and Russia, but reusable spacecraft were an entirely new engineering challenge, something only seen in novels and films like Star Trek and War of the Worlds. Astronaut Buzz Aldrin supported the use of making a reusable vehicle like the space shuttle, stating that the use of passenger space travel is a huge potential market big enough to justify the creation of reusable launch vehicles. Space tourism is a next step in the use of reusable vehicles in the commercialization of space, with the purpose of this form of space travel being personal pleasure. The 2010s saw the rise of the private space industry in earnest with the development of private launch vehicles, space capsules, and satellite manufacturing, shifting the paradigm from government-only exploration to a mixed economy of public and private enterprise.
The Future of Human Expansion
The 2020s have brought two primary global programs gaining traction that are Moon-focused: the Chinese-led International Lunar Research Station and the U.S.-led Artemis Program, with its plan to build the Lunar Gateway and the Artemis Base Camp, each with a set of international partners. The Artemis program is an ongoing crewed spaceflight program carried out by NASA, U.S. commercial spaceflight companies, and international partners such as ESA, with the goal of landing the first woman and the next man on the Moon, specifically at the lunar south pole region. In 2017, the lunar campaign was authorized by Space Policy Directive 1, using various ongoing spacecraft programs such as Orion, the Lunar Gateway, Commercial Lunar Payload Services, and adding an undeveloped crewed lander. As of 2024, the first Artemis mission was launched in 2022 with the second mission, a crewed lunar flyby planned for 2025, and construction on the Lunar Gateway is underway with initial capabilities set for the 2025 to 2027 timeframe. The first CLPS lander landed in 2024, marking the first US spacecraft to land since Apollo 17. The Artemis program would be the next step towards the long-term goal of establishing a sustainable presence on the Moon, laying the foundation for private companies to build a lunar economy, and eventually sending humans to Mars. Breakthrough Starshot is a research and engineering project to develop a proof-of-concept fleet of light sail spacecraft named StarChip, to be capable of making the journey to the Alpha Centauri star system 4.37 light-years away, founded in 2016 by Yuri Milner, Stephen Hawking, and Mark Zuckerberg.