Space Exploration: Humanity Unbound

By Johanna Mae M. Indias

Department of Physics

Man has always marveled at the cosmos. From the ancient sky watchers of Babylon to the modern
astrophysicists and cosmologists, the universe has always inspired mankind to learn more about it. The
practice of science itself traces its roots from early forms of astronomy.
In this article, we will journey through the history of human space exploration, from the ancient civilizations
who first observed the heavens to the current community of scientists who continue to explore the universe
now. We will extend the discussion to include the search for signs of extraterrestrial life. We will also look
at the motivations for space exploration, apart from simple curiosity of the reality beyond Earth. Finally,
we will try to answer a more fundamental question – why we explore, to begin with?

From the ancient times to the Cold War

The earliest records of man’s attempts at understanding the universe come from the Babylonians. More
than two millennia ago, they painstakingly recorded on clay tablets the positions of celestial bodies. From
data accumulated across hundreds of years, Babylonian sky-watchers started predicting future occurrences
of celestial events. They also designed a way to tell the passing of time based on the movements of the Sun
and the Moon. There was no distinction between science and religion in those days that stellar records were
seen as messages from the heavens. Astronomy and astrology were so intertwined that a lot of social and
political decisions were made based on scholars’ readings of the celestial realm.
It can be said that modern astronomy began with the invention of the telescope. Prior to this instrument,
scientists relied on naked eye observations. With the telescope, Galileo Galilei saw sun spots and four of
Jupiter’s moons. He also observed that the surface of the Moon is rugged, contradicting Aristotle’s claim
that the lunar surface is smooth. The telescope undoubtedly revolutionized astronomy. It became a central
instrument to astronomy. With increased interest in discovering what else is out there, the need for larger
and more powerful telescopes arose. It became apparent to astronomers that it would be more cost efficient,
both the financial and labor aspect of it, to organize themselves and form observatories. Thus began
government-funded observatories like the Paris Observatory in 1666 and the Royal Observatory,
Greenwich in 1675.

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For the next two hundred years, work on astronomy involved both
the discovery of new celestial objects and the development of the
theories on the motion of the Earth, the moon, the other planets,
and some comets. Continued pursuit of knowledge about the
universe fueled advancements in instrumentation, leading to the
creation of reflecting telescopes. These instruments use disc mirrors
to gather light from stars and planets and focus them towards lenses
for observation. Reflecting telescopes made it possible for
astronomers to record their observations using another invention at
that time – photography. This greatly improved data recording, as all
observations prior to the development of the reflecting telescope had
to be drawn by hand. The earliest known picture of a celestial body
comes from John Draper who took a picture of the full Moon Picture of the moon by John Draper,
sometime in 1840. His son Henry’s picture of the Orion nebula in 1840. Source:
[Link]
1880 is the first photo of its kind. Photography made it possible to
photograph-of-the-moon/
observe the positions of celestial objects with better precision.
Another technique which improved astronomy is spectroscopy. By attaching a prism to telescopes,
astronomers could split incoming light from the celestial bodies into spectra. Each element in the periodic
table has distinct spectral lines, making it possible for astronomers to identify the chemical compositions
of celestial bodies. Motion of observed celestial bodies could also be described using shifts in their
corresponding spectral lines.
While the field of astronomy progressed using spectroscopy, much of the data about the universe came
from signals which are not in the visible spectrum. The development of radio astronomy and the
advancements in radar technology during World War II revolutionized modern astronomy. Advancements
in this non-optical method of observation enabled astronomers to see not only the surfaces of the Moon,
comets, and planets, but also the areas of the universe far beyond the reach of visible light. This established
cosmology as a separate field of study, as it now focused on the structure and evolution of the universe.
One of the monumental achievements of non-optical astronomy is the discovery of cosmic microwave
background radiation in 1963 by Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson while they were working at the Bell
Telephone Laboratories. This confirmed the Big Bang Theory as the accepted paradigm on the origin of
the universe.
Perhaps nothing has driven modern space exploration more than the space race between the USA and the
USSR during the Cold War. After their World War II victory over the Germans, the two allies became
enemies as they tried to outdo each other in terms of rocket power.
Capable of reaching distances greater than 100 km, the German V-2
rockets were formidable weapons of war. Both the Americans and the
Soviets wanted to have the technology the Germans used in building
their long-range missiles. The Americans had the advantage of having
Werner von Braun, Germany’s head rocket engineer, along with most
of the engineers and scientists responsible for the V-2. The Soviets,
on the other hand, got hold of V-2 manufacturing facilities in
Germany and transferred them to the Soviet Union. It became a
priority of these two nations to have the best ballistic technology, to
prevent one from threatening the other’s national security. A Soviet technician working on Sputnik 1
(Source: [Link]
It took a while for Werner von Braun and his Soviet counterpart, sputnik-space-race-first-satellite-
Sergey Korolyov, to realize their dreams of creating a satellite that [Link])

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could orbit the Earth. Due to rocket technology being military in nature, the focus then was on making
long-range missiles that could carry nuclear warheads. After convincing the Soviet military that satellites
could be used as surveillance instruments against the Americans, Soviet Union’s “chief designer” Korolyov
was finally given the permission and the funds to build one1. Launched in October 4, 1957, Sputnik 1 was
the first satellite to orbit the Earth. It was an 83.6-kilogram aluminum sphere with a diameter of 58
centimeters. Circling the Earth every 93.6 minutes, Sputnik 1 also emitted a beeping sound through its radio
emitters while in orbit for 92 days.
A month later, a second satellite called Sputnik 2 was launched. Unlike its predecessor, Sputnik 2 had a cone-
shaped capsule. This allowed room for more sensors and programming units. There was also a separate
compartment for the dog which the Soviets used as a preliminary study to sending humans in space. With
the successful launch of Sputnik 2, Laika became the first living creature to be put into orbit. She stayed
alive for a few hours in orbit before dying due to cabin overheating. Launched on November 3, 1957,
Sputnik 2 remained in space for 162 days and completed about 2500 orbits before re-entering the Earth.
On the other side of the world, the Americans were also building their own
satellite. To keep with the scientific nature of its own satellite program, the
Dwight D. Eisenhower administration awarded the project to the US Naval
Research Laboratory’s Vanguard. After the successes of both Sputnik 1 and
Sputnik 2, the pressure to launch Vanguard became too strong. Despite
insufficient testing, Vanguard was launched on December 6, 1957 at Cape
Canaveral, Florida. To the America’s great disappointment, Vanguard rose a
little over a meter above the ground before falling back to Earth.
America redeemed itself with the successful launch of Explorer 1 on January
31, 1958. Compared to Sputnik 1, Explorer 1 was cylindrical in shape and Explorer 1 full scale model, held
weighed 13.97 kg. It contained a payload which consisted of a cosmic ray by William A. Pickering, James
counter, temperature sensors, and detectors for cosmic dust and Van Allen, and Werner von
micrometeorite impacts. Data was received from Explorer 1 for about 3 Braun
months, with the last signal sent on May 23, 1958. Without power, the satellite [Link]
kept in orbit for 12 years before it crashed into Earth on March 31, 1970. pages/explorer/explorer-
Success of the Explorer 1 started a space program aptly called the Explorers [Link]
program.
US space exploration was institutionalized with the creation of the National Aeronautics Space
Administration (NASA) in late 1958. With the US and the Soviet Union having proven their capacity to
put satellites into orbit and send probes to the moon, sending a human being on a roundtrip journey into
space became the next challenge. As expected, both powers tried to outdo each other. The Soviets
maintained their lead over the Americans with the successful launch of Yuri Gagarin into orbit aboard
Vostok 1 on April 12, 1961. As the first human being in space, Yuri Gagarin became the first cosmonaut
(the Russian equivalent of the US astronaut). A few months after, the Soviet Union had a second successful
manned flight into space.
Not to be left behind in the race to space, the US sent astronaut Alan Shepard into space inside the Freedom
7 spacecraft. Unlike Yuri Gagarin, Alan Shepard was not able to orbit the Earth. The US tried to send an
American into space for a second time and succeeded in doing so with John Glenn’s monumental orbit

1
Flying a spy satellite over foreign air space is against international law. In the 1954 International Geophysical
Year (IGY), it was agreed that satellites can be launched from Earth only for scientific purposes. Under this
context, both the US and the former USSR endeavored to build their respective satellites.
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around the Earth on February 20, 1962. Aboard Freedom 7, John Glenn became the first American to orbit
the Earth.
The space race was fast becoming a battle not only of technological supremacy but also of ideological
superiority between the two superpowers. A superior space program was seen as evidence of a stronger
and a greater nation. With the Soviets winning the space race over the Americans, US President John F.
Kennedy made manned Moon landing a priority. Speaking over a crowd at Rice University Stadium on
September 12, 1962, Kennedy said in his aptly called “We choose to go to the Moon” speech that the US
will endeavor to reach the moon in 10 years. This led to NASA’s Apollo missions of crewed spaceflight.
Both superpowers continued to launch missions into space. The Soviets demonstrated their capability to
send dual manned flights into space, first with Vostok 3 and 4 in August 1962 and then Vostok 5 and 6 in
June 1963. Soviet Valentina Tereshkova became the first female in space when she joined the Vostok 6
flight. On the US side, unmanned missions were sent to explore Venus (Mariner 2) and Mars (Mariner 3).
When it became apparent that Mariner 3 cannot complete its mission due to some technical errors, the US
launched Mariner 4 on November 28, 1964. It made its first encounter with Mars on July 15, 1965. With
the instruments included in Mariner 4, information about Mars was sent back to Earth using radio signals.
Data from the Mariner 4 expedition showed that Mars does not have a thick atmosphere and that its surface
looks more like the Moon.
With the ongoing race to the Moon, both the US and
the Soviet Union worked on space flight projects
needed in preparation for a manned flight to the
Moon. The Soviet space program had a number of
firsts with their Voshkod program, including the first
space walk and the first three-cosmonaut flight.
Under the Gemini project, the Americans improved
their space flights skills and endurance. The Soviets
maintained a close lead over the Americans until
Korolyov’s death on January 4, 1966. In 1967,
spaceflight disasters occurred on both sides. NASA
astronauts Virgil Grissom, Edward White, and
Roger Chaffee died when a fire burst in the cabin of
the first crewed Apollo mission during a ground test.
A few months after, several malfunctions in the Astronaut Buzz Aldrin on the Lunar surface (Source:
Soyuz 1 spacecraft led to Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir [Link]
Komarov’s death upon his re-entry into Earth.
Despite these drawbacks, both countries still pursued their respective Moon landing projects. With
Korolyov’s death in 1966, the US finally gained some advantage over the Soviets. Astronauts Frank
Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders, became the first humans to orbit another celestial body on
December 21, 1968, making ten orbits around the Moon while inside the Apollo 8 spacecraft. Seven months
later, astronauts Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin Aldrin, went on a three-day trip to the Moon
aboard the Apollo 11. Having transferred into the Eagle Lunar Module, Armstrong and Aldrin became the
first humans to step on the Moon on July 21, 1969. In a widely-televised program, Armstrong made the
first human footprints on the Lunar surface and said the now famous words “That’s one small step for
man, one giant leap for mankind.”
Given the technological advancements brought about by the space race, it was becoming obvious that
getting into a space program is necessary for national development. While the major human space
exploration activities were dominated by the Americans and the Soviets, other European countries joined
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in the space age in the 1960s. Italy sent their first satellite named San Marco 1 in 1964. France successfully
launched their Asterix satellite the year after. The European Space Research Organization was formed and
was re-organized in 1975 into what is now called the European Space Agency. In the same decade, Japan,
China, and India also put their respective satellites into orbit.
With the Americans’ successful Lunar missions, the Soviets
decided to focus on having orbiting space stations. After
several Soyuz flights, the Salyut 1 laboratory was launched and
put into orbit around the Earth on April 19, 1971. Two years
later, the United States the space station Skylab 1 was sent into
orbit on May 14, 1973. The Soviet Union wanted a bigger space
laboratory that can accommodate 6 crew members. A facility
of that size could not be launched into space so the Soviets
built them in modules which were sent into orbit in several
batches from February 20, 1986 to April 23, 1996. It took them
10 years to assemble the space lab but with its completion in
1996, Mir became the first facility that was built in space.
Naturally, the Americans were planning to build their own
space station Freedom. Realizing that constructing the station The Soviet Mir Space Station orbiting the Earth. Source:
in space will require multiple manned spaceflights, NASA [Link]
embarked on the Space Shuttle Program as a means of une_1998edit1.jpg

transport for both crew and payload. Although space station

Freedom was not realized, the US space program in partnership with the European Space Agency was able
to develop and launch the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) in the 90’s. It is the first major optical telescope
to be put into orbit around our planet. From its launch in 1990 until the present day, the HST continues to
send invaluable information about the universe back to the ground. It is through the HST that we now
have wonderful images not only of the solar system but also of thousands of astronomical objects and
hundreds of galaxies that are otherwise invisible from Earth. Without a doubt, the Hubble Space Telescope
is NASA’s first Great Observatory.

The Hubble Space Telescope in orbit. Source: Death of a star in the Calabash Nebula. Image from
[Link] the Hubble Space Telescope (Source:
s/image/edu_hubble-space-telescope_large.jpg [Link]
media/[Link])

Towards a more collaborative space exploration: The International Space Station

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As early as the 70’s, both the US and the Soviet Union recognized
that a joint mission to space will benefit both countries more than
their individual space missions could. To make the partnership
possible, US President Richard M. Nixon and Soviet Premier
Leonid Brezhnev signed an agreement which relaxed the Cold
War tension between the two superpowers. One monumental
result of this détente was the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project which
allowed the Apollo and the Soyuz to rendezvous and dock in orbit
in July 1975. The three astronauts of the Apollo joined the two
cosmonauts of the Soyuz and together showed that it is possible
to work together in future space missions. The success of the NASA astronaut Thomas P. Stafford (foreground)
shakes the hand of Cosmonaut Alexey A. Leonov on
Apollo-Soyuz joint mission became the prime example of July 17, 1975. (Source:
international space exploration. This collaboration only became [Link]
stronger when the Cold War ended with the dissolution of the in_astp12.jpg)
USSR in 1991.
To date, no other man-made structure in space shows what international cooperation can achieve better
than the International Space Station (ISS). Just its structure alone, all assembled in space in low Earth orbit
is already an engineering feat. What is even more amazing is that it is a joint project among 5 international
space agencies: NASA, the Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities of Russia, the Japan
Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the Canadian Space Agency/Agence Spatiale Canadienne,
(CSA/ASC), and the European Space Agency (ESA). Despite differences in culture, work ethic, economy,
and government, these five agencies work together every day to ensure that the ISS performs as intended.
The ISS can be treated as a merging of the Soviet’s Mir and
NASA’s shelved Freedom space station. With space
exploration continuously becoming a very taxing endeavor
for any country, collaborative space projects emerged as the
most practical solution. NASA and Roscosmos started
building the ISS in space, launching the first module on
November 20, 1998. From then, the ISS has grown to
almost the size of a football field, maintaining a 400-km
distance from the ground while orbiting 19 times every day.
It is the only space station that has been continuously
inhabited by humans for more than 16 years now. The International Space Station in orbit. Source:
[Link]
The ISS serves primarily as a space laboratory for a lot of
scientific research projects. Taking advantage of microgravity conditions, astronauts and cosmonauts who
have stayed in the ISS have performed studies in fields like astronomy, life sciences, physical sciences,
meteorology, and materials science. The ISS also functions as a docking station for spacecrafts and a
launching platform for space objects like microsatellites. Finally, the ISS works as a boost in STEM
education to inspire the next generation to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics.

Lone explorers: Are we alone in the Universe2?

2
Most of the information on the history of astrobiology in this section are from
[Link]
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With all the efforts to learn more about the universe, one question always comes up – are we alone? As
discussed by Dr. Guerrero in his article about the universe, our sun is just one of about a billion stars in the
Milky Way galaxy. The Milky Way is just one of probably 100 billion galaxies in the entire universe. Simply
put, it is unimaginable for life to be exclusive to planet Earth.
Given increasing information about space, scientists in the 50s have recognized the possible existence of
intelligent extraterrestrial beings. In 1959, physicists Giuseppe Cocconi and Philip Morisson published a
paper on Nature entitled “Searching for Interstellar Communications”. This paper practically launched the
Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) as an area of focus for astrophysics. The main idea is that
given the size and age of the universe and all the galaxies and stars in it, it is very much possible for intelligent
life to have been present in another planet for a time much longer than human existence. This implies that
their civilization is much more technologically advanced than ours so they should be capable of sending
signals we can detect. Further establishing SETI as a field of study, Frank Drake initiated experimental work
on it in 1960 through Project Ozma. Working with Frank Drake on the US studies on extraterrestrial life
was Carl Sagan. An elaboration of their work on SETI is already provided in the Origin of Life article by
Dr. Rojas.
With the Cold War as the backdrop for all space exploration missions of the time, the Soviets naturally had
their own search for alien life. The Soviet scientists working in competition with their US counterparts were
Josif Scholvskij and Nikolay Kardashev (Maccone, 2009). Although American SETI program eventually
overtook Soviet efforts, Kardashev is still remembered now through his proposed classification for
extraterrestrial civilizations3.
While SETI programs look for civilizations with technological capacity, another field of research focusing
on the detection of extraterrestrial life also started in the late 50s. Coming from the successful production
of amino acids by Stanley Miller and Harold Ulrey in 1953, scientists thought of looking for more primitive
life forms outside Earth. Said field of study was then called exobiology and in 1959, NASA started the first
of its projects on exobiology with an instrument designed to detect microbes beyond Earth.
For several years, NASA’s exobiology program worked on the detection of extraterrestrial microbial life.
In the 70s, they embarked on the Viking missions to detect life on Mars. The project aimed to grow
microbes and detect their metabolic processes near the Martian surface. This gave disappointing results
because the Martian environment was determined to be unfavorable for any form of life to exist on it. For
the next decade, exobiology projects were done in a smaller scale as NASA focused on looking for planets
within habitable zones (HZ)4.

3
Kardashev type 1 (K I) civilization can harness the energy of a planet; K II type can make full use of the energy
of a star; K III civilization can control the energy of a galaxy (Webb, 2015)
4
HZ is a region around a star that allows a planet to maintain liquid water on its surface. (Schwieterman et al,
2018). It is also known as the “Goldilock’s Zone” – not too hot, not too cold.
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 The habitable zone (Schweiterman et al, 2018). Note that Earth is somewhere near the middle
and Mars is towards the right edge of the region. Venus is totally outside the HZ.

The 1990s proved to be more promising for astrobiology5. Data from the Hubble Space Telescope showed
not only blackholes and other galaxies but also the presence of the basic elements for life in exoplanets6
(i.e. It was able to identify elements like sodium, carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen in the atmosphere of
extrasolar planets). The Human Genome Project also had a breakthrough in 1994 when its goal of having
a detailed human genetic map in five years was achieved a year earlier than scheduled. In 1996, the Galileo
spacecraft7 returned images showing that Europa seems to have liquid ocean under its icy surface. These
and other scientific discoveries of the decade inspired the resurgence of interest in astrobiology, eventually
leading to the creation of the NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI) in 1998.
Studies on extraterrestrial life were more organized in the 2000s. NAI engaged in projects leading to
instrumentation and techniques for detecting life in harsh environments on Earth and in other worlds.
SETI embarked on a mission to look for Earth-size exoplanets within the habitable zone, eventually
launching the Kepler space telescope in 2009. Unlike the geocentric HST, Kepler was designed to trail the
Earth as it orbits the Sun. To date, NASA has already confirmed the existence of about 3800 exoplanets,
with roughly 2700 of them discovered by the Kepler and K2 missions 8. Out of these, around 30 are
confirmed to be less than twice the size of Earth and within the habitable zone. The Kepler telescope is
expected to run out of fuel in the next few months but while it is still on operation, scientists at NASA are
still trying to maximize its use. On its 18th campaign from May 12 to August 2, 2018, it was looking at star
clusters to detect new exoplanets and to confirm exoplanet candidates from an earlier mission.

5
NASA established a SETI program in 1992 but it was canceled by US congress in 1993. This is due to a number
of factors including other NASA projects competing for budget, lack of significant breakthroughs from earlier
ETI-related endeavors, and general deficit in the federal budget (Garber, 1999).
6
An exoplanet orbits a star outside the Solar System.
7
The Galileo was launched in 1989 to explore Jupiter and its moons.
8
After a 4-year mission, the Kepler spacecraft lost the functionality of two of its four reaction wheels
necessary to maintain the telescope’s focus on the same patch of the milky way. This led to the modification of
the project’s system into the K2 mission whereby the telescope changes its field of view every 80 days or so,
depending on its position relative to the sun.
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Coming from the success of the Kepler
telescope, NASA launched another
instrument to scour our skies for exoplanets.
Named Transiting Exoplanet Survey
Satellite (TESS), the instrument was put into
orbit around the Earth on April 18, 2018.
Like Kepler, TESS will use a transiting
method in looking for exoplanets9. It has a
wider field of view, though, as it was
designed to observe about 85% of our sky
over its two-year mission. Other projects
down the line include the James Webb Space
Telescope (JWST) and the Wide Field
Present and future NASA telescopes for exoplanet detection. (Source:
Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST).
[Link]
Deemed as the natural successor to the
Hubble Space Telescope, JWST will be launched in 2020 to probe deeper into space and gather information
about our early universe after the Big Bang and the formation of galaxies. To be launched in the 2020s,
WFIRST will also look for exoplanets while it gathers data on dark energy.
Aside from Earth-orbiting telescopes, NASA also sent spacecrafts to the other planets within the solar
system to explore their potential for life. Mars was found to be particularly interesting because it is a close
neighbor and it falls within the habitable zone of the Sun. In 2005, NASA launched the Mars
Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) to study if there was water
on Mars long enough for life to have flourished there before
the planet turned into the hostile environment it is now10.
Another spacecraft, this time a rover named Curiosity, was
launched on November 26, 2011 to see if Mars had an
earlier environment that could have supported microbes.
Landing on Martian soil on August 6, 2012, Curiosity is still
scouring the planet, analyzing rock and soil samples for
traces of the basic molecules needed to support life. These
efforts gave promising results, especially those which were
released quite recently. On June 8, 2018, NASA published
two main findings from Curiosity – that Martian rocks and Photo of Curiosity on Martian soil. (Source:
sediments have traces of ancient organic molecules [Link]
associated with biological processes, and that methane in the tml)

planet’s atmosphere had seasonal variations. Another very promising result came about three weeks later
from the European Space Agency (ESA). Releasing their findings in the journal Science on July 25, 2018,
the ESA said data from their Mars Express spacecraft show a possible large saltwater lake buried in the
Martian south pole11. If the region really has a body of water, it would be a very interesting place from
which scientists can begin looking for signs of life on Mars.

9
A planet passing across its host star causes regular fluctuations in its stars brightness. Both Kepler and TESS
identify exoplanets by monitoring the intensities of host stars.
10
More information on the MRO mission can be found in [Link]
11
Source: [Link]
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To date, all the missions dedicated to the search for extraterrestrial life remain inconclusive. Astrobiologists
are exploring the most extreme environments on Earth to look for microbes and organism which can
survive the harsh conditions around them 12. Results from said studies can give clues if life could have
existed in other planets like Mars. Other efforts include scouring the skies for exoplanets in the habitable
zone while checking those already confirmed as such for biosignatures13. It is important to note that
biosignatures may have non-biological origins. The challenge, therefore, is to prove that the source for a
biosignature found on an exoplanet comes from a biological source (Schweiterman et al, 2018).

Space Exploration and the Future of Humanity

Perhaps the most obvious goal of exploring the vastness of space is to gain more knowledge about our
solar system and the universe. The Mariner missions to Mars and Venus in the 1960s showed us how
different the Earth is from its two closest neighbors. One cannot help but wonder how it is possible for
life to flourish on Earth but be inexistent in those two other planets. The Galileo, Pioneer, Voyager14, and
New Horizons unmanned missions to the outer planets of our solar system gave us invaluable data about
the other planets and the outer reaches of the solar system. Currently, Voyager 1 is the farthest man-made
object from Earth. It was launched in 197715 to explore the Jupiter and Saturn. Until now, it still sends data
back to Earth as it continues
its journey through
interstellar space. Voyager 2
was also sent in the same
year as a backup to Voyager
1 and as an option to
explore Uranus and
Neptune. On board each
spacecraft is a golden
record16 which contains The Golden Record (Left) and its cover, with instructions on how to access the information stored in it
images, sounds, and music (Right). Source: [Link]
from Earth, in case a
sentient being encounters the spacecrafts as they continue their journey. Combined with the golden plates
of the Pioneer 10 and 11 spacecrafts, the Golden Records are humanity’s love letters to the rest of the
universe.

12
Source: [Link]
13
Biosignatures are substances which require some form of biological process for its existence.
14
More information on the mission can be found in [Link]
15
Voyagers 1 and 2 were launched that year to take advantage of the alignment of the outer planets of the
solar system. As a result, both spacecrafts were able to reach their intended destinations 30 years earlier via
the gravitational assist method. The mission is a Grand Tour - man’s greatest voyage because such planetary
alignment happens only once in about 175 years.
16
The records are made of gold-plated copper, with information about the Earth recorded in them. They are
predicted to remain stable for millions of years, possibly outliving our Sun.
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without the written permission of the University.
 Artist’s representation of the locations of the Voyager spacecrafts. Voyager 1 was found to be in interstellar
space since 2012. (Source: [Link]

New Horizons, on the other hand, made the historic Pluto flyby on July 14, 2015. After journeying from
Earth for 9 years, New Horizons was finally able to give us our first glimpse of Pluto17. Similar studies
about other celestial objects, especially on Earth-like planets, can give us insight on the origins and possible
future of our planet. They also enable us to detect possible threats celestial objects pose on our planet so
we can put measures to avoid them.
On a more practical way, space exploration spurred technological advancements in engineering,
telecommunication, rocket science, and materials science. The fact that the ISS is built entirely in space,
with its parts fitting each other despite being designed and made in different countries, is testament to our
engineering capabilities. The large number of satellites deployed in space greatly improved communication
and geolocation technologies. Thanks to the space race, we now have advanced rocket science capabilities
which were essential in making all current and future space missions possible. Space exploration
undoubtedly tested the limits of materials science. A lot of novel materials were developed for the space
exploration projects. All spacecraft required new materials for heat shielding. Tough materials were
designed for the ISS, to prevent disastrous damage due to impact with cosmic dust and other space objects.
Because of space exploration efforts, we now have access to a lot more meteorological information. Early
storm warnings from these data are becoming more significant now, as we face the reality of climate change.
Relying on solar energy, the ISS is also a good example of a facility entirely powered by sustainable energy.
It also shows the full potential of recycling perhaps the most important substance on Earth – water. As it
is impossible to have continuous water supply of water from Earth at the ISS, its human occupants rely on
water the ISS recycles from everywhere in the station.
Research about human physiology and life sciences in the ISS have significant contribution to medical
applications on Earth. One main problem for prolonged space flight is bone and muscle loss due to
microgravity conditions. Addressing this issue have promising applications in treating osteoporosis and
muscle degeneration diseases. Additionally, studies on the effects of microgravity and added radiation to
the human body, as well as on plants and animals, provide the crucial information needed for future
prolonged expeditions in space (e.g., the Mars project).

17
A lot more information on the mission can be found in
[Link]
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Other areas of interest being explored by space studies include the space trash problem and the possibility
of mining celestial objects like the Moon and asteroids for metal and mineral resources. This will prove to
be necessary especially when humanity fully embraces space travel. Of course, there are issues arising from
this potential materials resource, with sustainability being a primary concern. The more complicated issues,
I believe, involve policies and regulations to ensure fair use of resources among humankind. Finally, the
issue of space junk is of growing concern especially for space flight. Every space flight and satellite
deployment results in rocket and spacecraft pieces discarded as trash which either falls back to Earth or
remains in space. NASA is said to be monitoring close to 23,000 objects orbiting the Earth big enough to
cause damages to satellites and the ISS. So far, nobody has really volunteered to become the cosmic garbage
collector but some effort is being done to develop the technology for space junk collection (e.g
Switzerland’s CleanSpace One). Yes, recent endeavors to start addressing the sustainability of space travel
are being developed by companies like SpaceX
and Blue Origin18. SpaceX has been successful
in making reusable rockets in launching
satellites in space. On February 6, 2018, it
showed its rocket power with the maiden
voyage of its Falcon Heavy rockets. The rockets
were successful in their mission to return to
Earth for reuse after launching a payload19 into
orbit around the Sun. For its part, Blue Origin
is trying to make a spacecraft for space tourists.
Together with Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin is Actual photo of Starman aboard a Tesla Roadster in space, with
trying to make sustainable space tourism a Earth in the background. (Source: [Link]
reality20. Despite all this progress, however, much [Link])

is still left to be done before humanity fully jumps into space travel as a way of life.
With all these things taken into consideration, space exploration is, without a doubt, the best example of
how science, technology, and society are interconnected. Driven by the space race, human space exploration
has evolved from the echoes of World War II towards united space missions aboard space stations like the
ISS. The goal of space exploration is to make space accessible to humankind. Advancements in science and
technology gained in the process contribute to the vast body of knowledge which can make life better for
humans on Earth or elsewhere.
Space science is also now moving towards democratization. This is not limited to just making space travel
accessible to humanity. As international space agencies continue to gather data about the observable
universe, more and more information needs to be processed. Left to their own, the scientists simply cannot
analyze all the data. To address this problem, projects like Citizen Science21 and Zooniverse22 were created

18
SpaceX is founded by Tesla’s Elon Musk while Blue Origin is owned by Amazon’s James Bezos
19
The payload was Elon Musk’s red Tesla Roadster, with a dummy named Starman as the passenger. Yes, there
is a car in space, orbiting the Sun.
20
It is said that a roundtrip ticket aboard Blue Origin’s space craft Blue Shephard costs somewhere from
$200,000 to $300,000. ([Link]
tourism-price-ticket)
21
More information can be found in [Link]
22
More information can be found in [Link]
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to engage the public in scientific data processing23. Efforts like these bring science much closer to the people
by making them active contributors in various scientific endeavors.

Is the world not enough: final thoughts on why we explore

Expeditions have always been part of human culture. This is evident both in literature and in actual historical
findings. A huge number of written literary pieces talk about adventures in unknown lands. Anthropological
and archaeological studies continue to show traces of expeditions by ancient men. In pre-historic times,
our hominid ancestors journeyed from Africa, resulting in the spread of human life in the world. Ancient
civilizations traveled across land and sea, in search of resources, trade, and territory. European superpowers
of the middle ages went on treacherous voyages across the seas for similar reasons. It was only a matter of
time before man tried to go space. Considering that there is only a little over 30 years between the successful
orbit of Sputnik 1 in 1964 and the launching of the first ISS module in 1998, it will not be surprising if man
succeeds in colonizing Mars in a few years. Yes, there were failed missions and human casualties, the most
tragic of them involve the Challenger24 and the Columbia25 space shuttle disasters. But just like the countless
tragedies in man’s entire history of exploration, these did not deter us from going to unchartered territories
and challenge the unknown.
It is possible that our inclination towards exploration is due to our nature as social beings. After all, our
species have survived and developed across millennia because our ancestors went beyond themselves and
formed communities and civilizations. With this perspective, it is not difficult to understand our desire to
find other intelligent life forms outside Earth. Given the vastness of the universe, the idea that we are alone
in space can be quite daunting.
Perhaps the answer to the question why we explore is more philosophical than scientific. We are attracted
by the unknown because we want to challenge the limits of our knowledge and experience. One can argue
that it is this desire and capability to go beyond our limitations and explore the unknown is the reason why
we continue to exist on Earth while a lot of other species have perished. Norman Cousins, one of the
authors of a publication from NASA entitled “Why Man Explores”, presents a profound insight. When
asked in a panel interview on July 2, 1976 on why man explores, Cousins says that human exploration is
brought about by intelligence:
“…The fact that we can conceive the inconceivable and comprehend the
incomprehensible, is perhaps the highest exercise of the human brain, symbolized so
dramatically by the exploration of Mars…Ultimately, I think the question that must ignite
the human mind in connection with the Viking trip to Mars has to do with our loneliness
in the universe…It is almost unscientific to think that life does not exist elsewhere in the
universe…It is almost ironic that we should have to ask this question (on why explore the
universe) because it is almost as though we have to apologize for our highest attributes,
almost as though we have to remind ourselves we are, by nature, creatures of exploration.
To have a rendezvous with infinity will be the ultimate in human achievement.”

23
Citizens can join the scientific research by helping scientists identify, sort, and process data. Studies in cluded
in both platforms are not limited to space exploration.
24
The Challenger disaster happened in January 28, 1986, when the space shuttle exploded 73 seconds into its
flight, killing all of its 7 passengers.
25
On February 1, 2003, the Columbia space shuttle and all its 7 passengers were lost during re-entry due to a
debris strike damage to its wing.
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References
Asimov, I. (1982). Exploring the Earth and the Cosmos. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc.
Cousins, N., Morrison, P., Michener, J., Cousteau, J., & Bradbury, R. (1976, July 2). Why Man Explores.
(D. P. Hearth, Interviewer)
Fara, P. (2009). Science A Four Thousand Year History. New York: Oxford University Press Inc.
Garber, S. (1999). Searching for Good Science: The Cancellation of NASA's SETI Program. Journal of the
British Interplanetary Society, 52, 3-12.
Heilbron, J. L. (Ed.). (2005). The Oxford Guide to The History of Physics and Astronomy. New York: Oxford
University Press, Inc.
Maccone, C. (2009). SETI, extrasolar planets search and interstellar flight: When are they going to merge?.
Acta Astronautica, 64, 724 – 734.
Murray, B. (1989). Journey into Space . New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
Murray, B. (2016). Can space exploration survive the end of the Cold War. Space Policy, 37, 184-189.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (2016). Highlights of Results from the International Space
Station October 1, 2015 - October 1, 2016. International Space Station Program Science Forum.
National Aeronautics Space Agency. (2017, September). Hubble Focus: Our Amazing Solar System.
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and STScl.
National Geographic. (2009). Big Bigger Biggest: Space Station.
Pyne, S. J. (2016). Space: a Third Great Age of Discovery. Space Policy, 37, 113-119.
Rovetto, R. J. (2013). The essential role of human spaceflight. Space Policy, 29, 225-228.
Schwieterman, E. et al. (2018). Exoplanet Biosignatures: A Review of Remotely Detectable Signs of Life.
Astrobiology, 18, 6, 663-708.
Thumm, T. (2014). International space station accomplishments update: Scientific discovery, advancing
future exploration, and benefits brought home to earth. Acta Astronautica, 103, 235-242.
Webb, S. (2015). If the Universe Is Teeming with Aliens…WHERE IS EVERYBODY? Springer International
Publishing, Switzerland.

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