Space exploration are sometimes made, generally on cost

or safety grounds.

Space exploration has often been used as a proxy

competition for geopolitical rivalries such as
the Cold War. The early era of space exploration
was driven by a "Space Race" between the Soviet
Union and the United States; the launch of the first
man-made object to orbit the Earth, the
USSR'sSputnik 1, on October 4, 1957, and the first
Moon landing by the American Apollo 11 craft
on July 20, 1969 are often taken as the boundaries
for this initial period. The Soviet space
program achieved many of the first milestones
under Sergey Korolyov and Kerim Kerimov,
(From top to bottom) including the first human spaceflight (Yuri
Gagarin aboard Vostok 1) in 1961, the
 Sputnik 1, the first
first spacewalk (by Aleksei Leonov) in 1965, and
artificialsatellite.
the launch of the first space station (Salyut 1) in
 Cosmonaut Yuri 1971. However, the first man-made objects to
Gagarin, the first person reach space were Nazi-Germany's V2 rockets, used
in space. (Photo from as early as the Second World War.
www.rirt.ru.)
After the first 20 years of exploration, focus shifted

 Astronaut Buzz from one-off flights to renewable hardware, such as

Aldrin on the surface of the Space Shuttle program, and from competition

the Moon. to cooperation as with the International Space

Station.
exploration
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia From the 1990s onwards, private interests began
promoting space tourism and now private space
Space explorations is the use
exploration of the Moon (see GLXP).
of astronomy and space technology to
explore outer space.[1] Physical exploration of space In the 2000s, China initiated a successful manned

is conducted both byhuman spaceflights and spaceflight program, while Japan and India also

by robotic spacecraft. plan future manned space missions. Larger

government programs have advocated manned
While the observation of objects in space—known
missions to the Moon and possibly Mars sometime
as astronomy—pre-dates reliable recorded history,
after 2010.
it was the development of large liquid-fueledrocket
engines during the early 20th century that allowed Contents
physical space exploration to become a reality. [hide]
Common rationales for exploring space include
advancing scientific research, uniting different
• 1 History

nations, ensuring the future survival of humanity o 1.1 First orbital flights
and developing military/strategic advantages o 1.2 First human flights
against other countries. Various criticisms of space o 1.3 First planetary explorations
 o 1.4 Key people in early space exploration taken from space followed the same year while the

• 2 Future of space exploration first animal experiment saw fruit flies lifted into
space in 1947, both also on V2's launched by
o 2.1 Private ventures
Americans and their German advisors. These
• 3 Targets of exploration
suborbital experiments only allowed a very short
o 3.1 Astrobiology
time in space which limited their usefulness.
o 3.2 The Sun
[edit]First orbital flights
o 3.3 Mercury
o 3.4 Venus The first successful orbital launch was of
the Soviet unmanned Sputnik (Satellite I) mission
o 3.5 Earth
on October 4, 1957. The satellite weighed about
o 3.6 Earth's Moon
83 kg (184 pounds), and is believed to have orbited
o 3.7 Mars
Earth at a height of about 250 km (150 miles). It
 3.7.1 Phobos
had two radio transmitters (20 and 40 MHz), which
o 3.8 Jupiter
emitted "beeps" that could be heard by any radio
o 3.9 Saturn
around the globe. Analysis of the radio signals was
o 3.10 Uranus used to gather information about the electron
o 3.11 Neptune density of the ionosphere, while temperature and
o 3.12 Dwarf planets pressure data was encoded in the duration of radio
 3.12.1 Pluto beeps. The results indicated that the satellite was
 3.12.2 Ceres not punctured by a meteoroid. Sputnik 1 was
o 3.13 Asteroids launched by an R-7 rocket. It incinerated upon re-
• 4 Rationales entry on January 3, 1958.

• 5 Opposition This success led to an escalation of the

• 6 Related topics American space program, which unsuccessfully
o 6.1 Spaceflight attempted to launch Vanguard 1 into orbit two
o 6.2 Space colonization months later. On January 31, 1958, the U.S.
• 7 See also successfully orbited Explorer 1 on a Juno rocket. In

• 8 References the meantime, the Soviet dog Laika became the

first animal in orbit on November 3, 1957.
• 9 External links
[edit]History [edit]First human flights

See also: Timeline of space

exploration , Astronomy#History , and Timeline of
first orbital launches by country Yuri Gagarin was the first man in space.

The first steps into space were taken by German The first human spaceflight was Vostok 1 (East 1),

scientists during World War II while testing the V2 carrying 27 year old Russian cosmonaut Yuri

rocket which became the first human-made object Gagarin on April 12, 1961. The spacecraft

in space. After the war, the Allies used German completed one orbit around the globe, lasting

scientists and their captured rockets in programs about 1 hour and 48 minutes. Gagarin's flight

for both military and civilian research. The first resonated around the world; it was a demonstration

scientific exploration from space was the cosmic of the advanced Soviet space programand it

radiation experiment launched by the U.S. on a V2 opened an entirely new era in space exploration

rocket on May 10, 1946. The first images of Earth — human spaceflight.
The U.S. first launched a person into space within a both the Americans and Soviets as were its
month of Gagarin's flight with the designers. The initial driving force for further
first Mercury flight, by Alan Shepard. Orbital flight development of the technology was a weapons
was achieved by the United States when John race for inter-continental ballistic missiles (ICBMs)
Glenn's Mercury-Atlas 6 orbited the Earth to be used as long-range carriers for fast nuclear
on February 20, 1962. weapon delivery, but in 1961 whenUSSR launched
the first man into space, the U.S. declared itself to
Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space,
be in a "Space Race" with Russia.
orbited the Earth 48 times aboard Vostok 6 on June
16, 1963.

China first launched a person into space 42 years

Sergei Korolev was the founder of the Soviet space
after the launch of Vostok 1, on October 15, 2003, program.
with the flight of Yang Liwei aboard the Shenzhou
5(Spaceboat 5) spacecraft.  Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Robert
[edit]First planetary explorations Goddard, Hermann Oberth and Reinhold
Tilling laid the groundwork of rocketry in the
The first successful interplanetary flyby was the
early years of the 20th century.
1962 Mariner 2 flyby of Venus (closest approach
 Wernher von Braun was the lead rocket
34,773 kilometers). Flybys for the other planets
engineer for Nazi Germany's World War II V-2
were first achieved in 1965 for Mars by Mariner 4,
rocket project. In the last days of the war he led
1973 for Jupiter by Pioneer 10, 1974
a caravan of workers in the German rocket
for Mercury by Mariner 10, 1979
program to the American lines, where they
for Saturn by Pioneer 11, 1986
surrendered and were brought to the USA to
for Uranus byVoyager 2, and 1989 for Neptune by
work on U.S. rocket development. He acquired
Voyager 2.
American citizenship and led the team that
The first interplanetary surface mission to return at
developed and launched Explorer 1, the first
least limited surface data from another planet was
American satellite. Von Braun later led the team
the 1970 landing of Venera 7 on Venus which
at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center which
returned data to earth for 23 minutes. In 1971
developed the Saturn V moon rocket.
the Mars 3 mission achieved the first soft landing
 Initially the race for space was often led
on Mars returning data for almost 20 seconds. Later
by Sergei Korolyov, whose legacy includes
much longer duration surface missions were
both the R7 and Soyuz—which remain in service
achieved, including over 6 years of Mars surface
to this day. Korolev was the mastermind behind
operation by Viking 1 from 1975 to 1982 and over 2
the first satellite, first man (and first woman) in
hours of transmission from the surface of Venus
orbit and first spacewalk. Until his death his
by Venera 13 in 1982 (the longest ever Soviet
identity was a closely guarded state secret; not
planetary surface mission).
even his mother knew that he was responsible
[edit]Key
people in early space for creating the Russian space program.
exploration
 Kerim Kerimov was one of the founders of
The dream of stepping into the outer reaches of the the Soviet space program and was one of the
Earth's atmosphere was driven by rocket lead architects behind the first human
technology. The German V2 was the first rocket to spaceflight (Vostok 1) alongside Sergey
travel into space, overcoming the problems of Korolyov. After Korolyov's death in 1966,
thrust and material failure. During the final days Kerimov became the lead scientist of the Soviet
of World War II this technology was obtained by
 space program and was responsible for the totaling $30 million for the first privately funded
launch of the first space stations from 1971 to robotic lunar landing. Companies such as White
1991, including the Salyut and Mir series, and Label Space or Astrobotics are studying mission
their precursors in 1967, the Cosmos concepts for the purpose of entering teams. Space
186 and Cosmos 188.[2][3] Exploration Technologies Corp also performed a
successful flight of their Falcon 1 launch
Other key people included: vehicle.[4] Virgin Airlines has announced taking
vehicles up into space (see Virgin Galactic).
 Valentin Glushko held role of Chief Engine
[edit]Targets of exploration
Designer for USSR. Glushko designed many of
the engines used on the early Soviet rockets, [edit]Astrobiology
but was constantly at odds with Korolyov. Main article: Astrobiology
 Vasily Mishin, Chief Designer working under
Astrobiology is the interdisciplinary study of life in
Sergey Korolyov and one of first Soviets to
the universe, combining aspects
inspect the captured German V2 design.
of astronomy, biology and geology.[5] It is focused
Following the death of Sergei Korolev, Mishin
primarily on the study of the origin, distribution
was held responsible for the Soviet failure to be
andevolution of life. It is also known
first country to place a man on the moon.
as exobiology (from Greek: έξω, exo,
 Bob Gilruth, was the NASA head of the Space "outside").[6][7][8] The term "Xenobiology" has been
Task Force and director of 25 manned space used as well, but this is technically incorrect
flights. Gilruth was the person who suggested because its terminology means "biology of the
to John F. Kennedy that the Americans take the foreigners".[9] Astrobiologists must also consider the
bold step of reaching the Moon in an attempt to possibility of life that is chemically entirely distinct
reclaim space superiority from the Soviets. from any life found on earth.[10]
 Christopher C. Kraft, Jr., was NASA's
first flight director and oversaw development
of Mission Control and associated technologies Image of the Sun from 7 June 1992 showing some
and procedures. sunspots
[edit]The Sun
[edit]Future
of space
While the Sun will probably not be physically
exploration
explored in the close future, one of the reasons for
In the past few years, several plans for space going into space includes knowing more about the
exploration have been announced. Sun. Once above the atmosphere in particular and
the Earth's magnetic field, this gives access to the
The major paradigm today is that both government
Solar wind and infrared and ultraviolet radiations
entities and the private sector have space
that cannot reach the surface of the Earth. The Sun
exploration objectives.
generates a lot of space weather which can affect
[edit]Private ventures
power generation and transmission systems on
Dozens of private projects have been announced. Earth and interfere with, and even damage,
Among them, Bigelow Aerospace has made two satellites and space probes.
orbital payload deliveries and plans to build the
first in-orbit hotel within the decade. TheGoogle
Lunar X-Prize also promotes private space MESSENGER image of Mercury
exploration by offering first and second place prizes
A MESSENGER image from 18,000 km showing a region provide agravitational assist en route to other
about 500 km across celestial bodies. In 1967 Venera 4 became the first
[edit]Mercury
probe to enter and directly examine the
Main article: Exploration of Mercury
atmosphere of Venus. In 1970 Venera 7 became
Mercury remains the least explored of the inner the first successful lander to reach the surface of
planets. As of January 2008, the Mariner Venus and by 1985 it had been followed by 8
10 and MESSENGER missions have been the only additional successful Soviet Venus landers which
missions that have made close observations of provided images and other direct surface data.
Mercury. MESSENGER made a fly-by of Mercury Starting in 1975 with the Soviet orbiter Venera
on 14 January 2008, to further investigate the 9 some 10 successful orbiter missions have been
observations made by Mariner 10 in 1975 (Munsell, sent to Venus including later missions which were
2006b). A third mission to Mercury, BepiColombo, is able map the surface of Venus using radar to pierce
to include two probes. BepiColombo is a joint the obscuring atmosphere.
mission between Japan and the European Space
Agency. MESSENGER and BepiColombo are
intended to gather complementary data to help The 'marble' Earth picture taken by Apollo 17
scientists understand many of the mysteries
discovered by Mariner 10's flybys.
First television image of Earth from space
Flights to other planets within the Solar System are [edit]Earth
accomplished at a cost in energy, which is Main article: Earth observation satellite
described by the net change in velocity of the
Space exploration has been used as a tool to
spacecraft, or delta-v. Due to the relatively high
understand the Earth as a celestial object in its own
delta-v to reach Mercury and its proximity to the
right. Orbital missions can provide data for the
Sun, it is difficult to explore and orbits around it are
Earth that can be difficult or impossible to obtain
rather unstable.
from a purely ground based point of reference.

For example the existence of the Van Allen

Mariner 10 image of Venus belts was unknown until their discovery by one of
the first artificial satellites. These belts contain
radiation trapped by the Earth's magnetic fields,
Surface image of Venus taken by Venera 13 which currently renders construction of habitable
[edit]Venus
space stations above 1000km impractical.
Main article: Observations and explorations of
Following this early unexpected discovery, a large
Venus
number of Earth observation satellites have been
Venus was the first target of interplanetary flyby deployed specifically to explore the Earth from a
and lander missions and, despite one of the most space based perspective. These satellites have
hostile surface environments in the solar system, significantly contributed to the understanding of a
has had more landers sent to it, nearly all from the variety of earth based phenomena. For instance,
Soviet Union, than any other planet in the solar the hole in the ozone layer was found from an
system. The first successful Venus flyby was artificial satellite that was exploring Earth's
the American Mariner 2 spacecraft, which flew past atmosphere and satellites have allowed for the
Venus in 1962. Mariner 2 has been followed by discovery of archeological sites or geological
several other flybys by multiple space agencies formations that were difficult or impossible to
often as part of missions using a Venus flyby to otherwise identify.
 Mars as seen by theHST

The Moon as seen from the Earth

Part of a panorama taken by the Spirit roverin 2004
[edit]Mars
Apollo 16 astronaut John Young Main article: Exploration of Mars
[edit]Earth's Moon
The exploration of Mars has been an important part
Main article: Exploration of the Moon
of the space exploration programs of the Soviet
Earth's Moon was the first celestial object (apart Union (later Russia), the United States, Europe,
from the Earth itself) to be the object of space and Japan. Dozens of robotic spacecraft,
exploration. It holds the distinctions of being the including orbiters, landers, and rovers, have been
first remote celestial object to be flown by, orbited launched toward Marssince the 1960s. These
and landed upon by spacecraft and the only remote missions were aimed at gathering data about
celestial object ever to be visited by humans. current conditions and answering questions about
In 1959 the Soviets obtained the first images of the history of Mars. The questions raised by the
the far side of the moon; something that was never scientific community are expected to not only give
visible to humans. Starting in 1966 the Soviets a better appreciation of the red planet but also
successfully deployed a number of landers to the yield further insight into the past, and possible
moon which were able to obtain data directly from future, of Earth.
the moon's surface. These unmanned Soviet The exploration of Mars has come at a considerable
missions culminated in the Lunokhod program in financial cost with roughly two-thirds of all
the early 70's which included the first ever spacecraft destined for Mars failing before
unmanned rovers and also successfully returned completing their missions, with some failing before
lunar soil samples to the earth for study. This they even began. Such a high failure rate can be
marked the first (and to date the only) automated attributed to the complexity and large number of
return of extraterrestrial soil samples to the Earth. variables involved in an interplanetary journey, and
Unmanned exploration of the moon continues with has led researchers to jokingly speak of The Great
various nations periodically deploying lunar Galactic Ghoul[11] which subsists on a diet of Mars
orbiters. probes. This phenomenon is also informally known
Manned exploration of the Moon began in 1968 as the Mars Curse.[12]
with the Apollo 8 mission that successfully orbited [edit]Phobos
the Moon, the first time any object apart from the Main article: Exploration of Phobos
Earth has been orbited by humans. In 1969
Russian space mission Phobos-Grunt, arriving in
the Apollo 11 mission marked the first time humans
August-September 2010, will begin exploration
had left the Earth to set foot upon another celestial
of Phobos and Martian circumterrestrial orbit and
body. Manned exploration of the Moon did not
study whether the moons of Mars (Phobos, at least)
continue for long however. TheApollo 17 mission in
could be a "trans-shipment point" for spaceships
1972 marked the last time humans would visit the
travelling to Mars.[13] It will study Phobos as a target
moon in any form and no mission is currently on
of colonization, too.[citation needed]
the drawing boards that would include any sort of
human exploration of the moon sooner than the
2010's.
Voyager 1 image of Jupiter
Image of Io taken by the Galileo spacecraft moon in the solar system with an atmosphere
[edit]Jupiter denser and thicker than that of the Earth. As a
Main article: Exploration of Jupiter result of the deployment from the Cassini
The exploration of Jupiter has consisted solely of spacecraft of the Huygens probe and its successful
a number of automated NASA spacecraft visiting landing on Titan, Titan also holds the distinction of
the planet since 1973. A large majority of the being the only moon (apart from Earth's own moon)
missions have been "flybys", in which detailed to be successfully explored with a lander.
observations are taken without the probe landing
or entering orbit; theGalileo spacecraft is only one
to have orbited the planet. As Jupiter is projected to
have only a relatively small rocky core and no real
Uranus from Voyager 2
solid surface, a landing mission is impossible.

Reaching Jupiter from Earth requires a delta-v of

Voyager 2 image showing the tortured surface of Miranda
9.2 km/s,[14] which is comparable to the 9.7 km/s
[edit]Uranus
delta-v needed to reach low Earth
Main article: Exploration of Uranus
orbit.[15] Fortunately, gravity assists through
The exploration of Uranus has been solely
planetary flybys can be used to reduce the energy
through the Voyager 2 spacecraft, with no other
required at launch to reach Jupiter, albeit at the
visits currently planned. Given its its axial tilt of
cost of a significantly longer flight duration.[14]
97.77°, with its polar regions exposed to sunlight or
Jupiter has over 60 known moons, many of which
darkness for long periods, scientists were not sure
have relatively little known about them.
what to expect at Uranus. The closest approach
to Uranus occurred on January 24, 1986. Voyager
2 studied the planet's unique atmosphere
A picture of Saturn taken by Voyager 2.
and magnetosphere.Voyager 2 also examined
its ring system and the moons of Uranus including
all five of the previously known moons, while
Huygens image from the surface ofTitan
[edit]Saturn discovering an additional 10 previously unknown
Main article: Exploration of Saturn moons.

The exploration of Saturn has been solely Images of Uranus proved to have a very uniform
through unmanned spacecraft launched by NASA appearance with no evidence of the dramatic
including one mission (Cassini–Huygens) planned storms or atmospheric banding evident on Jupiter
and executed in cooperation with other space and Saturn. Great effort was required to even
agencies. These missions consist of flybys in 1979 identify a few clouds in the images of the planet.
by Pioneer 11, in 1980 byVoyager 1, in 1982 The magnetosphere of Uranus, however, proved to
by Voyager 2 and an orbital mission by the Cassini be completely unique and proved to be profoundly
spacecraft which entered orbit in 2004 and is affected by the planet's unusual axial tilt. In
expected to continue its mission well into 2010. contrast to the bland appearance of Uranus itself
striking images were obtained of the moons of
Saturn has at least 60 satellites, although the exact
Uranus including evidence that Miranda had been
number is debatable since Saturn's rings are made
unusually geologically active.
up of vast numbers of independently orbiting
objects of varying sizes. The largest of the moons
is Titan. Titan holds the distinction of being the only
Picture of Neptune taken by Voyager 2
 of Saturn's moon Titan, resulting in a trajectory
incompatible with a Pluto flyby. Voyager 2 never
Triton as imaged by Voyager 2
had a plausible trajectory for reaching Pluto.[19]
[edit]Neptune
Main article: Exploration of Neptune Despite its reclassification, as the lead and nearest
member of a new and growing class of distant icy
The exploration of Neptune has begun, with
bodies of intermediate size, in mass between the
the August 25, 1989 Voyager 2 flyby being the sole
remaining eight planets and the small rocky objects
visit to the system. The possibility of aNeptune
historically termed asteroids (and also the first
Orbiter was discussed, yet other than that, no other
member of the important subclass, defined by orbit
missions have been given serious thought.
and known as "Plutinos"), Pluto continues to be of
Although the extremely uniform appearance of great interest. After an intense political battle, a
Uranus during Voyager 2's visit in 1986 had led to mission to Pluto dubbed New Horizons was granted
expectations that Neptune would also have few funding from the US government in 2003.[20] New
visible atmospheric phenomena, Voyager 2 in fact Horizons was launched successfully on January
found that Neptune had obvious banding, visible 19, 2006.
clouds, auroras and even a
In early 2007 the craft made use of a gravity
conspicuous anticyclone storm system rivaled in
assist from Jupiter. Its closest approach to Pluto will
size only by Jupiter's Great Spot. Neptune also
be on July 14, 2015; scientific observations of Pluto
proved to have the fastest winds of any planet in
will begin 5 months prior to closest approach and
the solar system, measured as high as
will continue for at least a month after the
2,100 km/h.[16] Voyager 2 also examined Neptune's
encounter.
ring and moon system. It discovered 4 complete
[edit]Ceres
rings and additional partial ring "arcs" around
Main article: Ceres
Neptune. In addition to examining Neptune's 3
previously known moons, Voyager 2 also Ceres is relatively ill explored at present, but in
discovered 5 previously unknown moons, one of 2015 Nasa's Dawn space probe is expected to
which, Proteus, proved to be the second largest arrive at and enter into orbit around the dwarf
moon in the system. Data from Voyager further planet.
reinforced the view that Neptune's largest
moon, Triton, is a captured Kuiper belt object.[17]
951 Gaspra
[edit]Asteroids

NASA artist's conception of Pluto Main article: Exploration of the asteroids

[edit]Dwarf planets Until the advent of space travel, objects in
[edit]Pluto the asteroid belt were merely pinpricks of light in
Main article: Exploration of Pluto even the largest telescopes, their shapes and
The dwarf planet Pluto (considered a planet until terrain remaining a mystery. Several asteroids have
the IAU redefinition of "planet" in October 2006 [18]
) now been visited by probes, the first of which
presents significant challenges for spacecraft was Galileo, which flew past two: 951 Gaspra in
because of its great distance from Earth (requiring 1991, followed by 243 Ida in 1993. Both of these
high velocity for reasonable trip times) and small lay near enough to Galileo's planned trajectory to
mass (making capture into orbit very difficult at Jupiter that they could be visited at acceptable
present). Voyager 1 could have visited Pluto, but cost. The first landing on an asteroid was
controllers opted instead for a close flyby performed by the NEAR Shoemaker probe in 2000,
following an orbital survey of the object. The dwarf has never achieved any major scientific
planet Ceres and the asteroid 4 Vesta, two of the breakthroughs.[25]
three largest asteroids, are targets of NASA's Dawn [edit]Related topics
mission, launched in 2007 September.
[edit]Spaceflight
Main article: Spaceflight
[edit]Rationales
Spaceflight is the use of space technology to fly
Main article: Space advocacy
a spacecraft into and through outer space.
The research that is conducted by national space Spaceflight is very typically a component of space
exploration agencies, such as NASA and the RKA, is exploration, but also supports commercial
among the reasons supporters cite to justify activities, satellite launches.
government expenses. Some even claim that space [edit]Space colonization
exploration is a necessity to mankind and that Main article: Space colonization
staying on our home planet will lead us
Space colonization, also called space settlement
to extinction. Some of the reasons are lack of
and space humanization, would be the permanent
natural resources, comets, nuclear war, worldwide
autonomous (self-sufficient) human habitation of
epidemic etc. Stephen Hawking, renowned British
locations outside Earth, especially of natural
theoretical physicist, said that "I don't think the
satellites or planets such as the Moon or Mars,
human race will survive the next thousand years,
using significant amounts of In-Situ Resource
unless we spread into space. There are too many
Utilization.
accidents that can befall life on a single planet. But
I'm an optimist. We will reach out to the stars."[21] To date, the longest human occupation of space
was the space station Mir which was continuously
NASA has produced a series of Public Service
inhabited for almost ten years including the record
Announcement videos supporting the concept of
single spaceflight of Valeri Polyakovwho stayed in
space exploration.[22]
space for almost 438 days. Long-term stays in
Overall, the public remains largely supportive of space reveal issues with bone and muscle loss in
both manned and unmanned space exploration. low gravity, immune system suppression and
According to an Associated Press Poll conducted in radiation exposure.
July 2003, 71% of U.S. citizens agreed with the
Many past and current concepts for the continued
statement that the space program is "a good
exploration and colonization of space focus on a
investment", compared to 21% who did not.[23]
return to the moon as a "stepping stone" to the
Arthur C. Clarke (1950) presented a summary of other planets, especially Mars. At the end of 2006
motivations for the human exploration of space in NASA announced they were planning to build a
his non-fiction semi-technical permanent moon base with continual presence by
monograph Interplanetary Flight. [24]
In it he argued 2024.[26]
that humanity's choice is essentially between
expansion off the Earth into space, versus cultural
(and eventually biological) stagnation and death.

[edit]Opposition

Critics, such as the late physicist and Nobel

prize winner Richard Feynman have contended that
human space travel (as opposed to space
exploration in general, such as robotic missions)