.....opening our mind and imagination to the vastness of the universe while allowing conducting rigorously many scientific investigations.
We are all part of a humankind generation fortunate enough to live at an epoch during which space travel was made possible through the efforts of a few pioneers, that has culminated in sending some representatives of mankind on another celestial body and that is now preparing to send other human beings to another planet, Mars. Space exploration made also possible immense development in technology and has brought many answers to old questions on the universe, and in doing so has asked new questions about our close solar system environment and our farther galactic and extra-galactic surroundings. Among the technologies developed for space travels, communications and computing are in my view the two main driving ones. But many other developments have led to improve on one hand, our fundamental understanding on physical and living systems through their studies in weightlessness, only accessible in low Earth orbit on board space ships and space stations, and on the other hand our knowledge of our natural spaceship Earth and the way it reacts to our tampering of its atmosphere and climate.
Other scientific developments coming from the space age have increased our knowledge about ourselves, back on Earth, leading to new approach in helping to cure diseases and preventing natural catastrophes. It gave us also a global vision of the planet on which we are living, allowing global communications and rendering gradually the notion of political borders among countries and people a vision of the past. Looking to and probing other celestial bodies and stars would eventually allow us to answer the ultimate question: are we alone in the Universe? is life a unique phenomenon that we are lucky enough to have seen appear on our planet? or is it a ubiquitous phenomenon that appeared also on other planets, maybe around other stars?
Dr.
Vladimir
Pletser
Senior Physicist - Engineer
European Space Agency, ESA-ESTEC
http://www.esa.int
Professional Category:
Engineering
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