Photo Credit: Nasa’s Earth Observatory

• The age we live in is called space age, because this age explores outer space (space outside the solar system).
• The universe is made up of all the stars and our solar system. The stars are far bigger than the earth. The stars occur in clusters known as galaxies and nebulas.
• The light which reaches the earth comes from the sun and the stars.
• Space, unlike the earth, has no water, air, or life. It is a vacuum.
• Space travel is making a journey to a destination beyond the earth’s atmosphere.
• The vehicle used for space travel is called a space shuttle or rocket.
• People who travel to space are called astronauts.
• Neil Armstrong, an American, was the first man to walk on the moon on the 20th July, 1969.
• Yuri Czagann, a Russian, was the first person to go to space in April 1961.
• Some other astronauts have also landed safely on the surface of the moon. They wore special uniforms with oxygen masks for breathing.

Characteristics of Outer Space

• Light from the sun travels through outer space.
• There is no force of gravity.
• The outer space is empty or void.
• Sound does not pass through outer space.
• Outer space is very large.

Problems of Space Travel

• Basic Needs of Life: The basic needs of life; water, oxygen, and food, must be made available in the spaceship to last for the period of the trip to outer space.
• Loss of Weight: Due to lack of the force of gravity in space, astronauts are faced with the problem of weightlessness.
• High Speed: Astronauts have to be trained in order to adapt to the high speed of space travel so that they can think and work normally while travelling in space.
• Force of Gravity: The force of gravity makes it difficult for any space craft to escape the earth’s surface easily. It has to be at a very high speed before the space craft can leave the earth’s surface, that speed is known as escape velocity.
• Complicated Calculations: There are a lot of calculations involved before a spaceship can be launched correctly at an angle, speed, and time in order to arrive at its destination; this is because the earth, moon, and planets are always in rapid motion. It is therefore very difficult for an object to move into any of the moving bodies at a precise position.
• Weak Bones: Astronauts who stay in space for long periods develop weak bones due to the lack of calcium. To prevent this, they usually exercise for long hours and take supplements.
• Explosion and loss of spaceship.

Benefits of Space Travel

• Natural Calamities: With the help of satellites, predictions about natural calamities such as floods, storms, tornadoes, hurricanes, etc., are made easily.
• Weather Forecast and Agriculture: We can rely on the accurate weather forecast now because of the satellites in space. Satellites also help us in predicting crop yields, pest infestation, and fertility of areas.
• Mining and Minerals: Satellites help to locate minerals buried under the earth’s surface.
• Energy Source: Scientists and researchers all over the world are trying to replace sources of energy, like fuel, with solar energy through space exploration.
• Asteroids: Space travel enables us to know about the thousands of asteroids and be vigilant.
• Medicine: Space exploration has helped a lot in the field of medicine. Nitinol, a metal alloy that was manufactured to be used in spaceships is also used in the healthcare industry to make tubes used as catheter shafts or delivery devices for stents, drugs, guide wires, or as biopsy needles. Other uses include electronics, production of photographic equipment like x-ray machines.