Introduction

Space and what is in it has intrigued human beings since the drawn of civilization. But only since the late 1950s have we had the technology to send objects into space to investigate. A few years later, in 1961, human beings began traveling in space.

Since then the space frontier has well and truly been pushed back. Unmanned spacecraft have traveled billions of kilometres to explore other planets and their moons orbiting in the depths of the Solar System. Astronauts have walked on the Moon and have spent over a year in space in Earth orbiting space stations.

SCEPTICS PROPHESIED AN END to space exploration after Challenger Space Shuttle was destroyed in 1986 and the Hubble space telescope had trouble with its mirror in 1993. With the end of the tensions of the Cold War in 1989 many people could see no point in spending vast sums of money to support competitive space progtrammes when economies on the Earth were under strain. However, the technology underpinning the space race has brought improvements to our lives. The development of new, lightweight, yet strong, materials and water purification methods are direct spin-offs of space research. Most of the long-distance telecommunications on the Earth now rely on orbiting satellites. Navstars are satellites used by ships and planes for navigational purposes. Military satellites are used in early-warning systems. Our weather forecasts - which come from meteorological satellites - now more accurate, while resources satellites monitor the Earths surface.