Space Exploration

Mankind always dreamed of overcoming gravitation and reaching other planets. But it was only in the 1960ies that this dream was to become reality.

On the 12th of April 1961 the spaceship «Vostok» was launched into space with a man on board and after orbiting our planet successfully returned to the Earth.

The first man to overcome gravitation and orbit the Earth was Yuri Gagarin. This day went down in history of mankind as an outstanding achievement, opening the space era.

On April 12 every year the Russian people celebrate Cosmonautics Day in commemoration of the first space flight in the world which was made by Russian citizen.

In the course of space exploration there have been lots of achievements of world science and technology. This period saw the launching of many earth satellites, numerous space laboratories. Among the achievements we may enumerate the landing of automatic stations on the Moon, the flights of space laboratories towards Venus and Mars.

These are the years of manned space flight programmes: Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman-cosmonaut to make a space flight, A. A. Leonov achieved the first «space walk» in 1965, the first American expedition landed on the Moon.

The Soviet "«Lunokhod», automatic orbital stations «Soyuz» and other space laboratories opened up a new period of space exploration. From the first experiments scientists went over to systematic exploration of space.

In the history of space exploration March 2, 1978 will always be known as the day when international space flights began. That was the day when the “Soyuz – 28 spaceship, piloted by Alexei Gubarev, Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR, and Vladimir Remek, the Czechoslovak Cosmonaut-Researcher was launched into space and flew towards orbital complex for docking.

The first international flight opened a series of manned flights on board Soviet spaceships and orbital stations. Cooperation in space research is especially important for the developing countries.

Alexei Leonov is a famous cosmonaut . On March 18, 1965 he was the first man who learned to “swim in outer space”. He said, “as soon as I took my foot from the hatch, fear left me: I saw that I was not falling anywhere, there was no air drag in outer space which meant I was not flying, and in a way, I was simply part of the ship”. Leonov’s walk in outer space lasted 20 minutes. That was an important step in the space programme.

Recently there have been calls to reduce expenditure on space research programmes. I think it would be a serious mistake to allow this to happen.

Progress is inevitable and soon we’ll be able to visit and even live on other planets. The 21^st century may turn science fiction into science fact.

Scientists are already at work on the International Space Station, a “city of space”. It will be the size of a football field and will weigh over 200 tons. A team of 10-15 spacemen will probably be able to live and work at the International Space Station.

The next step will be the first moonbase. 20 or30 scientists will live inside a dome with an artificial atmosphere. This will make it possible for them to live and work without spacesuits. It also means that they will be able to grow food.

If the moоnbase is a success, the first lunar city will be built. It will have schools and universities, cinemas and discos, scientific laboratories and hospitals. Even babies will be born on the moon.

The next great step will be when people land on our nearest planet Mars. Scientists say that the planet once had water on its surface. If that water is now frozen underground, humans will be able to use it someday. By the end of the 21^st century, scientists hope, it will be possible to “terraform” Mars – transform the planet into an earthlike place with air and water. Space awaits the 21^st century’s pioneers.

There is a direct link between the development of space research programmes and different earth technologies. The higher the former are the more developed the latter are.

It’s difficult to overestimate the role of science and technology in our life. They accelerate the development of civilization and help us in our co-operation with nature.

Scientists investigate the laws of the universe, discover the secrets of nature, and apply their knowledge in practice improving the life of people.

And now we live in the information era when the computer network embraces the globe and connects not only the countries and space stations but a lot of people all over the world. All these things prove the power and the greatest progressive role of science in our life.

But every medal has its reverse. And the rapid scientific progress has aroused a number of problems that are a matter of our great concern. These are ecological problems, the safety of nuclear power stations, the nuclear war threat, and the responsibility of a scientist. But still we are grateful to the outstanding men of the past and the present who have courage and patience to disclose the secrets of the Universe.