It is like humans to be curious, that’s why we have always looked into the sky in search of the heavens and wondered what it would be like to go up there. So, Space Exploration Tenologies came into play. Space exploration means investigating the skys with crewed and uncrewed spacecraft.
The idea of reaching beyond the Earth’s atmosphere has now become a very important part of government and organizational initiatives. So, in this article, we will take a deep dive into the history, progress, and future of Space Exploration Technologies.
History of Space Exploration
One may wonder why the superpowers compete to develop Space Exploration Technologies. Well, to know this, we will have to take a look at the past. The government mainly started taking space exploration seriously to dominate and prove the superiority of their nations.
That’s why exploring space has become a symbol of national stature, security, military strength, and power. Space experimentation was confined to universities, but after World War 2, it had become a major aim of many superpowers.
The Soviet Union was the first country on Earth to send technology into space when it launched Sputnik 1 in 1957 to orbit the globe.
Moreover, the Soviet Union also marked history with its first successful human spaceflight “Vostok1” and landing the first probe “ Luna 2” on the surface of the Moon.
Then the unending race started with the Apollo mission to the Moon, and the development of powerful telescopes, satellites, and more.
Classification of Space Exploration Technologies
Space exploration has become more advanced than we could ever imagine with multiple pieces of spacecraft developed for different purposes. Here is the list.
Flybys
Flyby spacecraft follow a solar orbit or Espace trajectory. They are never captured by the orbit of the planet they pass by. These spacecraft are built to survive for a longer interplanetary voyage and have instruments to send data to the Earth and store it onboard when their antennas are off Earth point. The famous examples of flybys are Voyager 1 and 2, Mariners, Pioneers, and New Horizons.
Landers
Landers are developed to reach the surface of the planet. They are build to survive enough to send data back to Earth. Examples include Venera, Viking, and Surveyor.
Penetrators
The penetrators are specially designed to penetrate the surface of comets, planets, or moons. They also telemeter the surface properties. Deep Impact, Comet Rendezvous, and Deep Space 2 are a few examples.
Rovers
Rovers are exclusive spacecraft that are electrically powered and are designed to explore Mars. From 1997 to this day many rovers have been sent to Mars to analyze the planet, including Sojourner, Spirit, Opportunity, Curiosity, and more.
Atmospheric
Atmospheric spacecraft are designed for short missions to analyze the atmosphere of a planet and are typically carried to their destination by other spacecraft. Examples are Galileo Atmospheric Probe, Mars Ballon, Vega Venus Ballon, and more.
Orbiters
These are developed to enter and insert into the orbit of the planet to carry out the second phase of solar system study after the initial in-depth exploration of each planet. These crafts include Cassini, Mars Odyssey, Messenger, and Surveyor.
Observatory
These spacecraft do not travel to any individual planets instead they occupy
An Earth or solar orbit to study the target from a distance. They are built to study the universe at different wavelengths, from IR to gamma rays. Examples include NuSTAR, WISE, HST, JWST, and more.
Navigation and Communication
Communication and navigation spacecraft make data transfer easy and abundant in Earth’s orbit. In the future, they may be deployed on Venus, Mars, and other planets to better connect the other spacecraft. Examples are GPS, Milstar, Globalstar, etc.
How Does Space Exploration Improve Technology?
Space exploration opened doors for progress. It was the motivation force behind seeking the secrets of the universe that led to greater inventions one after another. For example, space exploration gave us communication and data transfer which has made it easier to contact people around the world.
But it is not the end, because space exploration can also help us achieve some major goals of the future, such as sustainable development goals. UN held a meeting on Technology Innovation and The Global Goals which highlighted that space can play an important role in addressing sustainable goals by monitoring climate change.
Also, the first satellite that studied the environment of the space and capabilities of Earth’s orbit helped in the research and development of telecommunication systems, weather forecasts, and GPS so we can safely say that the better we understand and explore space, the better technology will be developed.
Moreover, the medical technology for space can also be a catalyst for improving the care and treatment of patients in critical conditions and emergencies such as toxin exposure and traumatic injuries.
Space exploration has contributed in all fields including robotics, propulsion systems, automation, etc which will help go further with more advanced research and development, maybe beyond interstellar space.
Space Exploration Spin-off Technologies
In the previous section we saw how further investigation of space can improve technology but here are examples of some incredible spin-off technologies that have already been given to us because we dared to explore space.
- GPS Navigation: The global positioning system (GPS) is the key to communication, tracking location, and getting travel directions. This spin-off technology is a blessing of space exploration that has proven to be revolutionary.
- CMOS: we have camera phones because of the improvement in the complementary metal-oxide semiconductor image sensor by the JPL team that contributed to making smaller cameras for spacecraft. JPL team leader also put forth the idea of CMOS-APS.
- Filtered Water: the filtered water we use today is due to the efforts of NASA to figure out how to make water clean for space flights for astronauts.
- Memory Foam: NASA first developed the open-cell polyurethane-silicon plastic to lessen the impact of landing. The foam changes back to its original position after impact. It is now wildly used in pillows, mattresses, etc. This foam was also used in the football helmets of Dallas Cowboys in the 1970s and 80s.
- Scratch-Resistant Eyeglasses: NASA developed a scratch-resistant coating for astronauts’ visors to shield them against space dirt and particles during spacewalks. The optical industry took advantage of this invention to make 10x more scratch-resistant eyeglasses.
- Video Conferencing: This technology was also an initiative by NASA for the communication of astronauts and technicians. This technology is now frequently used for commuting around the world.
Other examples include studless winter tires, grooved roads, frozen food, and cordless shop tools but we are expecting more in the future.
How Does Technology Limit the Future of Space Exploration
With the advancement of technology in two centuries we have just accomplished the space travel of 23.61 billion KM by Voyager 1 which is a tiny bit of the universe. So we need to think about how to overcome human, practical, technological, and astronomical limitations.
The Distances between the Earth and other celestial bodies in the universe are enormous which is very challenging in space exploration because we don’t have fast travel technology.
The propulsion tech we have is also not advanced enough to travel faster than the speed of life, and if we consider the concept of Alcubierre drive we still need the mass energy of Jupiter.
Moreover, to achieve success in an advanced technology to go deep into space, huge resources and costs are required which is not currently an option for any nation in the world. So, we can say that space exploration is limited due to technology.
Contributions of Space Exploration Technologies Corp.
Space Exploration Technologies Corp more commonly known as Space X is a very active space transportation and aerospace manufacturer. This Corp was founded by Elon Musk CEO of Tesla in 2002.
SpaceX has made the transportation of cargo supplies and astronauts to the international space station cheaper. It works with NASA to launch services but has better rocket technology because of reusable rocket launchers.
Space X is also very involved in inhabiting Mars and space travel. Moreover, It is the first private company to send a probe beyond Earth, humans into orbit, and satellites into geosynchronous orbit. Corporations that are competing with SpaceX to win the space race are Blue Origin, Virgin Galatic, and ULA.
Final Analysis
Space exploration is a topic of vast research and interest. When we look at history, we have come a long way from sending the first spacecraft into space to exploring the possibility of life on Mars. Technology has played an integral part in achieving all the success in this field.
Space investigation gave a better perspective on our solar system, galaxy, and other celestial bodies that we can now see. Therefore, we hope that one day, space exploration will get us to Mars and beyond.
