Although this debate is not yet settled, many scientists acknowledge that humans are needed to perform more complex research tasks such as field geology or the acquisition and analysis of geological samples ( European Science Foundation, 2008). To answer these questions, robotic exploration alone is not sufficient. …why would we want to leave the Earth and where would we like to go? In fact, where can we go and what technologies do we need to get there? Space travel might help us to answer some intriguing questions such as how was the Earth created, why did the climates of three similar planets-Venus, Earth and Mars-develop in such different ways and, ultimately, are we alone or are there other life forms in the universe? The desire for scientific knowledge is one expression of this human curiosity that most scientists will recognize. The enormous amount of science fiction space-travel literature, television programmes and films is testimony to this human fascination with space. Another emotive reason is the irresistible urge to leave the confines of the Earth and to explore “this new ocean”, to coin the phrase used by US writer William Burrows. One year later, Mallory perished during his-possibly successful-attempt to reach the summit, which just goes to show that humans are ready to accept great risks in order to go where no one has gone before. In 1923, when he was asked why he wanted to climb Mount Everest, George Mallory (1886–1924) answered famously “because it is there”. Curiosity is probably the best one: exploration is, metaphorically speaking, in our genes. There are various reasons why, as a species or individually, we might want to travel into space. In this regard, I can only offer my personal assessment of what might sound, at times, like science fiction. Nonetheless, the further we look into the future, the more speculative this article will inevitably become. Yet, why would we want to leave the Earth and where would we like to go? In fact, where can we go and what technologies do we need to get there? Here, I try to give some general answers to these questions, based on the present scientific and technological status quo, and on current or planned studies. So far, just 24 humans (during the US Apollo space programme that took astronauts to the Moon) have ever left direct low-Earth orbit (LEO)-that is, have gone further than approximately 500 km above the surface of the Earth.ĭespite these successes, it has not been shown yet whether and how humans can really travel and live in space.
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![spaceward ho online spaceward ho online](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/GV4AAOxyf8xSwfWD/s-l600.jpg)
This is an enormous technological and scientific achievement nevertheless, our species has only scratched the surface of what could be called space travel. Almost 480 individuals have followed him and, since 31 October 2000, humans have been in space without interruption. On 12 April 1961, the Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin (1934–1968) became the first human to leave the confines of Earth and ascend into space.