Space exploration: space explorers, scientists, discoveries

Space ... One word, and how many fascinating paintings stand before your eyes! A myriad of galaxies scattered throughout the universe, a distant and at the same time infinitely close and native Milky Way, the constellations of the Big and Little Dipper, peacefully located in the vast sky ... Enumerate to infinity. In this article we will get acquainted with the history of space exploration and some interesting facts.

Cosmic research in antiquity: how did you look at the stars before?

In distant and distant antiquity, people could not observe planets and comets through powerful Hubble-type telescopes. The only instruments for admiring the beauty of the sky and performing cosmic studies were their own eyes. Of course, nothing but the Sun, Moon and stars, human "telescopes" could not see (except for a comet in 1812). Therefore, people could only guess how they actually look like these yellow and white balls in the sky. But even then the population of the world was notable for their attentiveness, so it quickly noticed that these two circles were moving across the sky, then hiding behind the horizon, then again appearing. And they also discovered that not all stars behave the same way: some of them remain motionless, and the other changes its position along a complex trajectory. Hence the great exploration of outer space and what is hidden in it.

Particular success in this field was made by the ancient Greeks. They were the first to discover that our planet has the shape of a sphere. Their views on the location of the Earth relative to the Sun were divided: some scientists believed that the globe revolves around the heavenly body, the rest believed that on the contrary (they were supporters of the geocentric system of the world). To a common opinion the ancient Greeks did not come. All their works and space research were recorded on paper and decorated in a whole scientific work called "Almagest". Its author and compiler is the great ancient scientist Ptolemy.

The Renaissance and the destruction of previous ideas about outer space

Nikolai Copernicus - who did not hear that name? It was he who in the 15th century destroyed the erroneous theory of the geocentric system of the world and put forward his own, heliocentric, which claimed that the Earth revolves around the Sun, and not vice versa. Unfortunately, the medieval inquisition and the church were not asleep. They immediately proclaimed such speeches heretical, and the followers of the theory of Copernicus were cruelly persecuted. One of her supporters, Giordano Bruno, was burned at the stake. His name has remained in the centuries, and so far we remember the great scientist with respect and gratitude.

Growing interest in outer space

After these events, scientists' attention to astronomy only intensified. Space exploration has become more and more exciting. As soon as the 17th century began, a new large-scale discovery took place: the researcher Kepler established that the orbits along which the planets revolve around the Sun are not at all round, as was previously thought, but elliptical. Thanks to this event, science has undergone serious changes. In particular, Isaac Newton discovered the mechanics and was able to describe the laws by which the bodies move.

The discovery of new planets

To date, we know that there are eight planets in the solar system. Until 2006, their number was nine, but after the most recent and remote from heat and light planet - Pluto - was excluded from the number of bodies circulating around our heavenly luminary. This was due to its small size - the area of Russia alone is larger than the whole of Pluto. He was given the status of a dwarf planet.

Until the 17th century, people believed that there were five planets in the solar system. There were no telescopes then, so they judged only those celestial bodies that they could see with their own eyes. Saturn and its icy rings could not see anything else. Perhaps we would have been mistaken to this day, if not for Galileo Galilei. It was he who invented the telescopes and helped the scientists to study other planets and see the rest of the heavenly bodies of the solar system. Thanks to the telescope it became known about the existence of mountains and craters on the moon, satellites of Jupiter, Saturn, Mars. Also all the same Galileo Galilei found spots on the Sun. Science not only developed, it flew forward with leaps and bounds. And by the beginning of the twentieth century, scientists already knew enough to build the first spacecraft and set out to conquer the starry expanses.

How did the science of space develop in Soviet times?

Soviet scientists conducted significant space research and achieved very great successes in the study of astronomy and the development of shipbuilding. True, more than 50 years have passed since the beginning of the 20th century, before the first space satellite set out to conquer the expanses of the Universe. This happened in 1957. The device was launched in the USSR from the Baikonur cosmodrome. The first satellites did not chase after high results - their goal was to reach the Moon. The first space research device landed on the lunar surface in 1959. And also in the 20th century the Institute for Space Research was opened, in which serious scientific work was carried out and discoveries were made.

Soon the launch of satellites became commonplace, and yet only one mission to land on another planet ended successfully. It's about the Apollo project, during which several times, according to the official version, the Americans landed on the Moon.

International Space Race

1961 became memorable in the history of space exploration. But even earlier, in 1960, two dogs visited the cosmos, the nicknames of which the entire world knows: Belka and Strelka. They returned from outer space unharmed, becoming famous and becoming real heroes.

And on April 12 next year, Yuri Gagarin, the first man who dared to leave the Earth on the Vostok-1 ship, plowed through the expanses of the universe.

The United States of America did not want to give up the USSR in the space race, so they wanted to send their man into space before Gagarin. The United States also lost in the launch of satellites: Russia managed to launch the device four months ahead of America. In space, space explorers such as Valentina Tereshkova and Alexei Leonov have already visited. The latter was the first in the world to make an exit into outer space, and the most significant achievement of the United States in mastering the universe was only the cosmonaut's departure into orbital flight.

But, despite the considerable successes of the USSR in the "space race," America was also not a mistake. And on July 16, 1969, the spacecraft Apollo 11, carrying five space explorers, was launched to the surface of the Moon. Five days later, the first man stepped on the surface of the Earth satellite. His name was Neil Armstrong.

Victory or defeat?

Who won the lunar race? There is no exact answer to this question. Both the USSR and the US have shown their best: they modernized and improved technical achievements in spacecraft, made many new discoveries, took priceless samples from the surface of the Moon that were sent to the Space Research Institute. Thanks to them it was established that the Earth's satellite consists of sand and stone, and also that there is no air on the Moon. Traces of the Nile Armstrong, left more than forty years ago on the lunar surface, and now are there. They simply have nothing to erase: our companion is devoid of air, there is no wind or water. And if you go to the moon, you can leave your mark in history - both in direct and figurative meaning.

Conclusion

The history of mankind is rich and extensive, it includes many great discoveries, wars, grand victories and destructive defeats. The development of extraterrestrial space and modern space research are by far not the last place on the pages of history. But there would be nothing of this, if there were not such brave and selfless people as Herman Titov, Nikolai Copernicus, Yuri Gagarin, Sergey Korolev, Galileo Galilei, Giordano Bruno and many others. All these great people were distinguished by an outstanding mind, developed abilities to study physics and mathematics, strong character and iron will. We have something to learn from them, we can learn from these scientists in priceless experience and positive qualities and character traits. If humanity tries to be like them, read a lot, train, successfully study at school and university, then we can confidently say that we still have a lot of great discoveries before us, and the outer space will soon be explored. And, as it is sung in one famous song, on our dusty paths of distant planets our tracks will remain.