space exploration

Introduction
Overview of recent space achievements
- Motivations for space activity
- Major milestones
- Significant milestones in space exploration
History of space exploration
- Prelude to spaceflight
  - Precursors in fiction and fact
    - Tsiolkovsky
    - Goddard
    - Oberth
    - Other space pioneers
  - Early rocket development
    - Germany
    - United States
    - Soviet Union
  - Preparing for spaceflight
- From Sputnik to Apollo
  - The first satellites
  - Development of space organizations
    - United States
    - Soviet Union
    - Europe
    - Japan
    - China
    - International participation
    - Involvement of industry
  - The first human spaceflights
    - Vostok
    - Mercury
    - Gemini and Voskhod
    - Soyuz
  - The race to the Moon
    - The American commitment
    - The Soviet response
    - Interim developments
    - The Apollo lunar landings and Apollo-Soyuz
- Orbiting space platforms
  - Space stations
  - International space endurance records
  - Summary of space stations launched since 1971
  - The space shuttle
Human beings in space: debate and consequences
- Risks and benefits
- Selecting people for spaceflights
- Biomedical, psychological, and sociological aspects
Science in space
- Solar and space physics
- Solar system exploration
- Exploring the universe
- Microgravity research
- Observing Earth
Space applications
- Meteorology
- Positioning, navigation, and timing
- Military and national security uses of space
- Satellite telecommunications
- Remote sensing
- Commercial space transportation
- New commercial applications
Issues for the future
Chronology of crewed spaceflights
- Crewed spaceflights, 1960–69
- Crewed spaceflights, 1970–79
- Crewed spaceflights, 1980–89
- Crewed spaceflights, 1990–99
- Crewed spaceflights, 2000–09
- Crewed spaceflights, 2010–2019
- Crewed spaceflights, 2020–

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images & Videos

Astronaut outside the International Space Station

Top five milestones in space exploration history

Hurricane Irene

Cassini-Huygens spacecraft

Mars exploration: Opportunity and Curiosity rovers

Astronaut holding a rainbow lollipop against a starfield, with arrows toward text reading: Sugar in Space?

Partially assembled International Space Station orbiting above Earth with its large solar arrays extended.

At a Glance

Buzz Aldrin on the Moon

space exploration summary

Astronaut outside the International Space Station — Astronaut outside the International Space Station U.S. space shuttle astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria floating in space outside the Unity module of the International Space Station in October 2000, during an early stage of the station's assembly in Earth orbit.

space exploration

science

Written by

John M. Logsdon

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Oct. 19, 2026 •History

space exploration, investigation, by means of crewed and uncrewed spacecraft, of the reaches of the universe beyond Earth’s atmosphere and the use of the information so gained to increase knowledge of the cosmos and benefit humanity. A complete list of all crewed spaceflights, with details on each mission’s accomplishments and crew, is available in the section Chronology of crewed spaceflights. Humans have always looked at the heavens and wondered about the nature of the objects...

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