Space is defined as the region of our environment outside the earth’s crust. It consists of three different regions called the troposphere, the stratosphere and the ionosphere. Man had always been curious to discover what actually lies out there in space. It is the need to find out what exists there in outer space that led man to begin the activities of space exploration through space travel.
Space travel means to make a journey far beyond the earth’s atmosphere into outer space. Space travel by man started on October 4, 1957 when a rocket driven Russian space craft called Sputnik carried men into space. Ever since, the Americans have been more successful in space travels than all other nations. They had successfully conducted several space travels with their Apollo space vehicles. Apollo II was the first to land men safely on the moon.
Purposes of Space Travel
There are many reasons for which scientists travel to outer space. Some of them are:
1. For the acquisition of knowledge
2. To boost national prestige
3. To show military might
4. To find out if there is life on the moon and other planets
5. To colonize other planets
6. To help scientists find out the type of weather conditions that exist in outer space and on other planets. The idea is to find out the possibility of dwelling in such places
7. To provide a base for various activities in outer space
8. To provide such nations with a base for certain scientific and military activities that cannot be assessed by other nations
9. To provide nations with safe places of escape if there are adverse military operations in their countries such as nuclear war
10. To gain advantage of being in a position to monitor continuously events on earth in order to gain both scientific and military advantage over others
Benefits of Space Travel
• Some benefits have been derived from the various space travels that have been undertaken so far. For example, it is now known that there is no life on the moon
• It is now known that no human being can survive for a long time on the surface of the moon because of extremes of heat and cold.
• Space travel has helped man to realize that there is no water on the moon
• They have also come to realize that it is not easy for man to walk about on the moon because of low gravity
• Space travels have made man to realize the dangers of such ventures. Some of these dangers include death from explosions involving rocket fuels that are used to propel space vehicles, the difficulty of returning to earth from outer space, the prohibitive cost of space travel, etc.
• Scientists are now aware of the possibility of space vehicles getting lost in space if their equipment breakdown in space or if the tracking equipment malfunctions at certain critical moments while receiving specific instructions.
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