Space Exploration

Space exploration, once an imagination and science fiction, became reality when humans transformed their curiosity about the universe into the physical exploration of outer space by sending robots and humans to explore, to observe what lies in the universe and the requirements for humans to become multi-planetary, to mine space abundant natural resources and to export them to the Earth for the benefit of humankind.

Space exploration, exploration of outer space via state-of-the-art ground and space-based telescopes, uncrewed robotic space probes, satellites, and human spaceflight date back to the early era of space exploration, was driven by the Cold War that led to the “Space Race” between the Soviet Union and the United States. It is helping humans to gather data about celestial bodies and the data is helping them to better understand the universe and its expansion, to study galaxies and planets, to learn about the mysteries of black holes, dark matter, dark energy, and a host of others.

After the Cold War period, space exploration attention shifted to cooperation between the spacefaring nations, such as National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA, United States), State Corporation for Space Activities (Roscosmos, Russia), European Space Agency (ESA, Europe), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA, Japan), and Canadian Space Agency (CSA, Canada). The cooperation led to the establishment of the International Space Station program that brought together international launch vehicles, communication networks, flight crew, and scientific research communities.

The “Space Exploration” course is aimed at producing informed space digital citizens of the 21st century. The course will help a better understanding of the reasons why governments, private space companies, and investors are investing heavily in space exploration, various spin-offs from the space technologies adapted to develop several applications that are being used on Earth. The spin-offs have led to the growth of the space economy and the global economy at large, and the creation of new career paths. The course is designed for everyone irrespective of academic status or scientific experience. The insight that will be gained is transformative and it will lead to a personal journey of self-discovery on space exploration.

In this course, you will learn about the Universe, the evolution of space exploration, space exploration rationales, key milestones in space exploration, Space exploration missions, and Current trends in space exploration.