Introduction

Several countries are currently involved in space exploration.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

October 1, 1958, the official start of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), was the beginning of a rich history of unique scientific and technological achievements in human space flight, aeronautics, space science, and space applications.

Formed as a result of the Sputnik crisis of confidence, NASA inherited the earlier National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), and other government organizations, and almost immediately began working on options for human space flight.

NASA's first high profile program was Project Mercury, an effort to learn if humans could survive in space, followed by Project Gemini, which built upon Mercury's successes and used spacecraft built for two astronauts. NASA's human space flight efforts then extended to the Moon with Project Apollo, culminating in 1969 when the Apollo 11 mission first put humans on the lunar surface. After the Skylab and Apollo-Soyuz Test Projects of the early and mid-1970s, NASA's human space flight efforts again resumed in 1981, with the Space Shuttle program that continues today to help build the International Space Station.

Building on its NACA roots, NASA has continued to conduct many types of cutting-edge aeronautics research on aerodynamics, wind shear, and other important topics using wind tunnels, flight testing, and computer simulations. NASA's highly successful X-15 program involved a rocket-powered airplane that flew above the atmosphere and then glided back to Earth unpowered, providing Shuttle designers with much useful data. The watershed F-8 digital-fly-by-wire program laid the groundwork for such electronic flight in many other aircraft including the Shuttle and high performance airplanes that would have been uncontrollable otherwise. NASA has also done important research on such topics as "lifting bodies" (wingless airplanes) and "supercritical wings" to dampen the effect of shock waves on transsonic aircraft.

Additionally, NASA has launched a number of significant scientific probes such as the Pioneer and Voyager spacecraft that have explored the Moon, the planets, and other areas of our solar system. NASA has sent several spacecraft to investigate Mars including the Viking and Mars Pathfinder spacecraft. The Hubble Space Telescope and other space science spacecraft have enabled scientists to make a number of significant astronomical discoveries about our universe.

NASA also has done pioneering work in space applications satellites. NASA has helped bring about new generations of communications satellites such as the Echo, Telstar, and Syncom satellites. NASA's Earth science efforts have also literally changed the way we view our home planet; the Landsat and Earth Observing System spacecraft have contributed many important scientific findings. NASA technology has also resulted in numerous "spin-offs" in wide-ranging scientific, technical, and commercial fields.

Since its inception in 1958, NASA has accomplished many great scientific and technological feats in air and space. NASA technology also has been adapted for many non-aerospace uses by the private sector. NASA remains a leading force in scientific research and in stimulating public interest in aerospace exploration, as well as science and technology in general.

NASA's logo dates back to 1959, when the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA) metamorphosed into an agency that would advance both space and aeronautics: the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).The sphere represents a planet, the stars represent space, the red chevron is a wing representing aeronautics (the latest design in hypersonic wings at the time the logo was developed), and then there is an orbiting spacecraft going around the wing.

Russian Space Agency

The Russian Space Agency (RKA) was formed after the breakup of the former Soviet Union and the dissolution of the Soviet space program. The RKA uses the technology and launch sites that belonged to the former Soviet space program. Currently, the RKA has centralized control of Russia's civilian space program, including all manned and unmanned nonmilitary space flights.

At present stage space activities holds the one of key places in Russia's geopolitics and is one of major factors determining its status as a great power and as high-technology country. Exploration and utilization of outer space play an increasingly important role in economic, scientific and social development of the country and in providing of its national security. Features of its geographic location (terrestivial size, large extent of sea, land and air borders, variable landscape, abundant natural resources and other factors) objectively drive forwards the necessity to develop and effectively use its space potential.

Space technology, global by its nature, not being confined within national borders, solves at radically new level a number of tasks on observation, use of natural resources, environmental monitoring, information support and fundamental science.

Russia has all needed for independent space activities. Despite of facing current difficulties Russia taking into account the geographic, economic and social factors continues to pursue a broad space activities targeted at solving socio-economic, scientific and other tasks in the interests of society and its individuals, providing of national and international security, as well as widening of international cooperation.

Space activities in Russia is categorized as state top priority. It gets state support, both political and economical. It is backed by adopted legislative and regulatory documents of which fundamental one is Russian Federation law "On space activities" as revised and amended in 1996.

China National Space Administration (CNSA)

China National Space Administration (CNSA) was established, as a government institution to develop and fulfill China's due international obligations, with the approval by the Eighth National People's Congress of China (NPC). The Ninth NPC assigned CNSA as an internal structure of the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (COSTIND).

China National Space Administration assumes the following main responsibilities: signing governmental agreements in the space area on behalf of organizations, inter-governmental scientific and technical exchanges; and also being in charge of the enforcement of national space policies and managing the national space science, technology and industry.

The black powder rocket was invented by the ancient Chinese, but no indigenous effort in development of rocketry or space theory took place until the return of Tsien Hsue-Shen to China from America in 1955. Since the birth of China's space program a year later its development has mirrored that of the nation as a whole. It went through stages of arduous pioneering, development, reform and revitalisation, and international co-operation. China's space industry was developed from a non-existent industrial infrastructure and scientific and technological level. After 45 years of struggle China ranked among the most advanced countries in such fields as satellite recovery, multi-satellite launch by a single rocket, cryogenic propulsion, strap-on boosters, geo-stationary satellites, and satellite tracking and control. Significant achievements were also made in remote-sensing and telecommunications satellites, micro-gravity experiments, and manned spacecraft development.

European Space Agency (ESA)

The European Space Agency is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the people of Europe.

ESA’s predecessors, were the European Space Research Organisation (ESRO), and the European Launcher Development Organisation (ELDO). In the early 1960s even up to 1973. This led to the birth of the new organisation (ESA)

ESA has 15 Member States. By coordinating the financial and intellectual resources of its members, it can undertake programmes and activities far beyond the scope of any single European country. ESA’s 15 Member States are Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

In addition Canada and Hungary participate in some projects under cooperation agreements. Not all member countries of the European Union are members of ESA and not all ESA Member States are members of the EU. ESA is an entirely independent organisation although it maintains close ties with the EU with whom it shares a joint space strategy.

ESA’s job is to draw up the European space plan and carry it through. The Agency’s projects are designed to find out more about the Earth, its immediate space environment, the solar system and the Universe, as well as to develop satellite-based technologies and promote European industries. ESA also works closely with space organisations outside Europe to share the benefits of space with the whole of mankind.

ESA is has its headquarters located Paris and centres in Europe, each of which has different responsibilities:

• ESTEC, the European Space Research and Technology Centre, is the design hub for most ESA spacecraft and is situated in Noordwijk, the Netherlands.
  
• ESOC, the European Space Operations Centre, is responsible for controlling ESA satellites in orbit and is situated in Darmstadt, Germany.
  
• EAC, the European Astronauts Centre, trains astronauts for future missions and is situated in Cologne, Germany.
  
• ESRIN, the European Space Research Institute, is based in Frascati, near Rome in Italy. Its responsibilities include collecting, storing and distributing satellite data to ESA’s partners, and acting as the Agency’s information technology centre.
  In addition, ESA has liaison offices in the United States, Russia and Belgium, a launch base in French Guiana, and ground and tracking stations in various areas of the world.

The International Space Station will be the focus of human spaceflight activities for the next 20 years. But after the ISS, what comes next? There's a whole universe waiting out there, and Europe intends to play a major role in exploring it. That means some careful long-term planning.

ESA's new Aurora Programme aims to set out a strategy for Europe's solar system exploration over the next 30 years - which could include manned expeditions to the Moon, Mars, the asteroids and even beyond.

The Space Race

For more than a decade now the United States and Soviet Union have been locked in a battle to conquer the stars. The race began in 1957 when the Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite, Sputnik (Russian for "Traveler.").

Ever since that day the United States and Soviet Union have been caught in a ‘tit for tat’ game in space resulting in the United States launching its first satellite, Explorer I in 1958. The battle progressed in 1961 when Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person to orbit the Earth.

Not to be outdone, Alan Shepard, Jr. became the first American astronaut in space in May of that same year in a sub orbital flight aboard his Mercury spacecraft, Freedom 7. He followed by fellow American John Glenn in the first orbital flight in 1962.

The race climaxed in 1969 when the USA became the first nation to land on the moon, creating much media frenzy political triumphs for the nation. U.S. astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins make it to the moon. Armstrong is the first man to walk on the moon followed by Buzz Aldrin.

The 21st century has seen a new contender entering the game, China has now become the third nation to put a person in space, some 40 years after Russia. Yuri Gagarin, Alan Shepherd - and now Yang Liwei of China are fighting for space parity. In 2003 Yang Liwei is the 431st person or “Yuhangyuan” – (Chinese for space navigator) to have gone into space.

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Date	April 12, 1961	May 5, 1961	Feb 20, 1962	Oct15, 2003
Photo
Person	Yuri Alexeyevich Gagarin	Alan Shepard, Jr	John Glenn	Yang Liwei
Flight Length	1 hr 48 mins	15 mins	5 hour	22 hrs
Spacecraft	Vostok 1	Mercury, Freedom 7	Friendship 7	Shenzhou v
Flight	Orbited earth	Sub-orbital	Orbited earth	Orbited earth

Significant events in the Space Race include:

• first artificial satellite - Sputnik 1 (1957, USSR)
• first animal in orbit - Laika - Sputnik 2 (USSR)
• first human in space - Yuri Gagarin, Vostok 1 (1961, USSR)
• first orbital flight - Vostok 1 (1961, USSR)
• first dual flight (1962, USSR)
• first woman in space - Valentina Tereshkova (1963, USSR)
• first flight with more than one crew member - Voskhod 1 (1964, USSR)
• first spacewalk - Aleksei Leonov on Voskhod 2 (1965, USSR)
• first space rendezvous - Gemini 6/Gemini 7 (1965, USA)
• first space docking - Gemini 8 (1966, USA)
• first spacecraft on moon - Luna 2 (USSR)
• first orbital flight of moon - Apollo 8 (1968, USA)
• first human landing on moon - Apollo 11 (1969, USA)
• first space station - Salyut 1 (1971, USSR)

To date approximately 431 persons to have visited space so far. The table below shows the first 10 countries to have been in space: