An exciting year for space exploration

An exciting year for space exploration Today’s Video of the Day from the European Space Agency (ESA) features a preview of what is to come this year in space exploration.

ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano will make history as the first Italian commander of the International Space Station (ISS).

Cheops will be the first mission dedicated to studying exoplanets, while the EDRS-C satellite will lead us into a new age of super-fast data relay on orbit.

A more powerful version of the ESA’s lightweight launcher called Vega-C will be introduced, paving the way for the future heavy lift launcher Ariane 6. The intangible desire to explore and challenge the boundaries of what we know and where we have been has provided benefits to our society for centuries. Human space exploration helps to address fundamental questions about our place in the Universe and the history of our solar system.

Some negative consequences of space exploration include the emission of ozone-depleting substances and the presence of man-made debris in the earth’s orbit. In addition, astronauts may experience some negative physical effects of space exploration. An exciting year for space exploration as show above in video showing the beginning of a new era in space exploration in which NASA has been challenged to develop systems and capabilities required to explore beyond low-Earth orbit, including destinations such as translunar space, near-Earth asteroids and eventually Mars. The Lagrange point on the far side of the Earth-Moon system, called L2, also provides a “radio silence” zone for astronomical observations. Missions to translunar space will give NASA and its partners the opportunity to develop tools and operational techniques to support decades of future exploration, while remaining in relative proximity to Earth.
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By Chrissy Sexton, Earth.com Staff Writer

Image Credit: European Space Agency