“Mankind is led into the darkness beyond our world by the inspiration of discovery and the longing to understand.  Our journey into space will go on..”

(George W. Bush – 2003)

Space technology deals not only with entering into outer space, but also maintaining and using systems during spaceflights and returning people and things from space. The universe, exclusive of Earth, is such an alien environment that attempting to work in it requires new techniques and knowledge. New technologies originating with or accelerated by space-related endeavors are often subsequently exploited in other economic activities. The general public is under the impression that space has been and is being used only for military purposes and space warfare. Most of us are still in the dark about the benefits and advancements in technology as a result of these space technologies. We still have very little knowledge about space activities, space technologies, benefits and the peaceful uses of this space technology. So when developing countries try to join or spend a portion of their budget on space related programs the public out-cry against the expense pressurizes the government to cease such programs. At the same time countries like U.S, Russia, Japan, Germany, India and the European nations are benefitting from the spinoff effect of the space technologies. Examples include a device that kills harmful bacteria, ways to boost water and electricity reserves and plant adaptations that tempt the senses with new flavors and fragrances to enjoy.

Space activities are very soon going to become an issue of national sovereignty, political & economic power, military capabilities, international cooperation and alliances, and also globalization and environmental protection (sustainable development). The common man believes that space is being used by the developed countries to generate military powers and most people tend to ignore the issues involved in the space race. Political opponents counter and encourage the notion among the citizens that it would be far cheaper to develop specific technologies directly if they are beneficial and scoff at this justification for public expenditures on space-related research. The purpose of this article is to lay-out some of the social benefits resulting from space technology to those who may be unaware of the windfall of benefits that touch nearly every aspect of our lives.

BACKGROUND OF SPACE EXPLORATION:

Ｉagree with Sir Arthur C. Clarke, a renowned British science fiction author when he says, “The Earth is simply too small and fragile a basket for the human race to keep all its eggs in.” Space exploration was not just the next step in the study of astronomy, it has become necessary to find other sources of natural resources and traces of life on other planets. While in reliable pre-dates recorded history the efforts in observing objects from space was the development of large liquid-fueled rocket engines during the early 20th century that allowed physical space exploration to become a reality. Various criticisms of Space Exploration are sometimes made, generally on cost or safety grounds. The early era of space exploration was driven by a "Space Race" between the Soviet Union and the United States; the launch of the first man-made object to orbit the Earth, the USSR's Sputnik 1, on October 4, 1957, and the first Moon landing by the American Apollo 11 craft on July 20, 1969 are often taken as the boundaries for this initial period. The Soviet space program achieved many of the first milestones including the first human spaceflight in 1961, the first spacewalk in 1965, and the launch of the first space station (Salyut 1) in 1971. However, the first man-made objects to reach space were Nazi-Germany's V2 rockets, used as early as in the Second World War. Out of view, but no less a real competition, the drive to develop space for military uses paralleled scientific efforts. Russians claimed that by first sending a man into space they had won this unofficial "race," however Americans claimed that by first landing a man on the moon they had won. In any event, as the Cold War subsided, and as other nations began to develop their own space programs, the notion of a continuing "race" between the two superpowers became less real.

After the first 20 years of exploration, the focus have shifted from one-off flights to renewable hardware, such as the Space Shuttle program, and from competition to cooperation as with the International Space Station. The common man needs to be educated in not only the history and evolution of the space technologies but also the impacts they have had on the societies of the world and the kinds of work the space institutes of different countries have been doing in order to keep developing and improving their technologies. It can only happen if more and more of these technologies are put to use for the good of the whole humanity not just citizens of a handful of countries. The media is also to blame for not creating awareness among the public because they don't bother covering all the tremendous successes but just the failures. Awareness is something that is lacking in this process of exploring new ways to implement peaceful ways of using space technologies. During th 4th Committee session on UNISPACE in october 2004 all the participating countries acknowlegded that Space was the common domain of whole humanity, it couldn't be claimed by just a few countries of the world. The committee members emphasized that both developed and developing countries need to share information, data and technologies in order to benefit all of mankind and reduce the gaps between the rich and the poor. The researches that are conducted by national space exploration agencies, such as NASA and the RKA, are among the reasons that the supporters for space technologies and their applications cite to justify their government expenses. Some of the supporters even claim that space exploration is a necessity to mankind and that staying on our home planet will lead us to extinction. Some of their reasons for the conclusion are the lack of natural resources, comets, nuclear war, worldwide epidemic etc. (Part 1)