Humans have always been interested in space. In the past, we looked up to space with our eyes. We could see stars. But we didn't know what they were. This was the birth of astronomy.
Telescopes let us see space in more detail. The first was invented in 1608. It was used for viewing Earth. Galileo, an Italian scientist, improved the telescope. His telescope made things look 3 times bigger. He used it to look into space. He used it to see the moon.
We still use telescopes today. We have buildings that are used to view space. They have telescopes inside. They are called observatories.
In the mid 1900s, we started to visit space. But it wasn't humans that went first. The first space explorers were animals.
In 1947, America sent flies into space. They were sent 65 km into the air. They were then released back to earth with a parachute. The flies were found in good health.
In 1957, Laika the dog was sent to space in a shuttle by the Russians. She was a street dog from Moscow, Russia. She became the first living being to orbit Earth. Sadly, she did not make it back to Earth. There was no plan for her to come back.
Both America and Russia were trying to send humans to space. They were trying to beat the other. It became known as the Space Race. Russia was trying to send cosmonauts to space. Americans were trying to send astronauts to space. The jobs are the same, but they have different names.
It was the Russian's mission, Vostok 1, that sent the first human to space. Yuri Gagarin became the first cosmonaut to orbit Earth. In 1961, he spent 1 hour and 29 minutes orbiting Earth.
In 1969, it was America's turn to do something amazing. They sent two astronauts to the moon. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first humans to walk on the moon. They spent two and a half hours on the lunar surface. They collected samples and took photographs.
Today, there are people living in space. Crews live on the International Space Station. It is a large spacecraft with lots of equipment to do research. It travels at over 23,000 km per hour. It is powered partly by large solar panels.
People go to live on the ISS for months at a time. It holds people from the USA, Russia, Japan, and Europe. The people spend their time doing research until they come back to Earth.
But what about non-living explorers? This is the Mars Rover. It is a robot explorer. This robot explores Mars and tells about what it finds.
Exploring space is important. Maybe we will find life. Maybe we will find ways to help people on Earth. What do you think we will find out there?