Space

Space Exploration

In 2007 there were the celebrations for the fiftieth anniversary of the launching of the first artificial satellite,  the Sputnik; and  on 20 July 1969 at 9.39 p.m. (21 July at 4.56 a.m. in Italy), Neil Armstrong started slowly descending the steps of the ladder outside the lunar excursion module, or LEM.
In the mid 70s, planet Mars, our neighbour became a fundamental objective and the American mission Phoenix, that will bring a new lander to the northern polar regions of Mars, to inspect Martian soil, was launched on the 4th of August this year.
The Aurora Programme of ESA, the European Space Agency, is a long term programme to explore the Solar System that will culminate with the first human voyage to Mars in 2030 and will also see  man’s return on the Moon.
The  MELISSA project  (Micro-Ecological Life Support System Alternative)  studies exactly how, by using microorganisms and superior plants, it can be possible to reconstruct a vital cycle, that is fundamental for the survival of mankind, plants and bacteria.
The history of space exploration  is a recent one that is well worth discovering.