Themes > Science > Astronomy > Astronautics > Space Exploration > Introduction

Space Exploration, or astronautics, science and engineering of manned and unmanned space travel. Space exploration is interdisciplinary in that it draws upon the findings of such fields as , astronomy, mathematics, chemistry, biology, medicine, electronics, and meteorology. Sputnik 1 The Russian Sputnik 1, launched on October 4, 1957, was the first artificial satellite put into orbit around the earth. This historic launch kicked off an era of intensive space programs by both the Soviet Union and the United States, a surge of interest sometimes called the "space race." In the next three decades, hundreds of probes, satellites, and other missions would follow Sputnik on the quest to explore both the wonders and the practical potential of space.