Stars Still Out of Reach: Our Space Journey is Still in Its Infancy
- Good To Know 33
- Nov 19, 2023
- 5 min read
We’ve dreamed of reaching the stars, exploring distant planets, and pushing beyond the boundaries of our atmosphere. But what if I told you that despite all our grand aspirations, we’ve barely scratched the surface?
Humans have reached remarkable heights, but we’ve never soared higher than the mesosphere. That’s right — our adventures into space have been contained within this layer, far from the vast expanse we’ve longed to conquer.
The stratosphere, just above the layer where planes fly, sits about 10 to 50 kilometers (6 to 31 miles) above Earth’s surface. It’s where the air gets chilly and thin, hosting the protective ozone layer shielding us from harmful sun rays.
To put Felix Baumgartner’s breathtaking balloon flight and subsequent base jump in 2012 into perspective, imagine ascending to a height that surpasses even the tip of Mount Everest — not quite four times over, but still reaching a staggering altitude of 39 kilometers (about 24 miles).
Now, here’s the thing: space, as we often envision it, begins beyond the mesosphere. That’s where the real challenges kick in. Imagine trying to breathe in air so thin it’s just a fraction of what we have at sea level. It’s like running a marathon while gasping for breath. And that bone-chilling cold? Temperatures in the mesosphere can plummet to a mind-numbing -100 degrees Celsius (-148 degrees Fahrenheit). It’s so cold it could mess with our gear and prevent it from working properly.
Beyond the stratosphere lies increased exposure to sunbeams packing a punch — ultraviolet radiation. It’s the stuff that gives you a tan on the beach, but up there, it’s a dangerous dose that could lead to skin cancer and a heap of other health troubles.
How Did We Reach The Moon?
Despite the challenges posed by the thin atmosphere, extreme cold, and dangerous levels of radiation, humans have managed to travel to the moon, which is on average about 384 400 km (238 855 miles) away from Earth. This was accomplished through the Apollo program, a series of missions that were conducted by NASA between 1968 and 1972.
Why has no human been on the Moon since the 1969–1972 NASA mission?
Getting people back to the moon has been tough for a few reasons:
Money: It’s super expensive. The Apollo program cost a lot — around $288 billion in today’s money. Governments find it hard to spend that much again.
Interest & Politics: After Apollo, people got less interested in space. That made it tough for NASA to get money and support for more moon trips.
Tech: The stuff they used back then is old news now. We need new technology to send people back to the moon.
Other Priorities: NASA’s been busy with other big projects, like the Space Station and exploring Mars. Those get more attention and money.
No Clear Goal: After Apollo, we didn’t have a clear reason to go back to the moon.
Risks: Space travel is risky. Astronauts face dangers like radiation, space debris, and lots of stress.
Public Views: People like space stuff, but some think it’s more of a luxury than a necessity. That makes it hard to get funding.
But there’s hope! NASA is working on the Artemis program to get astronauts back to the moon by the mid-2030s. It’s a big deal and might bring back our lunar explorers.
The Saturn V rocket, which was used for the Apollo missions, was able to reach the moon because it was a very powerful rocket. It had three stages, each of which burned fuel to produce thrust. The first stage burned for about two minutes and lifted the rocket out of the atmosphere. The second stage burned for about six minutes and placed the rocket into orbit around Earth. The third stage burned for about five minutes and propelled the spacecraft from Earth's orbit to the moon.
So, while we have not traveled beyond the mesosphere in the sense of establishing a permanent human presence there, we have used rockets to travel beyond the mesosphere and reach the moon.
The International Space Station
The distance to the International Space Station (ISS) varies throughout its orbit, but the average distance is about 400 kilometers (250 miles). The ISS orbits Earth in an elliptical path, and its distance from Earth ranges from about 350 kilometers (220 miles) to 410 kilometers (255 miles).
The ISS orbits in the exosphere, which is the outermost layer of Earth’s atmosphere. The exosphere extends from about 800 kilometers (500 miles) above the Earth’s surface to the edge of space.
The ISS is designed to orbit in this region because it is the least dense layer of the atmosphere, which means there is less air resistance to slow it down. This allows the ISS to maintain a high orbital speed of about 27,400 kilometers per hour (17,000 miles per hour), which is necessary to keep it from falling back to Earth.
The exosphere is also the most remote layer of the atmosphere, which means it is less affected by Earth’s weather and magnetic field. This makes it an ideal location for the ISS, as it provides a stable environment for scientific research and experimentation.
The ISS is used by astronauts from many different countries to conduct research in a variety of fields, including space science, medicine, and technology. The ISS is also a popular destination for space tourists, who pay to visit the station and experience life in space.
The first space tourist to visit the International Space Station (ISS) was Dennis Tito, an American businessman, who paid $20 million for an 8-day trip in April 2001. Since then, a total of 20 space tourists have visited the ISS, all of whom paid a substantial fee to experience life in space.
Here is a list of space tourists who have visited the ISS:
Dennis Tito (April 2001)
Mark Shuttleworth (April 2002)
Gregory Olsen (October 2005)
Anousheh Ansari (September 2006)
Charles Simonyi (March 2009)
Guy Laliberté (September 2009)
Richard Garriott (October 2009)
Robert Thirsk (April 2010)
Peggy Whitson (September 2010)
Shane Kimbrough (November 2012)
Elena Volygina (September 2014)
Gregory Chamitoff (March 2015)
Mikhail Kornienko (March 2016)
Satoshi Kanai (December 2017)
Yusaku Maezawa (December 2021)
Michael López-Alegría (April 2022)
Larry Connor (April 2022)
Mark Pathy (April 2022)
Eytan Stibbe (April 2022)
Space tourism is a rapidly growing industry, and the number of space tourists visiting the ISS is expected to increase in the coming years. With the development of more affordable and accessible space travel options, it is possible that space tourism will become a popular activity for people from all walks of life. But this space trip is not for free.
The cost of a space tourist trip to the ISS varies depending on the length of the trip and the services provided. However, it is typically in the millions of dollars. For example, the first space tourist, Dennis Tito, paid $20 million for an 8-day trip in 2001. In recent years, the cost of a space tourist trip has come down somewhat, but it is still a very expensive experience.
The Moon vs The ISS
The Moon is much farther away from Earth than the ISS. The average distance between the Earth and the Moon is 384,400 kilometers (238,855 miles). The ISS, on the other hand, orbits Earth at an average distance of about 400 kilometers (250 miles).
This means that the Moon is about 961 times farther away from Earth than the ISS. This is a significant difference, and it has a number of implications for space travel.
For example, it takes much longer to travel to the Moon than it does to travel to the ISS. It took the Apollo astronauts about three days to travel to the Moon, while it only takes a few hours to travel to the ISS.
The distance between the Earth and the Moon also affects the amount of radiation that astronauts are exposed to. Astronauts on the ISS are shielded from much of the radiation that comes from the Sun, but astronauts on the Moon are not. This is because the Moon does not have a magnetic field like Earth does, which helps to deflect radiation.
Despite the challenges, traveling to the Moon is a significant achievement. The Apollo missions were a major milestone in human history, and they paved the way for future exploration of the solar system.
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