Space fascinates both children and adults, but do you know the true story of the conquest of space? For decades, humans have dreamed of leaving Earth and exploring space. Come aboard the Just Focus ship, we take you to discover this fascinating and terrifying space at the same time. Thop TV PC
What is the conquest of space?
Space conquest consists of the physical exploration of space and objects outside the Earth. In general, we talk about everything related to science, technology and space policy. The idea of sending an object, an animal, or a man into space is not new. As early as the nineteenth century, science fiction authors, such as Jules Verne, wrote novels about space travel, even before it was physically and materially possible. There are three problems for humans to go into space:
- First of all, one must detach oneself from the earthly attraction;
- Then, you have to find a motor capable of pushing an object into a vacuum. In space, there is no air, so it is impossible to use a propeller.
- Finally, you have to return to the atmosphere without being burned by the friction of the air.
As early as 1903, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky published several books and scientific articles on space. He came up with the idea of using a jet engine, using liquid hydrogen and oxygen. However, it was not until the middle of the twentieth century, with the development of means of propulsion, but also the improvement of materials, that the sending of a mission into space could become a reality.
When did the conquest of space take place?
After Adolf Hitler came to power, Von Braun carried out a lot of research, leading to the manufacture of a V2 missile. It is capable of carrying a one-tonne explosive charge more than 300 km from its launch point. On June 20, 1944, Nazi Germany sent the first V2 missile. It is the first artificial object to reach an altitude of more than 100 km, which corresponds to the limit between the atmosphere and space according to the International Aeronautical Federation. From 8 September 1944 to 23 March 1945, more than 1,200 bombs fell on the capital of the United Kingdom. London becomes synonymous with nightmares for its inhabitants. At the end of the war, and the defeat of Germany, the victorious sides, the United States and the Soviet Union, seized the equipment of the German engineers. They will be put at the service of both countries, and will be the pillars of future space agencies.
The major stages of the conquest of space
From the end of the Second World War, the two opposing camps, theUnited States and the USSR, fought for the conquest of space. We must also remember the context of this battle, the Cold War. There is no real armed conflict between the two countries, but an escalation in the manufacture of increasingly terrifying weapons. Both countries want at all costs to obtain intercontinental nuclear weapons, that is, rockets carrying an atomic bomb that can cross thousands of kilometers. The United States will be the first to discover and use these devices, during the bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. There are several major events in the conquest of space. First, the first orbital space flight in history, which took place on October 4, 1957 by the Soviet satellite Sputnik 1. It emits for 21 days, then disintegrates in the atmosphere on January 4, 1958. 
A month later, the Soviets decided to launch Sputnik 2, with a living being, the dog Laika, on board. It is the first living being to be sent into space. The dog died a few hours after the launch of the rocket. After sending more than a dozen Sputniks, with dogs on board, the Soviets decided to send the first man into space. 
The first flight by a human being was made on April 12, 1961, with astronaut Yuri Gagarin. It takes off from Baikonur in Kazakhstan at 9:07 a.m. Moscow time. It performs a revolution, a periodic movement of a celestial body in orbit around another of greater mass. It lasts 1 hour 48 minutes around the Earth, at an average altitude of 250 km. He ejected from his capsule a few kilometers from Earth, and made the rest of his descent by parachute. 
The Soviets being at the forefront of technology at that time, they sent the first woman into space: Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova. She is the first cosmonaut in history. His flight was made from 16 June to 19 June 1963 aboard the Vostok 6. It completes 48 orbits around the Earth in 70 hours and 41 minutes. This mission, lasting 2 days 22 hours and 41 minutes alone represents more than the total flight hours of all American astronauts of the time. Valentina Tereshkova is still the only woman to have gone into space alone.
The first man on the Moon
On May 5, 1961, the Americans sent their first man into space, but they realized that they were lagging behind the USSR. On May 25, 1961, President John Kennedy announced in a speech that "an American will set foot on the Moon before 1970." The race is on between the two powers! The Apollo program is launched by the United States. The U.S. government will pay astronomical sums, the equivalent of more than $135 billion today. The first step on the Moon, taken on July 20, 1969 by astronaut Neil Armstrong, is the culmination of all these years of research and testing. Neil Armstrong utters these famous words on his descent: "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind".
Major space institutions
The conquest of space has pushed countries to create their own administration dedicated to this. To begin with, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, originally known as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). It is the federal agency responsible for most of the United States' civil space program. Since its inception on July 29, 1958, NASA has played a crucial role in the world. NASA is authorized to administer and carry out civil astronautics projects. It was created during the Cold War to catch up with the Soviet Union. 
China National Space Administration (CNSA). China's space program has existed since 1956. Yet, in the beginning there is no space agency. The CNSA was created in the 1980s under the impetus of the head of state at the time: Deng Xiaoping. The agency's role is to set national space policy, manage international cooperation and implement the Chinese government's guidance. 
The European Space Agency (ESA) is an intergovernmental agency coordinating space projects carried out jointly by some twenty European countries. The activities, role and functioning of the Agency are defined by the ESA Convention and Council Rules of Procedure first drafted in 1975. Each Member State must ratify it. ESA aims to develop cooperation between European states in the field of space.
Why conquer space?
The history of the conquest of space is marked at its beginnings by the competition between the United States and the USSR. For reasons of prestige, but also of the Cold War, and ideology, capitalism in the face of communism. Today, the conquest of space is much more a scientific and technical issue. This allows different countries to demonstrate their power from a technological point of view. It is also an economic issue. The United States spends more than $40 billion annually on space programs, compared to $7 billion for Europe and Russia, and $5 billion for China. Finally, the conquest of space allows the affirmation of the power of countries. Owning a successful space program is not in itself a sign of superior power, but not having one is a sign of weakness when it comes to technology, economics and geopolitics.
Where are we in the conquest of space?
In 2012, a new milestone was reached with the Mars Science Laboratory. It is a mission to explore the planet Mars with the help of a rover, also called a rover, called Curiosity. The spacecraft was launched on November 26, 2011, and landed on August 6, 2012, in a crater called Gale. The previous rovers, Spririt and Opportunity, were oriented towards the analysis of rocks and their alteration, Curiosity aims to detect traces of organic chemistry. Thanks to him, we know that there was a lake there. China became aware of its backwardness, and in 2013, the power sent its own rover to the moon, dubbed "Jade Rabbit". It landed on December 14, 2013, and aims to observe geology and astronomy. 
Space tourism is increasingly mentioned. It is developing, but for now the projects are exclusively for wealthy people, who can pay millions. Created by the company Virgin Galactici, the Space Ship Two, has hung under its carrier plane the White Knight Two, it can carry 2 pilots and 6 passengers. The White Knight Two is capable of dropping Space Ship Two at an altitude of about 15,000 meters. Then, the Space ShipTwo is propelled by a rocket engine to reach a parabolic flight of 110 km, the theoretical limit of Space.
What is the purpose of the conquest of space?
Experts differ on this issue. Richard Heidmann, founder of the association Planète Mars, shows that the conquest of space is intimately linked to our innovations. For example, the Apollo program was a driving force in the development of computers. Today, space projects are decisive in the energy transition. Astronauts live in short circuits in space, water recycling for example is extremely important. Franck Damour , in his book La Tentation transhumaniste , evokes the new space, the conquest carried out by private companies. It correlates the conquest of space with modern colonizers, who have mobilized since the sixteenth century multiplied actors such as merchants or geologists. Elon Musk is used as an example. The creator of Space X, wants to "deconfine man from his terrestrial habitat to escape his destiny". So there is also a movement of colonization of space. Isabelle Desenclos, aerospace engineer and host of the blog Rêves d'espace, highlights that space exploration allows us to learn more about our world and our planet. For example, thanks to satellites, we can monitor in real time the evolution of pollution levels or the impact of certain disasters. With the study of other planets, we can also understand from another angle the ecological crisis we are experiencing. A study on Mars has shown that the Red Planet was habitable but that it was a change in atmosphere that made it a lifeless planet.
The France in the competition of space
The France works with other countries to conquer and discover space. In the Mars 2020 mission, France had a crucial role. This mission aims to search for traces of life on the red planet. This will be achieved thanks to the Perseverance rover, in which an essential French contribution: the SuperCam instrument, also called the Eye. A real Swiss army knife for the rover, allowing to analyze the soil of Mars. More recently, Thomas Pesquet flew into space to reach the International Space Station. He left in the Spaxe X Crew Dragon capsule. With him, a Japanese, Akihiko Hoshide and Americans Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur. The flight lasted 23 hours. From the first 10 minutes, they reached orbit. At this time, the plush prepared for the occasion began to float. The crew had chosen a penguin. The journey to the ISS is not direct. The crew will first make several dozen turns around the Earth. Life on board the ISS was planned in advance. For five days, 11 astronauts will coexist, then only 7 will remain. The Crew Dragon comes to relieve the 4 astronauts of Space-Crew 1. For the first time in history, a Frenchman will take command of the International Space Station. Thomas Pesquet will have the role of commander for one month, towards the end of the mission. His role will be to "assign tasks a little," adding: "I will have to see where we can be more efficient, where there may be friction, where we will have to defuse the problems … ».
Fashion in space
Throughout the conquest of space, astronauts' suits have evolved. All the suits, above, are used for when the astronaut has to get out of his capsule. They are all equipped with thrusters, because in space, the gravitational fields are not the same as on Earth, we move according to our initial impulse. The great revolution took place in 1984, during the STS-41B mission, thanks to the Manned Maneuvering Unit, the astronaut was able to move up to 90 meters. This system was the culmination of 20 years of research. 
For NASA's 2024 mission to the Moon, two suits will see the light of day. The suits are heavy, big and it is difficult to move with. This new combination took into account all these parameters. To begin with, the "xEMU" becomes more comfortable, and above all more maneuverable. It will be used exclusively for exploration on the lunar surface. The second, entirely orange, will be dedicated to the take-off, landing and return to Earth phases. 
Finally, let's talk about the latest suits used for the Space X mission. Did you know that the costume designer of these suits is also the costume designer of Batman and Captain America ? Well, yes! This is probably why the suits seem to come out of a new science fiction movie. However, these combinations also have novelties. For example, they are in one piece. This is unprecedented, often gloves and helmets are detached. In addition, this suit is also more practical and functional, with tactile gloves to allow astronauts to use their on-board tablets. The conquest of space began several decades ago. First of all, for politics, organized by the states, now it is the private actors who take care of everything. In view of the next trips scheduled all over the world, the conquest of space is not about to end!
