Our interest in space has always been around, ever since we started to look up into the night sky and wonder what all of those magnificent sparks were. Over the last century the space race between the Russian's and the American's has sparked off much greater interest in what is out there are the first manned visits into space and then the moon gripped the entire world.
Space is the final frontier and something that both fascinates and terrifies everyone. We all know that we fear what we don't understand, and for most people, understanding space is something that is more or less impossible. We will know the basics about the Big Bang and our own solar system and galaxy and the plethora of other galaxies around us but that is only scratching the surface of what is the most complicated subject on the planet. Space research is constantly being undertaken by different space agencies around the world and we are all eager to answer so many different questions about our existence as well as potential alien life in the universe.
Since time space exploration has been slow but steady and there have not been the same sort of astronomical leaps as these two massive events. But how could there be? scientists and astronauts have found out so much about our universe, galaxy and solar system but none of these are the sorts of leaps that the public is eager to see. Getting a man into space and onto the moon was one thing, but the next step that people are eager to witness will be the first trip to Mars and then beyond. Currently being built is the Ares program which will aim to allow this to happen. The problem is that in order to visit planets and moons that are millions and millions or miles away we need to come up with a form of travel that allows us to travel at something like the speed of light.
Yet whether we get a man to Mars or not, people are still fascinated by the thoughts of visiting other planets. Yet how realistic is this? we all watch films where we are able to travel at light speeds but is this really realistic? well, the truth is that the idea of light speed is very much a science fiction creation and the idea to travelling at the speed of light goes against the laws of gravity and physics. As a result it may well be that we are rather restricted in our space travel exploits to areas in and around our own planet, at least for the time being. It really is impossible to tell what technological advances are going to arise in the future and perhaps some form of quicker space travel is possible.
Therefore travelling at light speed or not, it would take an untold number of years to each them. What can be achieved is a flight to mars, however, and this is the next big step that the world is waiting for.
What we need to hold on for is what wonders a trip to Mars will bring. But seeing as this is unlikely to occur before 2030, we will be waiting for quite some time yet!
