60 years ago, no human artefact had ever left Earth’s atmosphere. Since then, we’ve played golf on the moon, sent robots to Mars, piloted probes to the edge of the solar system and hitched a ride on a passing comet. But in terms of space exploration, we’ve barely made it out of the driveway. Our solar system is just a tiny atom in a vast galaxy, itself one of many billions we can see from Earth and countless more beyond the cosmic horizon.
This issue of New Scientist: The Collection is dedicated to our growing understanding of space, both from exploration and observation. It takes a tour of the known cosmos and beyond, to the profound mysteries that future missions might one day solve. Are there moons capable of supporting life? What’s feeding the black hole at the centre of our galaxy? Why did the Sun abandon its siblings? And where have all the supernovae gone?
It might be another 60 years or more before we leave our own cosmic driveway. But human curiosity knows no such bounds.
This issue of New Scientist: The Collection is dedicated to our growing understanding of space, both from exploration and observation. It takes a tour of the known cosmos and beyond, to the profound mysteries that future missions might one day solve. Are there moons capable of supporting life? What’s feeding the black hole at the centre of our galaxy? Why did the Sun abandon its siblings? And where have all the supernovae gone?
It might be another 60 years or more before we leave our own cosmic driveway. But human curiosity knows no such bounds.
