The development of reliable, high-powered boosters has enabled researchers to send probes to distant planets.

Early in the life of the solar system Mars appears to have had Earth-like conditions.

The ringed planet is of immense interest to researchers who believe that Saturn’s ring system will share similarities with the proto-planetary disc.

Currently the only destination for Astronauts and Cosmonauts is the orbiting research platform known as the International Space Station.

The solar system’s largest planet has been visited by automated probes since the 1970s.

Before spaceflight aviators began wearing pressure suits to allow them to function at higher ceilings.

For most of human history our neighbouring planets were little more that dots of light in the sky with comets and asteroids being a complete mystery.

The Sun is our star. Its energy enables life on the Earth to thrive yet we know so little about the solar weather and the 11 year solar cycle.

Space telescopes orbiting above the distorting effects of the Earth’s atmosphere, such as the Hubble, have made incredible contributions to our knowledge of the universe.

There are so many unanswered questions about the stars, the galaxies and the universe and just mapping what lies in the night sky is immensely difficult.

As our expertise in space technology increases there have been spin-offs in many areas: particularly in communications.

The most important planet in the solar system is our home, the Earth. It is the only planet we know that harbours life.

Space technologies are continuing to be refined and access to space is becoming cheaper.