[Amazing] 25 Facts About Space And Space Exploration You Might Not Have Realized
Space is a crazy place. Although space and space exploration are often featured in our science fiction dramas and movies, most of us don’t really know much about it. Space is a mysterious place filled with things that we don’t understand like black holes, radiation, and asteroid belts.
For as long as humanity has been around, space has played an important role in our lives. In fact, space and the stars have played a significant role in shaping the world today as we know it. Without the stars, sailors would not have been able to navigate on the open seas, causing trade and exploration to be severely crippled. It’s crazy to think about, but countries in the Americas and Australasia would probably have looked significantly different without their European influence. Although that is an interesting thought experiment, it is not the topic of today’s conversation. In this list we are going to be taking a closer look at that profound, black darkness that is always hanging over our heads.
In spite of our near constant fascination with space, there are still many things left to discover about it. And although that is the job of scientists, these are 25 Facts About Space And Space Exploration You Might Not Have Realized!
There is a water reservoir in deep space that holds 140 trillion times all of the water on Earth.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia
Scientists at NASA have actually discovered stars that are cool enough to touch.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia
After Earth, Venus's clouds are possibly the most habitable spot for humans in the Solar System.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia
Tortoises orbited the moon before humans because the Russians sent them there to test one of their probes.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia
The footprints left by the astronauts on the moon will stay there forever (or at least until something happens to the moon) because there is no atmosphere and therefore no wind.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia
The Germans were actually the first to go into space with their V2 rocket.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia
Speaking of going into space, typically space is seen to begin at 100km above the surface of the Earth. This is known as the Kármán line. This is the point where the atmosphere becomes too thin to support aeronautical flight because an aircraft would have to surpass orbital velocity in order to achieve sufficient lift.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia
You can cry in space but your tears won't fall. They'll just...stay there. And then float away.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia
The first creatures conceived in space were cockroaches. The Russians reported that they grew faster and stronger than their Earth bound counterparts.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia
In space, the skin on the bottom of your feet starts to peel off because you are not walking around (the skin becomes soft due to not being used, so astronauts have to be careful when taking off their socks otherwise bits of skin will start floating around the ship!)
Source: nasa, Image: pixabay
Apollo 13, Armageddon, and Around The World In 80 Days are among the movies kept on the International Space Station.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia
Interested in space discoveries? Check out 25 Recent Space Discoveries That Blew Our Minds.
Because there is no gravity in space, astronauts are unable to tell if their bladders are full. For this reason they are trained to relieve themselves every 2 hours.
Source: wikipedia, Image: Chad Kainz via Flickr
There are four dwarf planets in our solar system - Puto, Ceres, Eres, and Makemake.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia
Boomerangs will return to you even in space as Japanese astronaut Takao Doi found out when he tried it inside the International Space Station. This is because boomerangs don't require gravity to function. They only require air.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia
As of this writing, only 24 people have seen our entire planet with their own eyes.
Source: wikipedia
If you lived on the International Space Station, you would witness about 15 sunsets every day.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia
NASA sent part of Sir Isaac Newton's apple tree into space to "defy gravity."
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia
In 1977, researchers received a signal from deep space that lasted 72 seconds. Known as the Wow! signal, it is the only radio transmission we have received that has appeared to be from an intelligent source. It was determined to have originated near the star Tau Sagittarii in the constellation Sagittarius.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia
Note: It had so many trademarks of what we would expect from an intelligent source, that when scientists couldn’t find it again they hypothesized that it could have come from Earth and bounced off of some space debris (this theory was later held to be very unlikely).
You can't burp in space. The liquids and gasses in your stomach don't separate in 0 gravity, so it would be more like acid reflux.
Source: wikipedia, Image: Tim Regan via Flickr
Although Saturn is the second biggest planet in the solar system, it's the lightest!
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia
In space, metal objects stick together. This is due to a process known as "cold welding." This doesn't happen on Earth because of the oxygen in our atmosphere.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia
Costing $150 billion, the International Space Station is the most expensive structure ever built.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia
Astronauts grow up to 2 inches in space! This is because our spine elongates when there is less gravity.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia
NASA is developing 3D printed pizza for astronauts.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia
Without a space suit, a human could potentially last up to 90 seconds in space although you would almost certainly pass out long before then.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia
If you enjoyed this post, you’ll also like this one: 25 Useless Facts About Space That Are Still Cool To Know.
