World Space Week: 4-10 October: Important Facts

World Space Week is the largest space event on the Earth. More than 80 countries are participating commemorating the week this year

Theme: The Moon: Gateway to the stars

The World Space Week was launched on October 4, 1957. The date was selected to mark the launch of first human – made earth satellite, Sputnik 1

Significance

The theme celebrates the 50^th anniversary of human kind’s first step on moon on 20 July, 1969. The theme sparks consideration of value of the Moon in human’s future space endeavors.

The World Space Week is the largest space annual event. It inspires students and educates public about space activity. Also, it fosters international cooperation in space outreach and education. During the celebration of the event public are encouraged towards greater use of space for sustainable economic development.

History

The World Space Week Association began to coordinate World Space Week from 1980. In 1981, Space Week headquarters was formed in the US to organize national wide celebration in US.

From 1999, the UN serves as the global coordinator of World Space Week.

About Sputnik

Sputnik was the first human made satellite that was launched into the space in 1957. It was launched by Soviet Union. The satellite orbited elliptically in the lower orbits of the earth. The batteries died after three weeks and the satellite fell back into the atmosphere. This triggered the space race between USSR and USA that was a part of the cold war.

Month: Current Affairs - October, 2019