Human presence in space

This article is about all forms of human presence in space. Not to be confused with its particular issues of Space age, active Solar System probes, Spaceflight, Human spaceflight, Space habitation or Space exploration.
A computer-generated image mapping the prevalence of artificial satellites and space debris around Earth in geosynchronous and low Earth orbit
All active Solar System space probes in 2023 (and a list of upcoming ones).

Human presence in space (also anthropogenic presence in space or humanity in space) is the direct and mediated presence or telepresence of humans in outer space[1] and in a broader sense also on any extraterrestrial astronomical body. Human presence in space, particularly through mediation, can take many physical forms from space debris, uncrewed spacecraft, artificial satellites, space observatories, crewed spacecraft, art in space, to human outposts in outer space such as space stations.

While human presence in space, particularly its continuation and permanence can be a goal in itself,[1] human presence can have a range of purposes[2] and modes from space exploration, commercial use of space to extraterrestrial settlement or even space colonization and militarisation of space. Human presence in space is realized and sustained through the advancement and application of space sciences, particularly astronautics in the form of spaceflight and space infrastructure.

Humans have achieved some mediated presence throughout the Solar System, but the most extensive presence has been in orbit around Earth. Humans reached outer space mediated in 1944 (MW 18014) and have sustained mediated presence since 1958 (Vanguard 1),[a] as well as having reached space directly for the first time on 12 April 1961 (Yuri Gagarin) and continuously since the year 2000 with the crewed International Space Station (ISS), or since the later 1980s with some few interruptions through crewing its predecessor, the space station Mir.[4] The increasing and extensive human presence in orbital space around Earth, beside its benefits, has also produced a threat to it by carrying with it space debris, potentially cascading into the so-called Kessler syndrome.[5] This has raised the need for regulation and mitigation of such to secure a sustainable access to outer space.

Securing the access to space and human presence in space has been pursued and allowed by the establishment of space law and space industry, creating a space infrastructure. But sustainability has remained a challenging goal, with the United Nations seeing the need to advance long-term sustainability of outer space activities in space science and application,[6] and the United States having it as a crucial goal of its contemporary space policy and space program.[7][8]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Presence was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Next was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference IdeaMan was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Station was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kessler was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference UN was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference NASA_sustainability was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Artemis was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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