From the first human entry into space in 1961, to the first human landing on the moon in 1969, and now to Mars exploration, space station construction, and asteroid exploration, human beings have never stopped exploring the universe. The development of aerospace technology not only carries human curiosity and yearning for the unknown universe, but also promotes the overall improvement of human scientific and technological level, becoming an important symbol of measuring a country’s comprehensive national strength.

Near-Earth space is the “first step” for humans to explore the universe and the most mature field of aerospace technology application. The launch of artificial Earth satellites provides us with a series of services such as communication, navigation, meteorology and remote sensing, which have profoundly changed our lives — the Beidou Navigation System prevents us from getting lost when traveling, meteorological satellites can accurately predict weather changes, communication satellites realize global seamless communication, and remote sensing satellites can monitor the Earth’s environment and resource distribution, providing support for fields such as agriculture, forestry and environmental protection. The construction of the space station provides a platform for humans to stay in space for a long time and carry out scientific experiments. China’s Tiangong Space Station, as the only in-orbit space station in the world, has successfully carried out many space scientific experiments, trained a group of excellent astronauts, and laid a solid foundation for China’s deep space exploration cause.

With the continuous progress of aerospace technology, human beings’ exploration vision has gradually turned to farther deep space — Mars, the moon, asteroids, and even galaxies outside the solar system. Lunar exploration is the “stepping stone” to deep space exploration. The moon is not only a transfer station for humans to explore deep space, but also contains rich mineral resources and energy. It is expected to become a “space base” for humans to move towards deep space in the future. China’s Chang’e Project has gradually realized comprehensive exploration of the moon through the three-step strategy of “orbiting, landing and returning”. Chang’e-5 successfully brought back lunar soil samples, making China the third country in the world to realize lunar sample return.

Mars exploration is the next important goal of deep space exploration. Mars is the most similar to Earth, with a thin atmosphere, four seasons, and may even have had liquid water and life. It is an important candidate planet for humans to find extraterrestrial life and migrate to space in the future. China’s Tianwen-1 probe has successfully achieved the “orbiting, landing and patrolling” of Mars in one step, becoming the second country in the world to successfully land on Mars and carry out patrol exploration. It has sent back a large number of high-definition images and scientific data of the Martian surface, providing valuable materials for human research on Mars.

The development of aerospace technology is inseparable from the breakthrough of various core technologies. Rocket technology is the core of aerospace technology. The development of large-thrust rockets can send heavier loads into space, providing support for deep space exploration and space station construction; the optimization of spacecraft technology can improve the reliability and endurance of spacecraft, allowing humans to stay in farther space for a long time; the progress of measurement and control technology can realize accurate tracking and control of spacecraft, ensuring the smooth completion of exploration tasks. In addition, the development of aerospace technology can also drive the development of related industries such as new materials, new energy and electronic information, promoting the overall improvement of human scientific and technological level.

In the future, the development of aerospace technology will move towards the direction of “farther, more efficient and more inclusive”. Human beings will continue to explore deep space celestial bodies such as Mars and asteroids to find traces of extraterrestrial life; accelerate the construction of lunar bases to promote the development of emerging industries such as space tourism and space resource development; strengthen international cooperation to jointly respond to various challenges in space exploration and explore the infinite possibilities of the universe hand in hand. The road of aerospace is long and arduous, but as long as we move forward, we will reach our goal — human exploration of the universe has always been an endless journey.