This week is the start of World Space Week, the worldwide annual celebration of the marvels and mysteries of astronautics, astronomy and all things galactic. And, fittingly enough for the start of a new academic year, the theme is one of exploration!
Launched specifically on 4th October by the UN General Assembly to mark the successful launch of Sputnik 1, the first man-made satellite, in 1957, and the signing of the ‘Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies’ on October 10th 1967, World Space Week has been held every year since 1999, and seeks primarily to educate people about the positives of space exploration and encourage better public understanding and support for space programmes.
This year’s theme is Exploring New Worlds in Space. From the first race to the South Pole, and first solo flight accross Atlantic, to the opening of a sea route from Europe to the East, exploration and adventures have always defined our very existence as inhabitants of planet Earth. World Space Week celebrations in 2017 will open-up avenues to improve the vast human knowledge and awareness of the clear benefits of space technology and its applications. This will also illustrate that our exploration potential has no end, and that the sky is not the limit for the many wonders of human discovery.
We have many and various astronomical and astronautic resources in the Library, including access to the National Geophysical Data Centre database, which provides the latest satellite geophysical data from the Sun to the Earth and Earth’s sea floor and solid earth environment, including Earth observations from space, and the NASA Scientific & Technical Information database, which includes up-to-date information about NASA’s space projects. We also hold a good selection of books about space & space exploration in general.
To find out more about World Space Week, visit their website here:
http://www.worldspaceweek.org/