Abstract

This article provides a review of current advances in astronautics with particular focus on medical and psychological barriers preventing long space travels. Our intellectual and emotional connection with the Universe has been recorded since the dawn of time, as evidenced by the advances in cosmology and astronomy on the one hand and in religious iconography and fantasy/science-fiction literature on the other. The collected pool of scientific data and current beliefs regarding the Universe provide the background for the development of tools designed to verify current hypotheses (e.g. telescopes, satellites, space probes). However, this happened only in the 20th century when humans ventured to “touch” the Universe using senses other than vision. This step-by-step process was greatly advanced by the development of extraterrestrial transportation, including space ships (both orbital and interplanetary) and space stations. This activity, referred to in the literature as astronautics, became the source of new hopes for the exploration of space as well as of new myths regarding the future “conquest” thereof.