"It's human nature to stretch, to go, to see, to understand. Exploration is not a choice, really; it's an imperative."
- Michael Collins, flew on Gemini 10 and Apollo 11.

In 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to visit space. In 1969, astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon. What did it take for the human race to accomplish these things? What kind of scientific discoveries had to be made to send people into that great unknown and then bring them safely home again? In this section, you can begin to learn about these past missions, and what had to happen to bring them about.

Of course, space exploration didn't stop there. In the years since the space race, we've continued to learn more and more about space. Whether we were sending astronauts to do experiments aboard the International Space Station, or sending rovers to explore Mars, there is always something going on with the space program. Present and future space missions are perhaps even more important than the past ones, and through these articles and activities, you can learn about them too.

Whatever setbacks we may face, space is the new frontier. In order to continue to further the human race, we need to continue to go further than we've ever gone before. Space exploration is the best way for us to dream about tomorrow.