Space, still the final frontier

Abstract

This week in Pasadena, California, the International Council for Science will convene its Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) Scientific Assembly to promote the exchange of results, information, and opinions in space research. Since its creation 60 years ago, on the heels of the 1957 launch of Sputnik by the Soviet Union and of Explorer 1 by the United States in early 1958—events that marked the dawn of the space age—COSPAR has nurtured partnerships between nations pursuing space science. There is a new space age now—one with many more players and exciting technologies to harness. New capacity-building endeavors at universities worldwide are providing opportunities for involvement in space missions, both great and small.