太空探勘(space exploration)
藉由载人或无人的太空船探索地球大气之外的宇宙。研究利用火箭作为太空飞行是开始於20世纪早期。1930年代德国研究火箭推进，结果发展出V2飞弹。第二次世界大战後，美国与苏联由德国科学家的协助，开启「太空竞赛」，在高级火箭技术上获得大量的进展（参阅staged rocket）。双方都在1950年代晚期发射第一颗人造卫星（参阅Sputnik、Explorer），之後还有其他人造卫星与无人的月球探测器，1961年发射第一艘载人的太空载具（参阅Vostok、Mercury）。紧接着是更远更复杂的载人太空任务，最着名的是美国的阿波罗计画，包括1969年第一次登陆月球，还有苏联的联合号与沙礼特号任务。1960年代开始，美国和苏联科学家也发射无人的深太空探测器，研究太阳系行星与其他星体（参阅Pioneer、Venera、Viking、Voyager、Galileo），还有地球轨道的天文台（参阅Hubble Space Telescope）在地球大气上方观测宇宙的物体，不受大气的滤光与扭曲失真的干扰。1970年代与1980年代，苏联专注於发展科学研究与军事侦查的太空站（参阅Salyut、Mir）。在1991年苏联解体之後，俄罗斯继续太空计画，但由於经济条件限制而缩小。1973年美国发射太空站（参阅Skylab），从1970年代中叶专注於载人的太空任务乃至太空梭计画，近年则与俄罗斯等国合作发展国际太空站。
English version：
space exploration
Investigation of the universe beyond earth's atmosphere by means of manned and unmanned spacecraft. Study of the use of rockets for spaceflight began early in the 20th century. Germany's research on rocket propulsion in the 1930s led to development of the V-2 missile. After World War II, the U.S. and the Soviet Union, with the aid of relocated German scientists, competed in the “space race,” making substantial progress in high-altitude rocket technology (see staged rocket). Both launched their first satellites (see Sputnik, Explorer) in the late 1950s (followed by other satellites and unmanned lunar probes) and their first manned space vehicles (see Vostok, Mercury) in 1961. A succession of longer and more complex manned space missions followed, most notably the U.S. Apollo program, including the first manned lunar landing in 1969, and the Soviet Soyuz and Salyut missions. Beginning in the 1960s, U.S. and Soviet scientists also launched unmanned deep-space probes for studies of the planets and other solar system objects (see Pioneer, Venera, Viking, Voyager, Galileo), and earth-orbiting astronomical observatories (see, for example, Hubble Space Telescope), which permitted observation of cosmic objects from above the filtering and distorting effects of earth's atmosphere. In the 1970s and '80s the Soviet Union concentrated on the development of space stations for scientific research and military reconnaissance (see Salyut, Mir). After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia continued its space program, but on a reduced basis owing to economic constraints. In 1973 the U.S. launched its own space station (see Skylab), and since the mid-1970s it has devoted much of its manned space efforts to the space shuttle program and, more recently, to developing the International Space Station in collaboration with Russia and other countries.