Space has always fascinated human beings, with efforts by people through the ages to document and understand the depths and mysteries of space. The Greeks believed that space, like Earth, was finite and its limits could be mapped. According to Indian astronomical observations, the universe was believed to be infinite in time, cyclic and oscillating. Indian astronomers studied the space through observing eclipses, constellations and their movement in the sky. Different tools were used to map the movement of stars and celestial objects in space through time to make predictions about their distances from earth and find their relative position in space.

 

The Sumerians, people of the Andes, Egyptians, Chinese and the Arabs all had different means of studying space. It is this fascination with space that continued into the 20th and the 21st centuries, culminating in the movement of instruments and man through space to better understand the universe we live in. The long-term effects of micro- and zero gravity as well as the viability of human survival and growth in space is a field in its infancy of exploration. The growth of plants in space to enable long distance space travel and survival is also an area of research. Space Biotechnology as a field is fast gaining traction and has multiple avenues to explore from a biological point of view. This edition of Kaizen dives into the most important opportunities that study of space could offer along with a brief on the educational qualifications required for the same. So lock down and travel with us - to infinity and beyond!