When you think of space agencies around the world, what comes to mind? Probably NASA, ESA, ISRO and JAXA are the acronyms you know; then there’s the Russian Federal Space Agency, the Canadian Space Agency, and the China National Space Agency. But did you know there are dozens of countries with space agencies, with nearly 200 space agencies and centers around the world? Blogger Heather Archuletta has put together a map and list of all the space agencies on the planet, including countries you may not have realized had a space agency such as Argentina, Bulgaria, Pakistan Morocco, and more. The list includes links to all the space agency’s websites and a link to an interactive Google Map. The immediate thought that came to mind, which Heather shared on Twitter was, ROAD TRIP!
For any space nerd, that would be the ultimate global trek, to visit every space agency in the world. With all the NASA and Russian centers and all the various countries in ESA, your trip would include 198 locations around our planet!
Heather is known for her Pillownaut blog which originally detailed her time participating in NASA bedrest studies to simulate long duration spaceflight. The space agency map was a new project, born from a conversation with a friend.
“Overall, I created it to be a tracking tool, and to show how huge the space industry has become,” Heather told Universe Today. “Many people think of the space game as being the US, Russia and a handful of Europeans… but truly, lifestyle in many countries is dependent upon the use of space, even if it’s just as simple as remote sensing or collaborative satellites.”
Heather noted that the map includes one site in India that is not operational yet, but built.
But consider how many jobs around the world have been created because of space exploration… and these jobs employ some of the best and brightest minds in forward-thinking, global-enriching ways. And even more, there’s now the burgeoning private space industry that is employing even more people with jobs that focus on the future.
Check out http://pillownaut.com/spacemap/spacemap.html and plan your space-nerd road trip today!
Recent Posts
Hubble and Webb are the Dream Team. Don't Break Them Up
Many people think of the James Webb Space Telescope as a sort of Hubble 2.…
Scientists Have Figured out why Martian Soil is so Crusty
On November 26th, 2018, NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy, and Heat Transport (InSight)…
Another Way to Extract Energy From Black Holes?
Black holes are incredible powerhouses, but they might generate even more energy thanks to an…
Plastic Waste on our Beaches Now Visible from Space, Says New Study
According to the United Nations, the world produces about 430 million metric tons (267 U.S.…
Future Space Telescopes Could be Made From Thin Membranes, Unrolled in Space to Enormous Size
As we saw with JWST, it's difficult and expensive to launch large telescope apertures, relying…
Voyager 1 is Forced to Rely on its Low Power Radio
Voyager 1 was launched waaaaaay back in 1977. I would have been 4 years old…