Welcome back to our "Life in 2050" series. Our previous installments explored how the world ofeconomics, andlife at home could drastically change by mid-century. For our fourth installment, we will be taking a look at what will be happening beyond Earth. This will include everything from Earth orbit to the very edge of the solar system... and beyond.
In the next three decades, human beings will enter the realm of space like never before. This is due in part to the way that public interest in space exploration has been revitalized, thanks to a number of exciting missions that have been mounted since the turn of the century and growing public engagement through social media.
There's also the way the commercial space sector (aka. NewSpace) has been growing by leaps and bounds. By leveraging new technologies and methods, various commercial entities have been reducing the costs of launching payloads to space. From this, they are providing less-expensive launch services and are even working towards offering flights to space.
Another major factor is the way that more national space agencies have become involved in the exploration of space. It's no longer a race between two superpowers but a much more cooperative endeavor involving six major participants - the US, the European Union, Russia, China, Japan, and India - along with commercial partners and many smaller agencies.
By mid-century, things will progress further. More nations will join the "space club," more space agencies will send astronauts to space, including to the Moon, and crewed missions to Mars will take place. Commercial entities will establish a permanent presence and will pursue many new kinds of space-related ventures.
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