Space is a pretty amazing place, so why not learn some facts about space that will not only impress your family and friends, but will impress you as well.

1. Sir George Cayley first started the modern aerospace in 1799. He invented and designed the first modern aircraft; the design included a fixed wing and a horizontal and vertical tail. This sounds quite familiar…. Hold on that’s the characteristics of a modern airplane of today! It was not expected that an intended space craft would turn into a regular used aeroplane.
2. If you were in space, and you shouted as loud as you possibly can, it is a fact that the next person next to you wouldn’t hear you. Now that could be rather useful!
3. When Apollo 11’s lunar module landed on the moon, it only had 20 seconds worth of fuel left in the tank.
4. It is a fact that there is no wind in space at all; any footprints or tyre prints on the moon will always remain there.
5. You are now able to take a trip to space on the Virgin Galactic; it will only cost $200,000 for one ticket. So that means if I so my house and my car, I would almost be able to afford a ticket to go!
6. In space, if two pieces of metal such as, stainless steel springs, come together then they will be stuck together forever. However, this does not apply to the metal aircraft that astronauts travel in because it has previously been on the earth’s atmosphere. The atmosphere on earth puts a layer of oxidized material on the surface of metal meaning that if two pieces of metal come together once they’ve had the oxidized material on it, they won’t actual stick together.
7. If you were to weigh yourself on earth and you weighed 200kg, then were to weigh yourself on mars you would be 76kg. Your body weighs a lot less in the atmosphere in space.
8. The USA has a population of over 311,500,000 people, and currently employs over 500,000 just in the aerospace industry. So that’s 1/7th of the population of the USA that currently work in the space industry.
9. If you were to go to space and had no protective clothing, you will be able to survive up to 1 minute 30 seconds and have no permanent damage.
10. The government currently understands more about what happens in space than what happens in the deep oceans.

Jonathon is a space geek who loves to learn about the fascinations of the galaxy. He currently works at http://springs.aero/ designing aerospace springs.