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to register or correspond, mail at adupas@club-internet.fr
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to register or correspond, mail at adupas@club-internet.fr
In the last forty years, the achievements ln space have been so great that they have provided a massive impetus for growth in space activity throughout the world. A first example is the field of science where there have been unprecedented discoverles ni the Solar System and the Universe beyond astronomers' wildest dreams, but also discoverles concerning our home planet, its atmosphere and biosphere.
Today, space systems allow us to explore and understand our world, thanks to the global vision they provide. They are also tools to bring new services to mankind and they are goods on an international market where very active business is developing. Services provided by space are so efficient that most of us are actually unaware that we are using space on a routine basis, for instance for telephone calls, for the broadcasting of television programmes, or for navigation and weather forecasting. Space systems have also become an essential part of any security System and play a major part in peacekeeping operations.
What will be the future of space ? Perhaps the question should be reworded into: "'Will there be a future without space ?". Indeed, space will play an increasing role for the management of our planet and the sustainabilitv of our development. Space will allow us to manage our earthly resources more efficiently, help us to prevent, detect and manage major natural or man-made hazards. Space will allow us to preserve our environment thanks to global systems monitoring and enforcing the observance of environmental regulations. But space might also become an essential clement of the growth of our civilisation, by providing a vast reservoir of energy and other vital resources and by offering new fields to explore and eventually settle.