Starlight interrupted: celebrating World Space Week

5 October 2026: World Space Week Human interest in space has been multifaceted, ranging from the deep-seated desire to seek out the origins of our existence to the search for extraterrestrial life and habitable worlds. Prior to the modern technology used to explore space today, ancient civilizations tracked the movement of stars, planets and eclipses to measure time and to create reliable calendars dictating the best time for planting crops. However, the frontiers of human ambition would not tru