About
Space, also referred to as outer space, is the region of the universe beyond Earth’s atmosphere. Since the human discovery of the Solar System in the 17th century, space has long been a subject of scientific studies, artistic representation and fascination for the general public, all of which have seen great advancements with the advent of the Internet.
History
NASA Science Internet
The online history of outer space as a research discussion topic dates back to the mid-1980s with the development of the NASA Science Network (NSN) by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), one of the early applications of the Internet Protocol that connected space researchers to data and information stored anywhere in the world for the first time. In 1989, the NSN evolved into NASA Science Internet (NSI), the first multiprotocol wide area network that could provide completely integrated communications to over 20,000 scientists within the NASA scientific community.
Mars Pathfinder (1997)
The Mars Pathfinder was an exploration probe launched on December 4th, 1996. On July 4th, 1997, the probe landed on the planet’s Chryse Planitia region to conduct experiments on the surface. MSNBC published an article titled “Internet Users Follow Mars Missions”, which reported that NASA was struggling to cope with Internet traffic after the Pathfinder reached the surface of Mars on July 4th. The NASA Pathfinder website received several awards, including 1998 Best of the Net, Los Angeles Times 1997 Pick, Cool Site of the Day and Family Site of the Day. On July 14th, the Los Angeles Times published an article titled “Millions Visit Mars -- on the Internet”, which reported that the network of mirror sites hosting information about the probe average about 40 to 45 million hits a day.
Online Presence
NASA
External References
[1]Wikipedia – Outer space