The rate at which our world has been advancing is increasing at an exponential rate. It can be very difficult to keep up with all the advances, and quite frustrating too. There are so many times when you have bought a piece of technology in Ireland, or abroad. You buy it thinking you have the newest and best piece of technology on the market and then the very next day a newer version comes out.
This is an experience that many of us have had. Advances have also been made in the medical field, making laser eye surgery safer and more popular. Other surgeries have also been advanced making them safer by limiting the possible complications.
The advances that we have immediate access to are only a fraction of the advances being made. The small mobile phones and more energy efficient cars are only the tip of the iceberg of scientific advancements that are being made all the time.
Questions about where we fit in the solar system are attempting to be answered by probes into space which carry pieces of our history. The hope is that an extraterrestrial life form will find this information and make contact.
This sounds like something that comes out of a science fiction movie, but it is a real scientific expedition. An expedition trying to find out more about our place in the universe.