Better telescopes allow for increasingly deeper and more precise views into the universe. We can now look back to the first galaxies that formed after the Big Bang, and immediately we encounter inconsistencies that lead some experts to question the standard model describing the evolution of space, time, and matter. Thanks to sophisticated instruments, we finally have answers to some open questions. With each discovery, space reveals further surprises and an astonishing variety of phenomena, both at unimaginable distances and in the vicinity of Earth. Pursuing these phenomena requires great effort, but it simultaneously provides fascinating insights into our place in the cosmos. There is debate about how far advancements in space travel will take us as a species. Some are already dreaming of high-tech factories in orbit or even consider permanent settlements on other celestial bodies to be the next logical step for human civilization.