March 31, 2004
A: FROM MENTOR CHRISTINE KUTA IN MA
Actually, it is no so much that the Dutch were the biggest space explorers as much as they were the most successful for a time. Astronomy has been a subject of great interest to many different people and cultures back to ancient times. A number of ancient cultures had extremely accurate celestial calendars, for example. The Dutch, however, for a long time had an edge over everyone else because they made the best lenses. With optical telescopes, the better your lens, the better your telescope.
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A: FROM MENTOR BARB KONTOGIANNIS IN CO
You are right about the Dutch being significant contributors to space exploration, more specifically astronomy. Here's an excerpt from http://spider.ipac.caltech.edu/staff/gerard/old_web_page/dutchastro.html about Famous Dutch Astronomers and Physicists:
"The field of astronomy is one rich in tradition, being perhaps the oldest science (at the very least tying with agriculture for that distinction). Among the many historic figures in the field, there are perhaps a disproportionate number of astronomers from the tiny county of The Netherlands <http://www.eeb.ele.tue.nl/map/netherlands.html>. Rumors of a 'Dutch Astronomy Mafia' are perhaps unfounded, but the fact remains that a staggering amount has been contributed to the field by the citizens of this small but charming country."
There are astronomers from many countries of origin, however. Here's an example. Part of the European Space Agency's Rosetta Spacecraft is the Philae lander, which is planning to land on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. This comet was discovered by, and named for, Russian astronomers.
Here's where to find more on that exploration mission:
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Rosetta/SEM2BB57ESD_0.html

You may recognize these famous names in astronomy too - Hubble (American), Halley (English), Kepler (German). Not all astronomers are Dutch, but there are a great number who are/were. It appears that may be changing, but I don't have data to show that.

As far as physical space exploration goes (satellites, landers, robots, humans) the Dutch are not really involved. That type of exploration has been dominated by the United States and Russia/USSR, with some recent exploration by Japan and the European Space Agency. Here's a good website for more on Space Exploration: http://www.solarviews.com/eng/history.htm
I hope this addresses your question and piques your curiousity. Have fun researching some more!