The initial voyages to the "New World" in the 1500's and 1600's were fraught with danger, peril, and usually it was not worth the trouble of the voyage. Countless Spanish ships sunk -- many off the coast of Florida, in an endless series of hurricanes and storms. In the North, France tried to set up a colony in what is now modern day Quebec, but failed, and only came back a few decades later. The first settlers in New England faced unspeakable hardships. I remember reading one person's diary entry in the 1600's New England, something to the effect of: "My sister drank from the pond three days ago, and then was with fever, and now she is dead." So exploring was never easy. Todays space-explorers do so in great comfort compared to what the explorers of the 1500's and 1600's faced. But now today flights between the "new world" (America) and the "old world" (Europe) are constant -- and soon enough so shall flights into the new frontier be as well.