This chapter describes the history of discovery of solar and heliospheric phenomena. Past and present space missions of importance to the study of the Sun and heliosphere, the solar wind and space weather, and planetary magnetospheres are presented. New ground-based, balloon- and rocket-borne observing solar telescopes are also described, and selected prominent scientists and their research methods are presented. Conditions in space require the use of appropriate measuring instruments and techniques, some of which are explained in detail. It is about measuring charged particles and photons from the Sun as well as detecting electromagnetic waves at the location of a spacecraft. Modern methods for calculating plasma processes with the help of computers are discussed.