In 2010 the nuclear science community will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Sergey Nikolaevich Vernov (1910-1982), one of the founders and former directors of the Skobeltsyn Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Lomonosov Moscow State University. Academician S.N. Vernov was a prominent Russian scientist – one of the world’s pioneers in cosmic ray studies. He laid the groundwork of cosmic ray science and accompanying research in elementary particle physics, space plasma phenomena, astro- and geophysics and was the founder of the space exploration with satellites.