Essay on History Of Space Exploration

For example, the Mariner 2 flew past Venus in 1962 and we were able to gain information that Venus has extremely hot temperatures. Another example is Mariner 9 in 1971. This mission was the first to successful complete a full orbit around Mars and allowed to snap a picture at one of the largest Volcanoes in the Solar System. These probes we have sent out allow us to discover these properties more in depth and make adjustments on future probes that we plan to set out. We have

The Apollo Program (1963-1972) was a series of missions with a goal to land humans on the moon. The program’s objective, set by President Kennedy in 1961, was achieved nine short years later (The Apollo Missions). Of the program, six were successful in doing so, Apollo 11 being the first to achieve that goal (Williams). The crew contained Neil Armstrong, Edwin (Buzz) Aldrin Jr. , and Michael Collins.

Neil Armstrong, one of the astronauts on the landing module, became the first man to walk on the moon on Monday July 21, 1969. As he stepped off the ladder onto the moon, Armstrong declared, "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind." After about twelve minutes, Buzz Aldrin joined him on the surface. For two and a half hours the astronauts collected samples,

Planning for the Apollo Space Program began in 1957 and the program ended in 1972. The Apollo Space Missions increased our understanding of the moon. The goal of the missions was to land men on the moon and return them safely to earth. This goal was achieved with Apollo 11. On July 20, 1969 man walked on the moon for the first time. This was a huge step in space exploration and much preparation had gone into it. Apollo 8 orbited the moon, but did not test a lunar lander, and Apollo 9 tested a lunar lander while orbiting earth. After achieving the goal of getting man to the moon, the Apollo program continued to enlarge our understanding of the moon. Apollo missions 12 and 14 installed seismic stations on the moon’s surface. This led us to the discovery of “moonquakes”, which are essentially earthquakes on the moon’s surface.

Although this historical event was in fact a victory over the Russians, the fact that we had the engineering capabilities to put a man on the moon was far more important. Each step of the Apollo missions tested a different aspect of what would be the final mission, putting a man on the moon. The main concern of the mission was getting Armstrong and Aldrin down to the surface and back home safely. Genuine experimentation did not occur until NASA gained confidence in their ability to send astronauts to the moon. Upon contact with the moon’s surface, Armstrong and Aldrin unveiled and read the commemorative plaque on the lunar module’s leg, stuck the U.S. flag in the ground, and then spoke to the current president, Richard Nixon. Most of the science done on the moon included the planting of seismic equipment and a laser ranging reflector, the collection of rock and soil samples, and measuring the trajectory of regolith

Each spacecraft was composed of two main parts: an orbiter designed to photograph the surface of Mars from orbit, and a lander designed to study the planet from the surface. The orbiters also served as communication relays for the landers once they touched down. It was highly successful and formed most of the body of knowledge about Mars through the late 199os and early 2ooos.

On May 25, 1961 President John F. Kennedy paved the way for the world’s first lunar landing when he announced the US’s ambitious goal to place an American on the moon before the end of the decade. This historic announcement was fueled by desires to beat the Soviet Union, and show the United State’s dominance, the need for a uniting cause among the American people, and a desire to lead the world in the scientific field.

The first unmanned satellite called “Sputnik 1” launched and sent to the space by Soviet Union in 1957.

NASA launched the Cassini-Huygens mission on October 15, 1997. Cassini was sent to explore the system of the planet Saturn. With help from Venus, Earth and Jupiter, Cassini made a series of gravity-assisted maneuvers.

The concept of space exploration was first introduced to the American public in 1961 when President John F. Kennedy famously stood before congress and vowed that America would put a man on the moon “within the decade.” With hopes of defeating the Soviet Union in the “Space Race” and gaining a leg-up in the Cold War, NASA funding reached its all-time high in 1965-1966 when about four percent of the federal budget was devoted to exploring space. Since then however, funding dedicated to exploring space has nose-dived to about one-half of a percent of the federal budget (Tyson), with plans to cut that figure by an additional $260 million in 2017 (cite NASA funding cuts). Experts in the space-sciences field argue that increased funding in space exploration would re-ignite the American economy and return America to the scientific prominence it was once known for, while, on the other end of the spectrum, naysayers suggest that exploring space is an economic sink-hole that the United States can no longer afford to deposit to given its own earth-bound troubles.

The news came as an ugly surprise to the Americans, who were not expecting the Soviets to beat them to space, but the United States responded quickly with a project of their own. Less than a year after Sputnik’s launch into space the US launched their own satellite, Explorer 1 into the atmosphere. Later that year, on the 29th of July, president Eisenhower signed off on the creation of National Aeronautics and Space Administration or NASA. For the years following the launch of Explorer 1 the Soviets and Americans would send many satellites and probes into space, each more impressive than the last. On May 25th, 1962, President John F. Kennedy addressed congress, attempting to boost the funding for NASA.

From 1958 to 1959 the Soviet Union put a hold on the Sputnik program to focus on the Luna series of vehicles that were being sent toward the moon. On October 4, 1959, exactly two years after the first Sputnik launch, the Soviet Union sent the first spacecraft around the moon. Luna 3 recorded images of the Moon’s surface and broadcast

Viking One, at the forefront of the interplanetary space race, after the manned missions to the moon. NASA conducted this mission to make it to the red planet; our brother planet, mars. Named after the roman god of war, this mission sought to learn more about what the planet has to offer. The year was 1976, and the American Bicentennial was coming up. The mission was set to land on the foreign planet on July fourth. Purley explorative, the goal of the mission was to successfully land and transmit data.

Its original telescope, still in operation, is a 24-in. (61-cm) refractor; also located at the Mars Hill site are the 13-in. (33-cm) A. Lawrence Lowell photographic camera used by Clyde Tombaugh when he discovered Pluto, and a 16-in. reflector used in the visitors' night viewing program.” Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia.

The Space Race began in 1955 when the US and the Soviet Union announced that they would be launching satellites into orbit. The USSR formed a commission whose goal was to beat the US in putting a satellite into space. On October 4, 1957 the USSR placed the first successful satellite into orbit which gave them the lead in the Space Race for awhile. It was called Sputnik 1. The US then launched