Innovations Needed for Deep Space Exploration Essay examples

The space race was an event that shaped America as we know it, and the man that came up with the idea to control the moon, John F. Kennedy, had a major impact on history. The United States and Russia were competing to land on the moon during a time of tension. NASA’s funding increased to get an man

As humans, we are born with a natural desire to learn and discover. With space exploration, we are able to do just that. In an online essay called “Is Space Exploration Worth the Cost”, Dr. Joan Vernikos,

We are discussing space exploration, and looking at it through the lens of social science and the lens of the humanities.

While the Cold War and other conflicts on Earth continued, all was well in space. “We don’t seem to get along well with each other here on Earth, but we do quite well in Space.” (Livingston) The Space Race stimulated a desire to bring countries together and move forward in this new

Since humans started populating the Earth, exploration has always been on their minds. Before the 19th century, expansion was kept within Earth’s atmosphere, but as of the 20th-century exploration has expanded onto the whole galaxy. In 1961, Russia sent their first human outside of the Earth’s atmosphere, thus initiating the space race. The space race’s first goal was to get a human from and to the moon, alive and well nurtured. Unlike pre-19th century expansion, this exploration would not bring back any goods or materialistic value. Even though the Space Race may have helped those who lived in Russia and America, to others it was seen as a waste of money because of the lack of materialistic value; money that could be spent otherwise. Their motivation fueled

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.

It is often debated whether or not the Space Race was necessary. People have viewed it as a waste of time, money, and resources. America spent over $25 billion on the space program, equivalent to $100 billion today. Many believed that there were far more pressing matters on Earth, and that they should not explore space. Those people only saw the disadvantages that it had (Biddle, 2009). However, the Space Race was beneficial to humanity in various ways. Today Americans can use the knowledge obtained during the Space Race for countless purposes including commercial and military applications (Rabinowitch, 1963).The Space Race changed the face of science, international politics, and technology forever (Schefter 2005). The Space Race was not

Carl Sagan once said “every planetary civilization will be endangered by impacts from space, every surviving civilization is obliged to become spacefaring--not because of exploratory or romantic zeal, but for the most practical reason imaginable: staying alive... If our long-term survival is at stake, we have a basic responsibility to our species to venture to other worlds.” The National Aeronautics and Space Administration or NASA, is executing Sagan’s words every day. President Dwight D. Eisenhower created NASA in 1958 with the purpose of peaceful rather than military space exploration and research to contribute to society. Just 11 years after the creation, NASA put Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon, the first humans to

The NASA Space Program is one of the most, if not, the most known space program that is currently active. One of the most successful projects was the “Space Race”. In this essay I will discuss what happened on the political side, the economical side, and the social/public side of this event and race to beat and get ahead of Russia and their launch of Sputnik 1.

The next major feat in space exploration was applying the motivations of the United States to combine with international forces and construct the International Space Station. Fathered by President Ronald Reagan in his State of the Union Address 1984, he argues, “America has always been greatest when we dared to be great. We can reach for greatness again. We can follow our dreams to distant stars, living and working in space for peaceful, economic, and scientific gain. Tonight, I am directing NASA to develop a permanently manned space station and to do it within a decade” (Reagan). The country was able to set goals and achieve them. The party-goers of the 20s would have never considered conquering the last frontier, but WWII enlivened the preposterous ambitions.

The Space Race greatly affected American Politics and left a stellar legacy on Earth along with the discovery of many useful products used in space technology modified for modern day use. Evan Herbert exclaims how The Space Race affected American Politics by stating; “The presidencies of Eisenhower and Kennedy were put under great strain during this intense rivalry between these two world super powers. Eisenhower assertiveness was questioned after the Soviet launching of their Sputnik satellite. President Kennedy had to keep morale and support for the Space Race afloat when the American public question the purpose, necessity and budget for the en- devour”(Herbert 7). Herbert also adds a quote from one of President John F. Kennedy’s speeches after he states, “On September 12th, 1962 at Rice Stadium, President John F. Kennedy gave one of his most famous speeches ever given”. Herbert then states what John F. Kennedy articulates towards the end of his speech, ‘“Well, space is there, and we’re going to climb it, and the moon and the planets are there, and new hopes for knowledge and peace are there”’(Herbert 2). Bill Dietrich remarks about the legacy that The Space Race has given us in present times as he questions, “What has the Space Race accomplished?”, he then continues on his question, “Will future historians someday link the demise of the Soviet Union to its launch of Sputnik?”(Dietrich 1). Dietrich answers these two questions later in his article by

We have grown a society since JFK announced, on July 29, in front of the entire world, that we would launch a satellite into space. Four days later, the USSR responded, saying they would also launch a satellite into space. This was a direct challenge to the United States, this was a competition between mighty opponents. The space race was spurred due to the fallout of World War II. Tensions were high, but no one wanted to start a war. So the Space Race provided an alternative. A show of power, and glory, while still

Perhaps the most significant impact of the space race came through education reform. At the beginning of the 1950s most americans had atleast a high school education. But education, especially in technical fields was not seen as overly important or necessary. After all, the United States was built on farming and factory work, jobs that don’t require advanced schooling. After the second world war however the game changed. There was a sort of technical renaissance which

Mankind has always been fascinated with exploring the unknown. From sailing to distant lands to someday setting foot on other planets, the spirit of exploration is the same. Bur now with the current economic situation and the high cost of sending people to space, NASA is being looked at as a way to free up some much needed funds. Although, there is many problems here on planet Earth that need addressing, the benefits of space exploration far out weight the disadvantages. Space exploration has given us more advanced technology, advances in the medical field, and a boost to the economy and these facts cannot be disputed.

Humans have always been interested in space and the wonder in which it may hold. In the past, humans worshiped the stars as if they were gods while also studying their position to give them guidance for their lives. Their interested in space has fathered the desire to know more. Today, space has been seen by many as the new frontier or the home beyond earth. Society have even taken a step forward through the creation of stories in books and movies based of the idea of humans living in space and the present of alliances. Yet there is still controversy on the need to continue space exploration when our own planet has so many detrimental problems. There is an ongoing debate on whether not the money used for space travel could be better beneficially use for other causes. It is true that space exploration costs billions of dollars a year alone according to NASA current budget, which is constantly increasing. However, what many refuses to understand is that without space exploration many of the innovations that we have today would not have existed. While there have been, many failed attempts involving space exploration that has caused a tremendous amount of money to go down the drain. However, many people fail to realize the benefits of space exploration and the possible future it may