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80 Space Research Paper Topics: Ideas for Astronomical Grades!

Why space research? The universe is replete with worlds apart from the planet earth. From our historical ancestors discovering fire to modern man exploring space, inquisitiveness has been vital to the innovation and exploration of our universe, and the survival and advancement of the human species. Space science has become increasingly popular over the years. With the study of outer space and space discoveries piling up by the day, it is essential to be able to write an essay on space. Writing on any topic about space will require that you are abreast of the latest space discoveries.

Writing a space essay would require that you have a working knowledge of other types of essays that we have described in our previous posts. For example, knowing how to write a descriptive essay will help in an article on the study of objects in space, while knowledge of how to write an argumentative essay will come in handy when writing an essay on controversial space topics. If you’re not sure you can do all this on your own, get college thesis writing help .

Coming Up With Great Space Topics

Space race topics, space research topics, space exploration topics, space topics for presentation, controversial space topics, earth and space science topics, astronomy research paper topics, astronomy essay topics, space arguable research topics, space science investigative essay topics.

Before writing an article on space study, you need to choose the right space topic. Choosing appropriate space topics is critical to the success of your space essay as the right topic will give you the luxury of a better flow of ideas. For this reason, we have crafted 80 topics about space that will make writing a space essay easy. You can never get bored while working on these interesting space topics because you will learn to explore and study space as you’ve never done before. These 80 cool space topics will come in handy in any space essay you plan to write.

Writing a space race essay is an excellent place to start if you want to explore the events that lead to the explosive growth of the space industry. The space race was a competition between the United States and the Soviet Union to attain the capability of space flight from the period of 1955 to 1975. If you’re interested in going back in time to tell these space stories uniquely, these space race topics will surely land you on the moon!

• The 1955 Space Race: Its Pros and Cons on the Rival Countries.
• The 1955 Space Race: Its Enduring Impact on Modern Space Technology and Travel.
• The 1955 Space Race: A Battle for Supremacy.
• How the Space Race Transformed America.
• The 1955 Space Race: The reason the Soviet Union lost to the USA.

Space research has become popular over the last decades. It is an extensive research field that seeks to study outer space scientifically. Research topics about space are relatively easy to find considering the broad research areas, which include: Earth observations, Geodesy, Atmospheric Sciences, Space physics, Planetology, Astronomy, Materials sciences, Life sciences, and Physics. Space research paper topics must stimulate and birth inquiry and answer compelling questions. Are you ready to get on the space shuttle? Here are some space research topics to help you!

• 2000 – 2010: A successful Decade in Astronomy?
• The Theory of Relativity in Space.
• UFOs and Extraterrestrials: Fact or Fiction?
• Space Colonization: Reasons, Goals, and Methods.
• Big Bang Theory: The Birth of the Universe?

Space exploration is the investigation of outer space with the use of space technology and astronomy. While the study of space is carried out mainly by astronomers with telescopes, its physical exploration is carried out by both robotic space probes and human spaceflight. Writing a space exploration essay opens your imagination to the wonders of outer space. You sure need to be ready for the unexpected! Here are some space exploration topics to whet your adventurous appetite!

• The Need for Continuous Space Exploration.
• Space Exploration: Differences between the then and now.
• Space Exploration: Its Importance to the Knowledge of the Earth and Universe.
• Space Exploration: Operations and Future Exploration Plans.
• The Importance of Unmanned Space Exploration.

Giving a presentation or seminar on space could be quite dicey. It requires that you can make complex phenomena appeal to the mind of your listeners. To be able to do this, you need to have a considerable amount of knowledge in any of the space science topics that you choose. A tip will be to choose topics that your audience will easily relate to, prepare adequately, and remember that you’re communicating with earthlings. Here are some space topics for a presentation that will earn you the respect of the extraterrestrials!

• The Earth and Universe.
• Getting the Big Picture from the Study of Dwarf Galaxies.
• History of Astronomy: A scientific Overview.
• What Exists in Space beyond our Solar Neighborhood.
• Future Space Missions: A look into what they should be.

Something as big as space study does not come without its controversies. Space exploration and travel are not without their risks and benefits. Many believe that robots, instead of humans, should man shuttles for space travel because of the risk space travel poses to humans. Many people also see space study as a sheer waste of time and resources and think it better to channel these vast amounts of money to more critical areas like health and education. All these different views and more, are what make space study a controversial topic. Here are some controversial space topics that will give you a hang of what to discuss in a space-related debate. Some of these topics could also be helpful in a space travel essay.

• Space Travel: At the Expense of our Health, Earth, and Future?
• Space Travel: A thing for Robots or Humans?
• Space Research: A Pointless Adventure and Waste of Resources?
• Earth and the Search for Other Habitable Planets.
• Science Versus Religion: The Big Bang?

Earth and Space Science or ESS, for short, connects systems by exploring the interrelationships between the land, atmosphere, ocean, and life on Earth. These include the water cycle, carbon cycle, rock cycle, and other materials that continually influence, shape, and sustain the earth. Here are some new earth and space science topics just for you!

• The Interactions between Weather and Climate.
• The Process of Rock Formation and Erosion.
• Plate Tectonics: An In-depth Exploration.
• Natural Catastrophes: Its consequence on the Ecosystem.
• The Moon and Sun: Effects on Ocean Tides.

There are two fields of study in carrying out astronomical research – the observational and theoretical fields of astronomy. Observation primarily deals with the study and monitoring of actual celestial objects in space like stars, planets, moons, and asteroids.

Theoretical dwells more on creating and studying models of astronomy that cannot be observed and haven’t been properly seen. Some astronomy research paper topics include;

• What happens during a solar eclipse?
• What are the major factors responsible for the solar eclipse?
• What should you expect during a lunar eclipse
• What lies beyond our visible universe
• Light and its dimension in space
• The lunar cycle – how does it function?
• Understanding solar system, sun, and the planets
• What is astrophysics?
• What are the different grand unification theories?
• The latitude and longitude of the earth.
• Fast mode, slow mode, and nonlinear effects

Celestial bodies like the sun, moon, other planets, and relatively closer objects in space are examined and comprehensively written upon under astronomy. Examples of astronomy essay topics include;

• How our planet came to exist
• How solar flares occur
• Our solar system, in broad view
• The effect of the moon on our oceans
• How stars are born
• What are the different types of stars in existence?
• Understanding molecular cloud
• How does the universe accelerate?
• Understanding cosmic acceleration and galaxy cluster growth
• Hubble constant and dark energy theories
• Formation, evolution, and destruction of clouds in galaxies
• What is the meridian and transit circle?

The mystery of what occurs inside a black hole is still up for debate, and so are other astronomical events. These form the bulk of space arguable research topics, which discuss things yet to be fully understood. Some space arguable research topics include;

• What is truly beyond the Milky Way?
• What is antimatter?
• Why does space keep expanding?
• How long does it take to travel the space?
• The physics behind a black hole.
• Is earth the most prominent of all the planets?
• How do people who live on other planets survive?
• Is Pluto an official planet or not?
• Should the journey to Mars be opened to everyone?
• What do astronauts eat while in space?
• Is Pluto a dwarf planet?
• A detailed analysis of the 2012 transit of Venus
• What are the best defenses against killer asteroids?
• Interplanetary matter and how to relate it to space activities.

Space is so vast and mysterious that there’s a lot to uncover with events to monitor and investigate. Creating agencies like NASA and the first mission to the moon was born out of curiosity about our place in this vast universe. Some space science investigative essay topics you could present include;

• How does the sun affect our water bodies?
• Where do asteroids come from?
• Molecular Cloud: Molecules, Properties, and Distribution
• How do solar systems with two stars operate?
• Is there an earth-like planet in the nearest solar system?
• Would we ever discover aliens?
• Conducting exoplanet research
• What is interstellar extinction?
• What are the essentials needed for space travel?
• Beyond this realm – understanding extraterrestrial life.
• What is a deep impact mission?
• Understanding the structure of the solar chromosphere.
• An analysis of the Wilson-Bappu effect
• What is a color index?

So here we are! 80 awesome space topics absolutely for free! Hopefully, you’ve got the perfect topic for your assignment or project. Keep shining like the star that you are! If you need more ideas, please check the following graduate project ideas .

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100+ Space Research Topics [Updated]

Space has always attracted humanity’s imagination. The vastness of the cosmos, with its twinkling stars, mysterious planets, and enigmatic black holes, beckons us to explore its depths. But why do we study space? What are the research topics that drive scientists to reach for the stars? In this blog, we’ll delve into the fascinating world of space research topics, exploring key topics that continue to inspire and challenge researchers around the globe.

Why Do We Study Space?

Table of Contents

Here are some key points explaining why we study space:

• Understanding our Origins: Space research helps us uncover the origins of the universe, including how galaxies, stars, and planets formed.
• Advancing Scientific Knowledge: Studying space leads to breakthroughs in physics, astronomy, and other scientific fields, expanding our understanding of the cosmos.
• Technological Innovation: Space exploration drives the development of new technologies, such as satellite communication and medical imaging, benefiting society as a whole.
• Exploration and Discovery: Humans are inherently curious, and space offers a vast frontier for exploration, fueling our desire to discover new worlds and phenomena.
• Earth Observation: Space-based observations provide valuable data on Earth’s climate, weather patterns, and environmental changes, aiding in disaster management and conservation efforts.
• Search for Life: Investigating other planets and celestial bodies helps us understand the conditions necessary for life, potentially leading to the discovery of extraterrestrial life forms.
• Inspiration and Education: Space exploration inspires future generations of scientists, engineers, and explorers, fostering innovation and curiosity about the universe.

100+ Space Research Topics: Category Wise

Astronomy and astrophysics.

• Exoplanet detection methods and recent discoveries
• The life cycle of stars: from birth to death
• Supermassive black holes and their role in galaxy formation
• Gravitational waves: detection and implications
• Dark matter and dark energy: understanding the mysteries of the universe
• Supernovae explosions: studying the aftermath of stellar deaths
• Galactic dynamics: exploring the structure and evolution of galaxies
• Cosmic microwave background radiation: insights into the early universe
• Gamma-ray bursts: uncovering the most energetic explosions in the cosmos
• The search for extrasolar planets with potential habitable conditions

Planetary Science

• Martian geology and the search for signs of past life
• Jupiter’s Great Red Spot: dynamics and longevity
• Saturn’s rings: composition, structure, and origin
• Lunar exploration: past missions and future prospects
• Venusian atmosphere: understanding the greenhouse effect and extreme conditions
• Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto: Jupiter’s diverse moons
• Titan: Saturn’s moon with an Earth-like atmosphere and hydrocarbon lakes
• The Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud: reservoirs of comets and icy bodies
• Dwarf planets: Pluto, Eris, Haumea, Makemake, and Ceres
• Planetary volcanism: processes and consequences on various celestial bodies

Space Technology and Engineering

• Satellite constellations for global internet coverage
• CubeSats: miniaturized satellites for scientific research and technology demonstration
• Space debris mitigation strategies and technologies
• Ion propulsion systems: efficient propulsion for deep space missions
• Space telescopes: next-generation observatories for astronomy and astrophysics
• Space-based solar power: harvesting solar energy in orbit
• Asteroid mining: extracting resources from near-Earth objects
• In-situ resource utilization on other planets and moons
• Additive manufacturing (3D printing) in space exploration
• Autonomous spacecraft navigation and control for long-duration missions

Astrobiology and the Search for Life

• Extremophiles: organisms thriving in extreme environments on Earth and their implications for extraterrestrial life
• Biosignatures: markers of past or present life on other planets
• Methanogenesis on Mars: potential evidence for subsurface microbial life
• Europa’s subsurface ocean: exploring the possibility of life beneath the ice
• Enceladus: hydrothermal vents and the search for life in its subsurface ocean
• The habitability of exoplanets: assessing conditions for life beyond the solar system
• Panspermia: the transfer of life between celestial bodies
• Astrobiology field research in extreme environments on Earth
• SETI: the search for extraterrestrial intelligence and communication
• The implications of discovering microbial life on Mars or other celestial bodies

Space Policy and Ethics

• International collaboration in space exploration and research
• The Outer Space Treaty: principles governing the use of outer space
• Space tourism regulations and safety considerations
• Space law and jurisdiction: legal frameworks for activities in space
• Military applications of space technology and potential arms race in space
• Space resource utilization and ownership rights
• Space environmentalism: advocating for the protection of celestial bodies and their environments
• Space colonization ethics and implications for human societies
• Space governance beyond national boundaries
• Cultural heritage preservation on the Moon and other celestial bodies

Challenges and Future Directions

• Funding challenges and opportunities in space research and exploration
• Space radiation hazards and mitigation strategies for astronauts
• Interplanetary communication and navigation for deep space missions
• Long-duration spaceflight: physiological and psychological effects on astronauts
• Terraforming Mars: engineering a habitable environment on the Red Planet
• Space elevator concept: a revolutionary approach to space access
• Next-generation space launch vehicles and propulsion technologies
• Nuclear propulsion for crewed missions to Mars and beyond
• Space settlement design and infrastructure requirements
• Advancing artificial intelligence and robotics for autonomous space exploration

Space Weather and Space Environment

• Solar flares and coronal mass ejections: impacts on Earth’s magnetosphere and technology
• Space weather forecasting and its applications in satellite operations
• Magnetospheres of Earth and other planets: comparative studies and dynamics
• Solar wind interactions with planetary atmospheres and magnetospheres
• Aurora phenomena on Earth and other planets
• Radiation belts: understanding and mitigating hazards for spacecraft and astronauts
• Cosmic rays: sources, composition, and effects on space missions
• Space climate change: long-term variations in solar activity and their consequences
• Space weather effects on satellite communications, navigation, and power systems
• Space weather monitoring and prediction networks

Space Exploration and Missions

• Mars Sample Return mission: challenges and scientific objectives
• Artemis program: NASA’s plans for returning astronauts to the Moon
• Asteroid impact mitigation strategies and planetary defense initiatives
• The James Webb Space Telescope: capabilities and scientific goals
• Europa Clipper mission: exploring Jupiter’s icy moon for signs of habitability
• China’s Chang’e lunar exploration program: past achievements and future missions
• Commercial crew and cargo transportation to the International Space Station
• Voyager and Pioneer missions: the farthest human-made objects in space
• Space missions to study near-Earth objects and potential asteroid mining targets
• International Mars exploration collaborations and missions

Space Communication and Navigation

• Deep space communication networks and relay satellites
• Laser communication technology for high-speed data transmission in space
• Satellite-based navigation systems: GPS, Galileo, and GLONASS
• Interplanetary Internet: protocols and architectures for space communications
• Radio astronomy and interferometry: probing the universe with radio waves
• Quantum communication in space: secure and ultra-fast communication channels
• Delay-tolerant networking for deep space missions
• Autonomous navigation systems for spacecraft and rovers
• Optical communications for small satellites and CubeSats
• Space-to-ground communication systems for remote sensing and Earth observation satellites

Space Medicine and Human Spaceflight

• Microgravity effects on human physiology and health
• Countermeasures for mitigating bone and muscle loss in space
• Psychological challenges of long-duration space missions
• Space food technology: nutrition and sustainability in space
• Medical emergencies in space: protocols and procedures for astronaut health care
• Radiation shielding and protection for crewed missions beyond Earth orbit
• Sleep and circadian rhythms in space: optimizing astronaut performance
• Artificial gravity concepts for maintaining crew health on long-duration missions
• Telemedicine applications for space exploration missions
• Bioastronautics research: advancing human spaceflight capabilities and safety

Space Industry and Commercialization

• NewSpace companies: the rise of private space exploration ventures
• Satellite constellation deployments for global internet coverage
• Space tourism: opportunities, challenges, and market trends
• Commercial spaceports and launch facilities around the world
• Space manufacturing and in-space assembly techniques

Tips To Write Space Research Papers

Crafting space research papers can be a thrilling and fulfilling pursuit, yet it demands meticulous planning and implementation to guarantee that your efforts effectively convey your discoveries and make meaningful contributions to the discipline. Here are some tips to help you write space research papers:

• Choose a Narrow Topic: Space is a vast field with numerous sub-disciplines. Narrow down your topic to something specific and manageable, ensuring that it aligns with your interests and expertise.
• Conduct Thorough Research: Before you start writing, immerse yourself in the existing literature on your chosen topic. Familiarize yourself with key concepts, theories, and recent discoveries to provide context for your research.
• Develop a Clear Thesis Statement: Define the central argument or hypothesis of your paper in a concise and focused thesis statement. This statement should guide your writing and serve as the foundation for your research.
• Outline Your Paper: Create a detailed outline outlining the structure of your paper, including the introduction, literature review, results, and conclusion sections. This will help you organize your thoughts and ensure that your paper flows logically.
• Write a Compelling Introduction: Begin your paper with a captivating introduction that offers context about your subject, underscores its importance, and delineates the paper’s framework . Grab the reader’s interest and inspire them to delve further into your work.
• Provide a Comprehensive Literature Review: Synthesize the existing research on your topic in a literature review section. Examine pertinent research, theories, methodologies, and results, pinpointing any disparities or deficiencies in the existing literature that your study seeks to rectify.
• Detail Your Methodology: Describe the methods you used to conduct your research, including data collection, analysis, and interpretation techniques. Provide enough detail for readers to understand how your study was conducted and to evaluate its validity and reliability.
• Present Your Results Clearly: Present your research findings in a clear, concise manner, using tables, figures, and charts to illustrate key data points. Interpret your results objectively and discuss their implications in relation to your research question or hypothesis.
• Engage in Critical Analysis: Analyze your findings in the context of existing literature, discussing their significance, strengths, limitations, and potential implications for future research. Be critical and objective in your evaluation, acknowledging any potential biases or limitations in your study.
• Craft a Strong Conclusion: Summarize the main findings of your research and reiterate their significance in the conclusion section. Discuss any implications for theory, practice, or policy and suggest avenues for future research.
• Proofread and Revise: Before submitting your paper, carefully proofread it for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. Edit your writing to ensure clarity, coherence, and consistency, guaranteeing that your points are adequately backed and logically organized.
• Follow Formatting Guidelines: Follow the formatting instructions provided by the journal or conference to which you intend to submit your paper. Pay attention to details such as font size, margins, citation style, and reference formatting to ensure that your paper meets the publication requirements.

Space research offers a window into the vastness of the cosmos, revealing the beauty and complexity of the universe we inhabit. From the depths of space to the surfaces of distant planets, scientists are uncovering new wonders and answering age-old questions about our place in the universe. As we look to the stars, let us be inspired by the spirit of exploration and discovery that drives humanity ever onward, towards new horizons and unknown worlds. I hope you find the best space research topics from the above list.

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109 Space Exploration Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best space exploration topic ideas & essay examples, 📑 good research topics about space exploration, ⭐ simple & easy space exploration essay titles, 💡 interesting topics to write about space exploration, ❓ research questions about space exploration.

• The Future of Space Exploration The attitude of the researchers in this field is rather ambivalent; the main beneficial and negative points of space exploration would be covered in the next parts to make the argumentative and clear statement.
• A Trip to Mars: Mass Facts Mars is one of the eight major planets that form the solar system together with the sun. The atmosphere of Mars is estimated to be less than 1% of that of the earth. We will write a custom essay specifically for you by our professional experts 808 writers online Learn More
• India’s Mission to Mars The writer of this paper argues that India’s mission to Mars indicates a lack of prioritization by the national government and therefore, a waste of resources.
• The Importance of Space Exploration It is evident in the study that spaceflight was the most instrumental element that acted as the driving force and backbone of the exploration processes to the orbital surface.
• The Planet Mars Information The bigger portion of the planet is covered with Borealis Basin that is one of the remarkable features on the surface of Mars.
• Space Exploration Problems On the other hand, people have an opportunity to study the processes which could be useful for understanding the origins of planets, galaxies and the universe in general. BNSC reflected on the plans that UK […]
• India’s Space Exploration Affairs Space exploration has become a key area of concern for modern scientists and this is evident from the many attempts being undertaken in the world today to explore every bit of the outer space.
• Planet Jupiter Facts and Information In terms of size, it is the largest of all the planets and it is number five from the sun.”The diameter of Jupiter is 142984 kilometers and its density is 1.
• A Mars Rover’s Risk Management The risk of a high obstacle, dictated by the motor’s power, can put the rover into an endless loop of attempts to climb to the surface, as a result of which fuel resources may run […]
• Mars: The Exploration of the Red Planet Mars, the fourth planet in order of increasing distance from the sun and the first beyond the earth’s orbit. Following several crewless flybys and orbiters launched by the United States and by the Soviet Union, […]
• Space Exploration: Attitude & Recent Breakthrough It created the basis for the development of natural science and technologies. Moreover, from the social perspective, overcoming the challenges of surviving in space requires cooperation and the development of communities.
• Landed Missions to Mars: The Perseverance Rover According to Farley et al, the mission of the Perseverance rover lies “in the deep search for evidence of life in a habitable extraterrestrial environment, and the return of Martian samples to Earth for analysis […]
• Use of Nanotechnology for Electric-Power Production on Mars This paper explores the possible options of electric-power production sources and attempts to gain insight into the benefits of the application of the most recent scientific developments, such as nanotechnology, for enhancing and expanding the […]
• Space Exploration Mission: Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter The historical development of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is anchored on the dual mission which was targeted for in the 2003 Mars launch window; nonetheless, within the course of the drafting the proposal the MRO was […]
• Space Exploration History and Prospects The exploration of space assists in addressing the central questions about humanity’s place in the history of the universe and the solar system. Scientists are working day and night to reveal ways of mitigating the […]
• Space Exploration: The Venus Observation Mission However, the implementation of the new machinery will be further needed to collect and transfer data from Venus to the Earth.
• Venus: The Object for Research and Space Missions The current offer is unique in that it is planned to launch modules on the surface of Venus and keep them active for a long time.
• Liquid Lake on Mars As a matter of fact, it is also an interesting article because it revolves around the probability of having a new form of life in the Solar System outside the Earth.
• Mars Reconnaissance Orbital Some challenges were encountered with two of the devices mounted on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in November. The HiRISE installed in the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has shown over time that, it is of great importance […]
• Humanities: Galileo and Four Moons of Jupiter Galileo would have value to the Medicis only insofar as he was seen to be a great discoverer of new things and a brilliant philosopher, the doyen of his profession.
• Technology Uncertainty in Space Exploration Hence, learning the complexity of the project to be undertaken takes the largest part of the entire process. In an environment where projects have to be undertaken, organizations cannot elude the dire need of integrating […]
• The Contributions of Dwight Eisenhower to America’s Success in Their Space Exploration Efforts When he took over the presidency he saw the importance of incorporating space technology in the country’s defense mechanism and in this respect he directed that the construction of ballistic missiles and also the construction […]
• “Mars the Abode of Life” by Percival Lowell The main arguments of the book revolve around the genesis of the world, the evolution of life, the dominance of the sun, Mars and the future of the earth, the canals and oases of Mars […]
• General Features of Jupiter 86 years to complete one orbit The distance of Jupiter from the earth taken on 4th June 2013 at 0655 hours GMT is 4.6 AU. The distance of Jupiter from the sun as of now […]
• Mars Curiosity Mission’s Astronomical Research In addition, the age of the samples coincides with the date where the water was present on the planet, according to the current understanding.
• Gifts of Mars: Warfare and Europe’s Early Rise to Riches The article “Gifts of Mars: Warfare and Europe’s early rise to riches” by Nico Voigtlander and Hans-Joachim Voth illustrate how the political situation in Europe had shaped the economic development of the continent in the […]
• Jupiter: From a Wandering Star to the King of the Planets In spite of the fact that Jupiter is more distant than Mars to the Earth, it is usually brighter, and it shines during the whole year around.
• Inner Space Exploration Vehicles There are three common types of underwater vehicles such as autonomous underwater vehicle, human occupied vehicles, and remotely operated vehicles. In addition, there are some human occupied vehicles that are simply used to visit life […]
• Space Exploration Aviation Safety: Challenger and Columbia Among the variety of accidents that take human lives in the sphere of aviation, the cases of Challenger and Columbia remain to be one of the most significant and influential.
• Space Exploration Accidents: Challenger and Columbia The failure in the joint of the elements of the rocket motor caused the Challenger catastrophe. The analysis of the accidents led to the development of a number of recommendations.
• The Main Reasons for Space Exploration In 1957, the Soviet successfully launched the first satellite into space that marked the beginning of space exploration. After the success of the Soviet’s satellite, the U.S.invested more into space exploration.
• A Trip to Mars: Approximate Time, Attaining Synchrony & Parking Orbit 9 years and in essence one can draw this logical induction that the elliptical orbit through which an astronomer moves from the Earth to Mars is relatively shorter than the elliptical orbit of Mars and […]
• Mars: Water and the Martian Landscape According to McSween, scientists and astronomers find the study of the environment of Mars and the existence of flowing of water on the surface of the planet of special interest.
• Astronomy Issues: Life on Mars Indeed, the absence of living microorganisms in the soil is a clear indication of the absence of water on the red planet.
• Market Based Approaches for Controlling Space Mission Costs This has however been addressed and there has been a recommendation that in any future missions using the same system, a mechanism has to be put in place that combines the development and operational phases […]
• Prospects of finding life in Mars Astronomers have found that the length of a typical day in Mars is similar to that of the Earth. This means that there is no water existed on the surface of Mars.
• Mercury Exploration and Space Missions The density of this planet is almost the same to that of the earth and this explains why the winds carried the eroded soils.
• Is there evidence of life on martian meteorites? Until then, researchers need to do the hard work of verifying or refuting existing theories and counterchecking any new evidence that could be contained in the Martian meteorites According to Buseck et al, Nanocrystals of […]
• International Space Exploration: Improving Human Life Advances in space exploration, particularly the creation of the International Space Station, has enhanced the observation of the globe to provide better comprehension and solutions to environmental matters on earth.
• Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter The objectives include the search for past and/or present life on the planet, assess the presence and nature of the resources available in the planet for human exploration as well as understanding the climate and […]
• Why the Water Bears are the Most Appropriate Animals to Send to Mars for Human Research The water bears are the first animals known to be able to endure the insensitive atmospheric combination of low pressure and extreme radiation found in space.
• MAVEN Mission on Mars Factors related to the degree of radiation, the temperature of the planet, the level of ion dispersion within the atmosphere and the ability of solar wind to affect the Martian surface are all factors that […]
• Missions to Mars: Past, Present, and Future In this dual mission to Mars, Mariner 6 and 7 enabled the scientists to analyze the surface of Mars and the Martian atmosphere through the remote sensors in the spacecrafts besides the Mariners taking and […]
• Development of New Space Vehicles: Manned Flight to the Moon and Mars The Apollo 11 landing on the surface of the Moon represents the highest point yet in the conquest of the cosmos by man.
• Should America Spend More Money on Space Exploration?
• India’s Steps into Space Exploration
• Public Money Should Cut Down Expenses for Space Exploration
• Visionary Vintage Children’s Book Celebrates Gender Equality, Ethnic Diversity, and Space Exploration
• Immune System Dysregulation During Spaceflight: Potential Countermeasures for Deep Space Exploration Missions
• The Significance and Value of Exposing Students to Space Exploration
• Apollo 13: Space Exploration and the Traits and Cooperativeness of Explorers
• Isaac Asimov’s Wise and Witty Response to Those Who Question the Value of Investing in Space Exploration
• Why Ocean Exploration Should Be Funded at the Same Rate as Space Exploration?
• Practical Spin-Offs Resulting From Astronomy and Space Exploration
• The Explorer Traits and Cooperativeness in Space Exploration in Apollo 13 by Ron Howard
• Nuclear Power Sources for Space Exploration
• Space Exploration and Technology and the Pros and Cons Arguments
• Modern Societies Doom Without Space Exploration
• The Space Exploration Program: We Are on a Path of Decay
• Funding for Space Exploration Philosophy
• The Current State Regarding the U.S Space Exploration
• Sustainability and Discredit Arguments for Space Exploration
• Technological Advances Associated With Space Exploration
• Future of Human Space Exploration and Operations
• The Advantages and Disadvantages of Space Exploration
• The Three Astronauts: Umberto Eco’s Book About the Role of Space Exploration in World Peace
• Space Exploration and Tourism During the Cold War of 1947
• Let’s Spend Our Resources on Solving Social Problems Not Space Exploration
• The Link Between Space Exploration and Advancements in Science and Military Defense
• Innovations Needed for Deep Space Exploration
• Radiation Measurements Performed With Active Detectors Relevant to Human Space Exploration
• Space Exploration Beyond Low Earth Orbit
• Space Exploration and Its Impact on Earth
• Column Generation Based Heuristics for a Generalized Location Routing Problem With Profits Arising in Space Exploration
• Ethical Principles and Practices in Space Exploration
• Why Space Exploration and Innovation Is Important for the Human Race?
• Specific Immunologic Countermeasure Protocol for Deep-Space Exploration Missions
• The Early History, Present, and Future of American Space Exploration
• The Economic, Health, and International Agreement Issues of Space Exploration
• Dynamic Modeling, Simulation, and Velocity Control of Rocker-Bogie Rover for Space Exploration
• Humanity’s Quest for Space Exploration Throughout History
• The Early Life, Space Exploration and Political Service of Lyndon B. Johnson
• Can the High Costs of Space Exploration Be Justified?
• The Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Powered Early Space Exploration
• What Is the Purpose of Space Exploration?
• What Is the Most Famous Space Exploration?
• How Did Space Exploration Begin?
• What Are the Risks of Space Exploration?
• How Does Space Exploration Benefit Us?
• Which Country Has the Most Space Exploration?
• Which Country Got to Space Exploration First?
• Is Space Exploration Very Important?
• What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Space Exploration?
• How Space Exploration Affected People’s Lives?
• How Has Space Exploration Improved Life on Earth?
• How Can We Improve Space Exploration?
• What Does the Future of Space Exploration Look Like?
• What Is the Best Space Exploration Technology?
• What Have We Gained From Space Exploration?
• Why Is Space Exploration So Slow?
• What Makes Space Exploration Travel Difficult?
• Why Is Space Exploration Expensive?
• What Is the Biggest Problem With Space Exploration?
• Who Controls Space Exploration?
• What Is the Most Interesting Fact About Space Exploration?
• Why Did Space Exploration Stop?
• What Challenges Do Space Explorers Face?
• How Many Space Explorations Have Failed?
• How Does Space Exploration Affect the Economy?
• Chicago (A-D)
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IvyPanda. (2023, October 26). 109 Space Exploration Essay Topic Ideas & Examples. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/space-exploration-essay-topics/

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Home — Essay Samples — History — Contemporary History — Space Race

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Lesson Plan

Explore the Space Race With The New York Times’s Archive

In this extended lesson plan, students will use the Times archive to explore the questions: What was the space race? Who won it? And why did it matter? Then they will connect the past to the current competition for space.

By Jeremy Engle

Fifty-two years ago, the Apollo 11 crew landed on the moon — the culmination of a decade-long “space race” between the United States and the Soviet Union — widely regarded as one of humanity’s greatest achievements. Today, there is a different kind of race being run, as private companies compete to take ordinary citizens to space, the moon, Mars and beyond.

In this lesson, students will look closely at original Times reporting on the space race and explore the questions: What was the space race? Who won it? And why does it still matter?

We begin with a short quiz on the space race as a warm-up activity and later offer several creative options for students to apply and extend what they learned from the Times archives, such as creating a children’s book for “hidden figures” of the space program and curating a museum exhibition. Finally, we invite students to connect the lessons of the past to our current era of space exploration and debate whether we should still be seeking out new adventures in outer space.

What's Included in This Resource

Explore the times archive, discover hidden figures, unsung heroes and overlooked stories, assess the legacy and lessons of the space race, connect the space race to the present.

Part I: What do you know about the space race?

Have you ever dreamed of traveling to space? Do you think you will ever live on another planet?

Today, private companies like Blue Origin, SpaceX and Virgin Galactic are vying for supremacy to make space tourism a reality. But over 60 years ago, a space race began between the two most powerful nations on earth.

What do you know about the space race? Who won, how and why? And what were its consequences?

OK … pop quiz on the space race. (Don’t worry: It’s not graded!)

1. Many historians date the beginning of the space race to Oct. 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union launched a ________.

a) giant slingshot that grazed the moon b) jet-propulsion plane that broke the sound barrier called the Khrushchev c) supersonic missile called Red Dawn d) the world’s first artificial satellite named Sputnik

2. The moon is roughly ______ miles away from Earth.

a) 1,000 b) 23,890 c) 100,000 d) 238,900

3. Which of the following animals have been in space?

a) Jellyfish b) Chimpanzee c) Pig d) Dog e) All of the above

4. What were the Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong’s famous words as he stepped on to the surface of the moon?

a) “So cool!” b) “One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind” c) “To infinity and beyond!” d) “We have nothing to fear but fear itself”

5. The footprint on the moon left by the Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin (pictured above) will last for how long?

a) Just a few more months b) 10 years c) One hundred thousand years d) Tens of millions of years

So, how did you do on the quiz? ( See the answer key at the bottom of the lesson. ) Congrats if you impressed yourself! But don’t worry if you didn’t ace it; there will be more chances to learn fascinating information and stories about the quest to reach the moon.

What questions do you have about the space race? What do you want to know more about?

Part 2: Watch a short video on the origins of the space race.

Next, watch this six-minute video segment from “ Chasing the Moon: American Experience, ” by PBS, on the origins of the space race and how it grew out of the Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union. Then, consider the following prompts in writing or in discussion with a partner:

What are three things you learned about the space race?

What are two new questions you have about the space race?

How did the space race escalate the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union? What role did fear and propaganda play in the quest for supremacy in space?

The space race began in 1957 with the Soviet Union’s surprise launch of Sputnik, the first-ever artificial satellite sent into space — opening a new front in the Cold War for the two world superpowers. After a Soviet cosmonaut became the first person to orbit Earth on April 12, 1961, the newly elected President John F. Kennedy committed the United States to the ambitious goal of landing a man on the moon by the end of the decade.

With the moon landing on July 20, 1969, America effectively “won” the space race that began with Sputnik’s launch 12 years earlier. But public interest in the space program soon waned. By the end of 1972, the last of the 12 men to walk on the moon had returned home, and no one has been there since.

Below, we provide links to 24 original articles from Times coverage of the space race from 1957-1975. Scan the entire archive collection and read the title and summary for each article. Then, working individually or as a research team, choose at least ONE article from each of the THREE sections to read. As you conduct your research, consider the following questions:

Essential Questions

What was the space race? How did it come about, and what were its goals? What fears and interests motivated the two competitors, the United States and the Soviet Union? What role did prestige and propaganda play for each?

How did the space race from 1957-1975 reflect political, social and economic aspects of the Cold War and the time period? Use archival articles from The Times and your knowledge of the era to develop your response.

What story of the space race emerges from the Times archives? What did you notice about the language and images? What is missing from the narrative? In what ways do you think the coverage itself was accurate, biased or perhaps a form of propaganda?

Timeline Activity: You can also make note of important dates, events and people involved in the space race and then create a visual timeline — either on paper (perhaps using a free downloadable timeline printout ) or using a free online tool, such as TimelineJS or StoryMapJS . Or, if you are in a classroom context, you can create a human timeline . Whichever method you choose, you should be creative and use colors, symbols, images and text to tell the chronological story of the space race.

I: The Space Race Begins: 1957-1960

“ Soviet Fires Earth Satellite Into Space ” (Oct. 5, 1957) The Soviet Union launches Sputnik, the world’s first satellite, into space, shocking the world.

“ President Voices Concern on U.S. Missiles Program, But Not on the Satellite ” (Oct. 10, 1957) Following Sputnik , President Dwight Eisenhower says that he is not worried about a race for space, but announces that the U.S. will launch its own satellite by the end of the year. “ Soviet Fires New Satellite, Carrying Dog ” (Nov. 3, 1957) The Soviet Union surprises the world again and launches Sputnik 2, another satellite, but this one with a passenger: a dog named Laika. “ Scientists Wonder if Shot Nears Moon ” (Nov. 5, 1957) The growing fears in America and across the globe are captured in this article that describes how scientists speculated that a Soviet rocket might be en route to strike the moon with a hydrogen bomb in the midst of its eclipse.

“ Science Teaching In Depth Is Urged ” (Nov. 8, 1957) A U.S. senator warns that our country must develop science education “in depth” within the next 10 years or face extinction by world communism.

“ Vanguard Rocket Burns on Beach; Failure to Launch Test Satellite Assailed as Blow to U.S. Prestige ” (Dec. 7, 1957) America’s first attempt to catch up to the Soviets and launch a satellite fails spectacularly.

“ Army Launches U.S. Satellite Into Orbit ” (Feb. 1, 1958) On its third attempt, the U.S. successfully launches a satellite into space.

“ Soviet Rocket Hits Moon After 35 Hours ” (Sept. 14, 1959) A Soviet space probe, Luna 2, is the first human-made object to reach the moon.

II. The Space Race Accelerates: 1961-1967

“ Soviet Orbits Man and Recovers Him; Space Pioneer Reports: ‘I Feel Well’ Messages Sent While Circling the Earth ” (April 12, 1961) The Soviet Union sends Yuri Gagarin into space, marking the first human spaceflight. “ U.S. Hurls Man 115 Miles Into Space ” (May 6, 1961) Alan Shepard becomes the first American astronaut in space. “ Kennedy Asks 1.8 Billion This Year to Accelerate Space Exploration, Add Foreign Aid, Bolster Defense ” (May 26, 1961) President Kennedy announces the goal of reaching the moon by the end of the decade. “ Glenn Orbits Earth 3 Times Safely ” (Feb. 21, 1962) John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the Earth — an achievement celebrated with parades across the country. “ First Woman in Space ” (June 17, 1963) The Soviets send Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova into space.

“ Russian Floats In Space for 10 Minutes ” (March 19, 1965) The Soviet cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov takes the first spacewalk. Russia says a moon trip is the “target now.”

“ The Space Race ” (March 19, 1965) Editorial: Following the first spacewalk, The Times calls for the U.S.-U.S.S.R. to replace competition in space with cooperation.

“ 3 Apollo Astronauts Die in Fire ” (Jan. 28, 1967) A launchpad fire kills the entire crew of Apollo 1.

III: The Finish Line: 1968-1975

“ Astronauts Examine ‘Vast, Lonely’ Place ” (Dec. 25, 1968) The Apollo 8 voyage is the first time that humans orbit the moon. “Earthrise,” a photograph from the mission awes the world.

“ Nationalism Is Obsolete in Outer Space ” (May 16, 1969) A Times Op-Ed on the failure of the U.S. and U.S.S.R. to use accomplishments in space as a means of unifying mankind. “ Men Walk on Moon ” (July 21, 1969) Apollo 11: The first moon landing. Millions across the globe watch the historic achievement.

“ From Coast to Coast: A Joyous Welcome for Astronauts ” (Aug. 14, 1969) Parades across the country celebrate the heroes of Apollo 11 — Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins.

“ Plight of 3 Crewmen Stirs World Interest and Prayer ” (April 15, 1970) An oxygen tank leak puts the flight of Apollo 13 and lives of its astronauts in peril.

“ Apollo 17 Splashes Down Accurately in Successful Finale to Moon Project ” (Dec. 20, 1972) The final Apollo mission to the moon.

“ Astronauts Back, Weak and Wobbly ” (June 23, 1973) The Skylab 1 astronauts, weak and wobbly and suffering some dizziness, returned to Earth after a record 28 days aboard the nation’s first orbiting space station. “ U.S. and Soviet Astronauts Unite Ships and Then Join in Historic Handshakes ” (July 18, 1975) The Apollo-Soyez Project is the first crewed international space mission, carried out jointly by the United States and the Soviet Union.

If you have more time, we encourage you to do your own research in the Times archives using “Space,” “NASA,” “Apollo Mission” and “Moon” as search terms, and October 1957 to Dec. 31, 1975, as a date range.

Almost Famous: The Lost Astronaut

In 1963, ed dwight jr. was poised to be nasa’s first african-american astronaut. until suddenly he wasn’t..

A monument is an ideal. A memorial is a memorial of something that really happened in life. I could have been the first black guy in space. Was that my fate that I’ll be remembered for that, for something that I didn’t do? Think about that one. How the hell do you get famous for something you didn’t do? There rest burdens heavier than have rested on the shoulders of any president since the time of Lincoln. In the ’60s, there was a lot of tension, an incredible amount of tension. In 1959, the first seven astronauts were appointed by Eisenhower, seven guys that become immortal by proclamation only. The way the story goes, the Kennedy White House said, we’ll satisfy our black community by making a black astronaut. One black guy on a Wheaties box. O.K., but how do you make an astronaut? I was born in Kansas City in 1933. I wanted to be an artist. My dad said, “No, no, no, no. You’re going to go to engineering school. You’re going to be an engineer.” All the pilots, the good pilots, the aces, they all grew up on farms. Every one of them. We lived on a farm. And the Fairfax airport was within walking distance. I didn’t know where these airplanes had been when they came and landed. And I didn’t know where the hell they were going when they took off. But it had to be exciting. I did get the flying bug. I was down there every day. I became their mascot. I’d hang out in the maintenance shacks. And I’d hand the guys the tools. And after a while, I said, “Why don’t you just take me up?” [AIRCRAFT ENGINE BUZZING] Immediately, when you can see past the horizon, you say, oh, my god. All of a sudden, your world expands to this bigger and bigger and bigger space. That whole expanse of stuff, you get even more curious about it. Why were we here? And what part do we play? And what, if anything, can we do about it? I was probably 18. And I had a paper route for the white newspaper. And I had a paper route for the black newspaper. On the front page of my black newspaper was a black jet pilot standing on the wing of an F-86 Saber jet. My world about exploded. Oh, my god, they’re letting black folks fly airplanes. I almost stopped throwing papers that minute. I went straight to the Air Force recruiting office. By the time I got to be upper class, I had all these stripes on my arm. I had my own office. I was an officer all the way through the whole thing. And lo and behold, I get this letter, all the Pentagon trapping, all this stuff on it. Direction of the president, opportunity to be an astronaut. So I took it to my boss and he said, “Tear it up. You don’t want any part of that, man. They’re going to make hamburger out of you down there, buddy. Ed, stick with us. You’ve got a career. You’re going to be a general. You have a family here. So leave it alone.” But my curiosity overwhelmed me. So I secretly sent all my information in. And within days, days, not weeks, months, years, I got an assignment to go to Edwards Air Force Base for me to enter experimental test pilot school. I was a Kennedy boy. That’s the term they used, Kennedy boy. I knew full well when I got on the base that it wasn’t going to be a cakewalk. It seems like every street at Edwards Air Force Base is named after a dead test pilot. Every time I strapped that airplane on my behind, I don’t know whether I’m coming back. And on top of that, I was told, Chuck Yeager, the guy that was running the whole damn school, had called the students and the instructor staff into the auditorium and said, here’s our plan. Don’t talk to him. Don’t socialize with him. Don’t drink with him. Don’t invite him to your parties. Just ignore him like he doesn’t exist. And in six months, he’ll be gone, because that’ll psychologically break him. He’ll quit. And so they set about doing that. That’s Chuck Yeager. My dad had issues in his work world. Whether you’re a baseball star like he was or whatever you did, I mean, you still suffer the ravages of prejudice. And he would go on these rants. “All white men are the worst people in the world and they’ll stab you in the back.” But my mother had the last word. “Don’t pay any attention to what your dad said. All people are equal.” And those were the last words I heard every day until I was 18 years old. You can teach your brain to help you, or you can teach your brain to destroy you. And your brain will react to what it’s been told. Every day of my life, my mother told me how much she loved me and how I could do anything in the universe. I don’t care what it was, you have the ability to do that, as long as you’re prepared for it. That removed any other force coming into my space plane. But if I had all this other trash running around in my head, I wouldn’t be able to do any of that kind of stuff. They were announcing names to go into the second phase of it. And of course, that next level moved you on to NASA, which was the third thing. Just graduated from test pilot school and we were all vying for a spot. So guess who’s not quitting? Captain Ed Dwight. 29-year-old Negro says he is anxious to go into space. He’s Captain Edward Dwight of the Air Force, selected to be an astronaut, the first of his race to be so designated. Captain Dwight and his family got the news at their home at Edwards Air Force Base in California. And of course, that was hot news, I mean, really, really hot news. Place was packed. The press came out from D.C. Cameras were everywhere. All these photographers on me. And they have one cover all the rest of them. Immediately, I was getting 1,500 fan mails a day. And I was on the cover of all these magazines around the world. See, I was being handled out of the White House. So everywhere I went, I was bombarded with it. So there was a lot of unhappy people about this. There’s a black guy that can do this? Oh, god, you’ve got to be kidding me. Kennedy boy, Kennedy boy. All that nonsense, couldn’t give it a parking space in my brain. We were in bioastronautics training at Brooks. They were trying to figure out how far they could take a person and break them. They did everything they could possibly do. They’d stick needles in your head and then introduce these waves. Centrifuge training, a lot of guys couldn’t handle that. They’d take you up to 15 g’s. Of course, your tear ducts close and the tears creep over to here. And they’re like bullets when they hit your ears, that thing is so fast. God, I just ate that up. I really enjoyed it. It was just absolutely fabulous. The happy ending of this thing would be going into space. [ROCKET ENGINES BOOMING] O.K., I guess you all know why you’re here today and why we’re here. We’d like to introduce the new group of 14 astronauts who we’ve been in the process of selecting for about the last four months. [APPLAUSE] Was there a Negro boy in the last 30 or so that you brought here for consideration? No, there was not. They were announcing a new group of astronauts and I wasn’t in that group. A month or so later, Kennedy has been assassinated. Are you now in fact completely out of the astronaut program? Why aren’t you an astronaut? Do you feel that what’s happened to you was a setback for civil rights opportunities in this country? I would rather not comment on that. I resigned in ’66, loaded my Volkswagen to the brim and drove off the base. You know, god, I start getting emotional. [CHUCKLES] I mean, that was tough. Next question. [SLOW STRING MUSIC] If I just receded into nothingness, it would have been all well and good with everybody else, because that’s how things are supposed to happen. I would have loved going into space, you know, had this thing all worked out that way. That choice was snatched away from me. So why bother about it, you know? I have to attribute that to some kind of fate. Well, maybe there’s some more work for me to do. Maybe my fate was I had to bring the African-American story to the public venue. [SLOW STRING MUSIC] And so I started building things, making things. 129. I’ve completed 129 memorials since I’ve done this and over 18,000 gallery pieces. A monument is an ideal. But a memorial is a memorial of something that really happened in life. How do you go from slavery to freedom and accomplishment? What happened? Harriet Tubman, George Washington Carver, Rosa Parks, Sojourner Truth, Dr. King, B.B. King, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, step by step by step by step. Guion Bluford. First African-American in space.

Over 400,000 people worked directly or indirectly with NASA during the decade-long race to put a person on the moon — yet, most of those people and their efforts remain unknown, overlooked or forgotten.

Below, we provide links to nine Times articles reporting on those who have often been left out of the larger narrative of the space race. Choose one or more articles to read, and then consider the following questions:

Why do you think certain perspectives and stories are missing from the space race story?

Which stories of unsung heroes were most interesting, surprising or affecting to you and why?

Why is it important to learn about the stories of those people behind the scenes or often overlooked?

Profile Activity: You can also imagine you have been asked to help create a comic or children’s book about an inspiring but overlooked space race pioneer to help educate young people. Which aspects of their life, story and achievements would you highlight? What impact would you hope your book would make? You can find free children’s bookmaking apps here or here and free comic book apps here and here .

Times Resources

“ To Make It to the Moon, Women Have to Escape Earth’s Gender Bias ” (July 17, 2019) The Apollo program was designed by men, for men. But NASA can learn from its failures as it aims to send women to the moon and beyond.

“ Five Women Who Made the Moon Landing Possible ” (July 23, 2019) That “giant leap for mankind” happened thanks to plenty of women.

“ On Being a Black Female Math Whiz During the Space Race ” (Sept. 5, 2016) Former NASA mathematicians discuss the matter-of-fact way they approached their work and the history about their careers in the book “Hidden Figures.”

“ Katherine Johnson Dies at 101; Mathematician Broke Barriers at NASA ” (Feb. 24, 2020) She was one of a group of Black women mathematicians at NASA and its predecessor who were celebrated in the 2016 movie “Hidden Figures.”

“ Here Are the 18 African-American Astronauts ” (July 16, 2019) It was 22 years after Alan Shepard’s first space trip that the U.S. sent a person of color up.

“ For Apollo 11 He Wasn’t on the Moon. But His Coffee Was Warm. ” (July 16, 2019) Michael Collins kept an orbital vigil during Neil’s and Buzz’s moonwalk, but he really didn’t feel that lonely.

“ Ed Dwight Was Set to Be the First Black Astronaut. Here’s Why That Never Happened. ” (July 16, 2019) For a brief moment, the civil rights movement and the space race came together.

“ Two Magical Places That Sent Apollo 11 to the Moon and Back ” (July 13, 2019) They’ve nearly vanished, but hubs in Southern California and on Long Island played key roles in the lunar race.

“ Not Everyone Wanted a Man on the Moon ” (July 16, 2019) Protesters in the late ’60s and early ’70s pushed for spending at home on the same multibillion-dollar scale as the moon race.

Earthrise: 50 Years Since Apollo 8

On christmas eve, 1968, astronauts orbiting the moon saw earth rising for the first time..

Fifty years ago, the mightiest rocket ever built rolled out to its launch pad at Cape Kennedy. On the 21st of December, 1968, three men climbed on board for the first voyage to the moon. Before Apollo 8, no human had ever left Earth orbit. Frank Borman, James Lovell Jr. and William Anders became the first men to see the whole Earth from space. They send back grainy footage of Earth to televisions back home. “This transmission is coming to you approximately halfway between the moon and the Earth.” In the first broadcast, the Earth was a ghostly sphere, devoid of detail. But in their second transmission, a recognizable Earth wreathed in clouds drifted in and out of view. Their mission was to fly a figure 8 pattern out to the moon, orbit it 10 times and return safely home. But safety and success were not certain. Russian tortoises had survived a flight around the moon and back only three months before, and cosmonauts were rumored to be next. The astronauts worked hard and slept little. And on Christmas Eve, they arrived at the moon. They had only 10 orbits, about 20 hours, to photograph the moon and scout future landing sites. For its first three orbits, the spacecraft was flying backward with its windows angled down toward the surface. On the fourth orbit, Borman rolled the capsule to face forward, just as Earth was rising over the horizon. Anders: “Oh my God! Look at that picture over there! There’s the Earth coming up. Wow, is that pretty!” Borman: “Hey, don’t take that, it’s not scheduled.” [chuckles] Anders snapped the first image of Earth taken by humans at the moon. But it was black and white. Anders: “You got a color film, Jim? Hand me a roll of color, quick ...” Lovell: “Oh man, that’s great! Where is it?” Anders: “Quick!” Earthrise. Seen for the first time by human eyes. Earthrise wasn’t the first image of Earth from the moon. NASA’s Lunar Orbiter I turned to watch the Earth set in 1966. A year later, Lunar Orbiter IV caught the double crescent of the moon and the distant Earth. Of all these images, Earthrise is by far the most famous. It took a human behind the camera for humanity to see our world again and know it for the first time. Other Earthrises would follow, as men returned to orbit and walk on the moon. Lovell: “The vast loneliness up here of the moon is awe inspiring and it makes you realize just what you have back there on Earth. The Earth from here is a grand oasis in the big vastness of space.” A few hours after Earthrise, the Apollo 8 crew ended a Christmas Eve broadcast by reading from Genesis. Borman: “... And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters called He Seas; and God saw that it was good. And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas and God bless all of you, all of you on the good Earth.” The Apollo 8 astronauts didn’t yet know that their greatest legacy would be a photograph. The round Earth and its thin film of life, suspended in the blackness of space. Like them, we have seen Spaceship Earth. And 50 years later we are still learning to fly and preserve it.

The Times Opinion columnist Ross Douthat wrote that “what Apollo represents is not goodness but greatness, not moral progress but magnificence, a sublime example of human daring that our civilization hasn’t matched since.”

However, the Times Science reporter Dennis Overbye wrote : “Having beaten the Russians, we left the moon as awkwardly and cynically as we had embraced it a decade earlier. No goodbyes. No infrastructure, like bases or orbiting stations. Nothing to provide an easy way back. We ghosted it.”

Below, we provide links to seven Times articles and Opinion pieces that assess the legacy and lessons of the space race. Choose one or more stories to read, and then consider the following questions:

What is the lasting legacy of the space race? Who or what was really won? Was the space program worth the cost — in effort, money and in lives? Was it largely a propaganda victory for the United States? Or should the moon landing be viewed as one of humanity’s greatest achievements?

What impact did the space race have on the Cold War and beyond? What role did it have on today’s landscape — from STEM education and technology to national security and the environmental movement?

What can we learn from the triumphs and mistakes of the space race? What life lessons can the era’s brave and pioneering astronauts teach us?

Museum Exhibition Activity: Working individually, in teams or as a whole class, you can also curate a space race museum exhibition. What events, people, themes and artifacts would you include? What stories would you emphasize? What would you hope audiences would learn? For tips on creating a classroom museum, read Creating a Student-Run Museum in Your Classroom from Edutopia.

“ ‘Look Up! Sputnik!’ 60 Years Later ” (Oct. 3, 2017 — Opinion) In 1957, the Soviets launched the world’s first artificial satellite into orbit — and a Cold War space race they would eventually lose.

“ With Fear and Wonder in Its Wake, Sputnik Lifted Us Into the Future ” (Sept. 25, 2007) After Sputnik, nothing would ever be quite the same again — in geopolitics, in science and technology, in everyday life and the capacity of the human species.

“ Sputnik’s Legacy Behind the Iron Curtain ” (Oct. 9, 2007 — Opinion) Sputnik opened for the Russian people a long-term race for fundamental education and scientific knowledge.

“ How the Space Station Became a Base to Launch Humanity’s Future ” (Nov. 2, 2020) Once derided as a poster child for government waste, the outpost in orbit is now seen as a linchpin for future economic activity in space.

“ Earthrise: 50 Years Since Apollo 8 ” (Dec. 21, 2018 — Video) On Christmas Eve 1968, astronauts orbiting the moon saw Earth rising for the first time.

“ Selling a Mission to Space ” (June 23, 2019 — Video) To launch its lunar landing project, NASA had to find ways to convince the American public that the costly, audacious pursuit was essential. One lasting result: Tang breakfast drink.

“ What My Spacewalk Taught Me About Isolation ” (April 27, 2020 — Video) Feel as if you’re drifting in space? I know what that’s like.

Today, there’s a new space race.

This time it’s not a race to the moon, but to see who will dominate a future space tourism industry — a competition not between nations but between billionaire entrepreneurs and private spaceflight companies.

This summer, the Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and the British entrepreneur Richard Branson both flew to space in rockets designed by their companies, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic — although both flights were less than for 11 minutes each.

Then, on Sept. 15, a rocket launched by SpaceX, the company founded by the billionaire Elon Musk, carried the first all-civilian crew on an adventure to orbit the Earth for three days.

Below, we provide links to six Times articles and Opinion pieces that connect current space research and exploration with the space race. Choose one or more stories to read, and then consider the following questions:

How is the competition between Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic and SpaceX — as well as between the entrepreneurs — similar or different from the contest for space supremacy between two rival nations like the United States and the Soviet Union?

What economic, social and political forces, like the Cold War, are shaping the current competition for space?

How important to national or international interests is the new focus on spaceflight? How important is space exploration and development? What should NASA’s role and mission be now? Should nations fight for supremacy of space and other celestial bodies?

Who do you think will “win” this latest race?

Journal Activity: You can also make some personal connections to the space race — past, present and future — by using one or more of the following prompts to inspire your thoughts, reflection and imagination:

Make personal connections: Are you excited by renewed interest in space travel? Are you fascinated by space or have you ever dreamed of becoming an astronaut? Do you think you will ever to travel to space during your lifetime? If you had an opportunity to go anywhere in space, where would you visit? To share your responses to these questions, and to reply to other students, submit a comment on our related Student Opinion prompt .

Apply the lessons from the past : Make the argument for or against the new space race: Is it good for humanity? Or is it doomed to recreate the mistakes of the past? What lessons from the historical space race can we apply today? Should companies and nations still compete for supremacy in space? Should we build a new model of cooperation and collaboration? Or, perhaps, should we invest the money here on Earth? If you have time, you might consider writing an editorial or having a classroom debate .

Make some predictions: Will humans ever live in space? If so, by what year? Do you think that you ever will?

To help you research the new space race you might start by looking at the Times’s Space and Astronomy Topics page or some of these recent stories:

“ A Ride to Space on Virgin Galactic? That’ll Be $450,000, Please. ” (Aug. 5, 2021) The cost of a few minutes of weightlessness for new customers will be much higher than earlier prices, and they may have to wait awhile to fly.

“ Want to Buy a Ticket to the Space Station? NASA Says Soon You Can ” (June 7, 2019) NASA plans to open the International Space Station to commercial business, including tourism. But the tickets won’t be cheap.

“ She Beat Cancer at 10. Now She’s Set to Be the Youngest American in Space .” (Feb. 22, 2021) St. Jude Hospital and Jared Isaacman, a billionaire entrepreneur, selected Hayley Arceneaux for a trip to orbit in a SpaceX capsule.

“ Why Everyone Wants to Go Back to the Moon ” (July 12, 2019) Something of a new lunar race is underway, but the motivations differ from what put men on its surface 50 years ago.

“ Russia, Once a Space Superpower, Turns to China for Missions ” (June 15, 2021) The two countries have pledged to cooperate on expeditions to the moon and to an asteroid, setting the stage for a new space race with the United States and its partners.

“ How Space Became the Next ‘Great Power’ Contest Between the U.S. and China ” (Jan. 24, 2021) The Biden administration faces not only waves of Chinese antisatellite weapons but also a history of jumbled responses to the intensifying threat.

Space Race Quiz Answers: 1d, 2d, 3e, 4b, 5d

Jeremy Engle joined The Learning Network as a staff editor in 2018 after spending more than 20 years as a classroom humanities and documentary-making teacher, professional developer and curriculum designer working with students and teachers across the country. More about Jeremy Engle

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Keep track of things going on in our solar system and all around the universe..

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A new set of computer simulations, which take into account the effects of stars moving past our solar system, has effectively made it harder to predict Earth’s future and reconstruct its past.

Dante Lauretta, the planetary scientist who led the OSIRIS-REx mission to retrieve a handful of space dust , discusses his next final frontier.

A nova named T Coronae Borealis lit up the night about 80 years ago. Astronomers say it’s expected to put on another show  in the coming months.

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Is Pluto a planet? And what is a planet, anyway? Test your knowledge here .

The Space Race between the 1960s and 1970s

• Julia D'Alessandro Western University

“The Space Race between the 1960s and 1970s” is an analysis of the progression of science throughout the named decades and the impact the space exploration had on these achievements.  With a focus on the telemetry system of the Voyager Missions, this paper explores topics such as colour photography, satellites, and radio waves.  It will explain concepts such as Golay coding which allows for higher resolution photographs to be transmitted from space and radio waves allowing scientists to measure characteristics of other planets in our solar system (i.e., atmospheric composition).  “The Space Race between the 1960s and 1970s” will discuss how public support – and consequently funding - for space exploration has declined over time and how this has affected the progress of organizations like NASA.  The international space race was an instrumental part of scientific development in human history; this paper aims to bring light to both its successes and failures.

• D'Alessandro PDF

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The Space Race

By: History.com Editors

Updated: February 21, 2020 | Original: February 22, 2010

After World War II drew to a close in the mid-20th century, a new conflict began. Known as the Cold War, this battle pitted the world’s two great powers—the democratic, capitalist United States and the communist Soviet Union—against each other. Beginning in the late 1950s, space became another dramatic arena for this competition, as each side sought to prove the superiority of its technology, its military firepower and–by extension–its political-economic system.

Causes of the Space Race

By the mid-1950s, the U.S.-Soviet Cold War had worked its way into the fabric of everyday life in both countries, fueled by the arms race and the growing threat of nuclear weapons, wide-ranging espionage and counter-espionage between the two countries, war in Korea and a clash of words and ideas carried out in the media. These tensions would continue throughout the space race, exacerbated by such events as the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961, the Cuban missile crisis of 1962 and the outbreak of war in Southeast Asia.

Space exploration served as another dramatic arena for Cold War competition. On October 4, 1957, a Soviet R-7 intercontinental ballistic missile launched Sputnik (Russian for “traveler”), the world’s first artificial satellite and the first man-made object to be placed into the Earth’s orbit. Sputnik’s launch came as a surprise, and not a pleasant one, to most Americans. In the United States, space was seen as the next frontier, a logical extension of the grand American tradition of exploration, and it was crucial not to lose too much ground to the Soviets. In addition, this demonstration of the overwhelming power of the R-7 missile–seemingly capable of delivering a nuclear warhead into U.S. air space–made gathering intelligence about Soviet military activities particularly urgent.

Did you know? After Apollo 11 landed on the moon's surface in July 1969, six more Apollo missions followed by the end of 1972. Arguably the most famous was Apollo 13, whose crew managed to survive an explosion of the oxygen tank in their spacecraft's service module on the way to the moon.

NASA Is Created

In 1958, the United States launched its own satellite, Explorer I, designed by the U.S. Army under the direction of rocket scientist Wernher von Braun . That same year, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a public order creating the National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA ), a federal agency dedicated to space exploration.

Eisenhower also created two national security-oriented space programs that would operate simultaneously with NASA’s program. The first, spearheaded by the U.S. Air Force, dedicated itself to exploiting the military potential of space. The second, led by the Central Intelligence Agency ( CIA ), the Air Force and a new organization called the National Reconnaissance Office (the existence of which was kept classified until the early 1990s) was code-named Corona; it would use orbiting satellites to gather intelligence on the Soviet Union and its allies.

Space Race Heats Up: Men (And Chimps) Orbit Earth

In 1959, the Soviet space program took another step forward with the launch of Luna 2, the first space probe to hit the moon. In April 1961, the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person to orbit Earth , traveling in the capsule-like spacecraft Vostok 1. For the U.S. effort to send a man into space, dubbed Project Mercury, NASA engineers designed a smaller, cone-shaped capsule far lighter than Vostok; they tested the craft with chimpanzees  and held a final test flight in March 1961 before the Soviets were able to pull ahead with Gagarin’s launch. On May 5, astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American in space (though not in orbit).

Later that May, President John F. Kennedy made the bold, public claim that the U.S. would land a man on the moon before the end of the decade. In February 1962, John Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth, and by the end of that year, the foundations of NASA’s lunar landing program–dubbed Project Apollo –were in place.

Achievements of Apollo

From 1961 to 1964, NASA’s budget was increased almost 500 percent, and the lunar landing program eventually involved some 34,000 NASA employees and 375,000 employees of industrial and university contractors. Apollo suffered a setback in January 1967, when three astronauts were killed after their spacecraft caught fire during a launch simulation. Meanwhile, the Soviet Union’s lunar landing program proceeded tentatively, partly due to internal debate over its necessity and to the untimely death (in January 1966) of Sergey Korolyov, chief engineer of the Soviet space program.

December 1968 saw the launch of Apollo 8, the first manned space mission to orbit the moon, from NASA’s massive launch facility on Merritt Island, near Cape Canaveral, Florida . On July 16, 1969, U.S. astronauts Neil Armstrong , Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin and Michael Collins set off on the Apollo 11 space mission, the first lunar landing attempt. After landing successfully on July 20, Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon’s surface; he famously called the momen t “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

Who Won the Space Race?

By landing on the moon, the United States effectively “won” the space race that had begun with Sputnik’s launch in 1957. For their part, the Soviets made four failed attempts to launch a lunar landing craft between 1969 and 1972, including a spectacular launch-pad explosion in July 1969. From beginning to end, the American public’s attention was captivated by the space race, and the various developments by the Soviet and U.S. space programs were heavily covered in the national media. This frenzy of interest was further encouraged by the new medium of television. Astronauts came to be seen as the ultimate American heroes, and earth-bound men and women seemed to enjoy living vicariously through them. Soviets, in turn, were pictured as the ultimate villains, with their massive, relentless efforts to surpass America and prove the power of the communist system.

With the conclusion of the space race, U.S. government interest in lunar missions waned after the early 1970s. In 1975, the joint Apollo-Soyuz mission sent three U.S. astronauts into space aboard an Apollo spacecraft that docked in orbit with a Soviet-made Soyuz vehicle. When the commanders of the two crafts officially greeted each other, their “ handshake in space ” served to symbolize the gradual improvement of U.S.-Soviet relations in the late Cold War era.

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123 Topics about Space

For a space essay, you need a rocketing title! Welcome to our space essay topics, where we journey beyond Earth’s boundaries. Space exploration, astronomy, and the mysteries of the universe have captivated human curiosity for centuries! Go through these space topics for presentation and uncover the wonders arising from our quest to understand the cosmos.

🚀 TOP 7 Topics about Space

🏆 best space essay topics, 👨‍🚀 space exploration topics, ✍️ space essay topics for college, 🌶️ hot research questions about space, ❓ space topics for presentation.

• Arguments for Space Exploration
• Space Exploration: The Liberal Arts Lenses
• Mathematics and Space Travel
• The Space Shuttle Challenger Engineering Ethics
• Indian Space Mission and Its Negative Aspects
• Investing in Climate Change vs. Space Exploration
• The Transcendental Exposition of the Concept of Space
• Space Exploration: India Space Mission The following paper will discuss the topic of ISRO to launch India’s first spacecraft to Mars. Some of the benefits attributed to the mission relate to the race between India and China.
• Space Investigation and Its Limits Humanity has always been trying to investigate nature and discover new things. The thrill of knowledge resulted in numerous discoveries that altered the way we evolved.
• Valero Refinery Disaster and Confined Space Entry On November 5, 2010, a disaster occurred at the Valero Delaware City, Delaware. Two workers succumbed to suffocation within a process vessel.
• Ocean Research vs. Outer Space Exploration Both the study of the outer space and the research of the processes that take place on Earth, particularly, in the ocean, are crucial for facilitating the safety of the humankind.
• The International Space Station: Building for the Future The International space station is a globally established exploration facility constructed in a low- world orbit. It is the biggest space station ever assembled.
• Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster: Causes of the Tragedy and the Measures to Be Taken On January 28, 1986, the Challenger was launched to explode 73 seconds after its lift-off. The tragedy is commonly called “the worst disaster in the history of the space program”.
• Space Telescope Science Institute Presentation This paper presents a reflection on the presentation hosted by the Space Telescope Science Institute. The event provided insight about scientific idea and Hubble press releases.
• Museum Space of the British Museum This paper is aimed at the comparative analysis of two approaches concerning museum spaces by Duncan and Hillier and Tzortzi in relation to the visit to the British Museum.
• The NASA Space Colonization Plans The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is putting efforts into advancing space colonization by using its existing competencies.
• High-Temperature Materials Selection: Space Shuttle Shield and Turbochargers The paper analysis the service requirements for these components and attempts to find the group of material that would suit these products.
• The Vancouver Art Gallery: Perception of Space At the moment, the Vancouver Art Gallery is located in what was previously the provincial courthouse. The VGA is Canada’s fifth-largest art gallery but in Western Australia, it is the largest.
• Long-Term Space Travel and Psychological Issues The exploration of space is one of the strategic goals humanity is likely to focus on in the nearest future. Astronauts have spent months during quite lasting spaceflights.
• Space Exploration: UAE and INDIA Space Cooperation The potential collaboration between India and the UAE in the context of space programs’ development seems to be highly promising.
• The Evolution of Space Exploration: From the Space Race to the Present.
• The Mars Rover Missions: Unveiling the Mysteries of the Red Planet.
• Collaborative Research and Human Survival at the International Space Station.
• Pioneering Female Astronauts and Their Contributions.
• Prospects and Challenges of Lunar Colonization.
• The New Space Age: Private Companies and the Future of Space Travel.
• Space Tourism: Commercial Ventures Beyond Earth’s Atmosphere.
• The Role of Satellites in Modern Life.
• Asteroid Mining: Tapping into Celestial Resources for Earth’s Benefit.
• The Search for Earth-Like Worlds – Exoplanets and Habitable Zones.
• Expanding Our Understanding of the Universe with the Space Telescopes.
• Space Junk and Debris as the Growing Threat to Spacecraft.
• Challenges and Possibilities of Journeying Beyond Our Solar System.
• The James Webb Space Telescope: Opening New Windows to the Universe.
• What Are the Potential Barriers to Advanced Spacefaring Civilizations?
• Voyages to Explore Beyond Our Planetary Neighborhood.
• The Cosmic Microwave Background: Insights into the Early Universe.
• Space Weather and Its Impact on Earth’s Technological Infrastructure.
• Can We Estimate the Number of Communicative Extraterrestrial Civilizations?
• Space Law and Governance: Regulations for Activities Beyond Earth.
• The Challenges of Propulsion Systems for Interplanetary and Interstellar Travel.
• Robotic Vs. Human Space Exploration: Pros and Cons of Each Approach.
• The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence and Contact.
• The Discrepancy Between the High Probability of Extraterrestrial Life and the Lack of Contact.
• The Implications of Discovering Microbial Life Beyond Earth.
• The Concept of Space Elevators: An Alternative to Rocket-Based Space Access.
• Ethical Considerations and Potential Impacts on Indigenous Martian Environments.
• The Search for Cosmic Signatures of Life: Biosignatures and Technosignatures.
• The Effects of Microgravity on Human Health.
• The Long-Term Viability of Human Settlements on Other Planets.
• Katya Echazarreta, a Mexican American Woman in Space This paper considered the first case when Katya Echazarreta, a Mexican-born American woman, was sent into orbit for the first time in the history of space exploration.
• Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster: Results After the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, NASA identified the management failure elements that led to the disaster and substituted them with sustainable alternatives.
• Microgravity – Effects on the Human Body During and After Long-Duration Space Flight The volume of selected muscles, lean body mass, and spinal bone marrow composition can be measured by Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Bone Mineral Loss and Recovery.
• The Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster Factors One of the causes of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster is that NASA put more emphasis on the timeframe of the project as compared to the quality standards of the project.
• Astronomy: International Space Station The space station operating at international level known as ISS is a partnership operation comprised of several countries with a common objective of conducting space explorations.
• Space Studies: Why Should People Enter Space? Space exploration has benefited the earth and those who live on it. Humans have already made improvements to technology and medicine due to space exploration.
• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Space Colonization The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is actively working on the project of Mars colonization, which is its biggest space colonization goal.
• Space Exploration Through the Humanitarian Lens This paper discusses the implementation of the humanitarian lens in the context of space exploration, considering both technological and economic factors.
• Space Mining and Exploration: Legislative Basis During the Cold War, countries designed laws to govern space exploration. While these laws have worked, militarization and desire for space mining have created tension.
• NASA’s Efforts of Space Colonization: Pros and Cons NASA’s active efforts in space colonization are based on evidence and economically viable, but the concerns on the long-term sustainability aspects are valid.
• Space Informational Guides: Analysis Space and the universe are filled with mysteries that the Astronautical Space Exploration Centre seeks to solve.
• NASA and Space Colonization Space colonization efforts should adhere to universal design principles in order not to discriminate against people with disabilities.
• “Space Mining & Exploration” Article by Skauge Skauge’s article “Space Mining & Exploration: Forcing a Pivotal Movement” discusses essential issues regarding space mining, which is a quick-approaching reality.
• The Future of the Space Missions The current obsession with space discoveries leaves enough room for innovative developments in the area that are expected to take humanity closer to interplanetary missions.
• Accident Investigation: Space Shuttle Columbia Report The crash of any aircraft is a serious incident demanding an in-depth and comprehensive analysis of factors resulting in the emergence of an unexpected situation.
• Autonomous Space Robots Actualization The actualization of NASA’s idea of autonomous space robots with the capacity to repair and refuel satellites will pave the way for further developments and exploration.
• The International Law Rules in the Space Despite the insignificant presence of people in space, every action out of Earth is governed by international law rules, including autonomous space exploration.
• Space and Place in the History of the American West The United States of America is a vast country that appeared due to the expansion of its frontiers by pioneers who conquered the wilderness.
• Different Races in the Same Space The attitudes toward people of different races functioning in the same space would vary depending on the assumptions dominating the society in relation to that race.
• Record Breaking X-37B Unmanned Space Plane Resistance to unintentional interferences, low probability of interceptions, and worldwide availability of frequencies are critical concerns in enhancing the functionality of UAS.
• SpaceX Company Sends Humans to the International Space Station This paper discusses the story of SpaceX, its founder Elon Musk, and their latest historical achievement of sending humans to space.
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Management Issues NASA is experiencing significant challenges in its management and program risks. The organization has had advanced knowledge in science and space exploration for many years.
• The Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster The space shuttle is known to be one of the most ambitious projects of the modern age. The idea to create a spaceship seemed fantastic and even ridiculous.
• The Link Between Space Exploration and Advancements in Science and Military Defense
• Columbia Space Shuttle- Final Mission
• The Future Looks Promising for Space Exploration
• Why Space Colonization Will Be Fully Automated?
• The History and Origins of Space Travel
• The Science Behind Human Space Travel Over Time
• Will Asia Win the Next Space Race?
• The International Space Station: History and Future Literature Review
• The Space Race and the Tension Between the United States and the Soviet Union
• Principles of The North Korean Space Program
• The Second Race for Space: NASA vs. Private Space Enterprise
• The Space Shuttle Challenger Disintegrated 73 Seconds After Its Take Off
• The Past, Present, and Future of the Hubble Space Telescope
• General Information about The Next Generation Space Telescope
• The Economic, Health, and International Agreement Issues of Space Exploration
• Why Space Explorations Are Essential for Humanity?
• Case NASA: The End of the Space Shuttle Program
• The Symbolic and Social Meanings of Space
• The Reusable Booster Rockets of the U.S. Space Shuttle
• Why the United States Joined the Space Race
• The Human’s Great Yearning to Travel in Space
• The Four Major Space Crafts Launched in the Seventies
• General Information About the U.S. Space Program
• The Pros and Cons of Space Tourism’s Expansion
• The Space Race Greatly Affected the Cold War History
• Why Can’t You Trust Private Space Programs?
• How the Government’s Space Program Influenced the United States Economy?
• What Is the History and Perspectives of Space Exploration?
• Who Controls the Private Sector in Space?
• Why the United States Join the Space Race?
• How Did the Space Race Affect the Cold War?
• What Are the Ethical Principles and Practices of Space Exploration?
• Can the High Costs of Space Exploration Be Justified?
• How Do Carbon Composites Protect the Lives of Astronauts and Shuttles from the High Temperatures in Space?
• What Is the GDP Growth Forecast from Space?
• Why Space Exploration and Innovation Is Important for the Human Race?
• What Are the State R&D Programs for the Commercialization of Space?
• How Can Poor Countries Afford Space Programs?
• Which Space Programs Are Funded by the US Government?
• What Is Known about the Air Force Space Station at Cape Canaveral?
• How Does the Education Reform Impact the Space Race?
• What Benefits Has the United States Brought Space Inventions?
• How Did the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster Happen?
• What Are Off-Planet Mobility and Media Perspectives of Virtual Space Tourism?
• What Are the Ethical Aspects of the Space Shuttle Columbia Accident?
• How Is Economic Growth and Regional Convergence Carried Out in a Sustainable Space Economy?
• Why Shouldn’t People Explore Outer Space?
• How Space Travels Inspires the Minds of the Youth?
• What Do You Know About Extraterrestrial Life and Outer Space?
• How Is the Space Debris Population Controlled?

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These essay examples and topics on Space were carefully selected by the StudyCorgi editorial team. They meet our highest standards in terms of grammar, punctuation, style, and fact accuracy. Please ensure you properly reference the materials if you’re using them to write your assignment.

This essay topic collection was updated on January 21, 2024 .

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Research Topics

Reach for the stars: research topics on space exploration.

With recent advances in commercial space exploration, we have curated a list of our best Research Topics on outer space. Explore collections edited by experts from NASA, The Goddard Space Flight Center, Space Science Institute, German Aerospace Center, Canadian Space Agency, National Space Science Center, European Space Agency, International Space University, and many more.

Research Topics:

Optimization of Exercise Countermeasures for Human Space Flight – Lessons from Terrestrial Physiology and Operational Implementation

Biology in Space: Challenges and Opportunities

Microbiology of Extreme and Human-Made Confined Environments (Spacecraft, Space Stations, Cleanrooms, and Analogous Sites)

Geospace Observation of Natural Hazards

Astrobiology of Mars, Europa, Titan and Enceladus - Most Likely Places for Alien Life

Imagining the Future of Astronomy and Space Science

Brains in Space: Effects of Spaceflight on the Human Brain and Behavior

Creative Performance in Extreme Human Environments: Astronauts and Space

Space Traffic Management: a new era in Earth orbit

Wound Management and Healing in Space

Robotic Manipulation and Capture in Space

A Multidisciplinary Approach to designing Sensorimotor Adaptation countermeasures for space exploration missions

Active Experiments in Space: Past, Present, and Future

On-orbit Manufacturing and Assembly Technologies for Future Space Activities

Current and Future Instrumentation for the Detection and Identification of Signatures of Life on Mars and Beyond

On-Orbit Servicing and Active Debris Removal: Enabling a Paradigm Shift in Spaceflight

Space Weather with Small Satellites

AI in the Space Sciences

Higher Plants, Algae and Cyanobacteria in Space Environments

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The quest for greater knowledge and understanding— as well as Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union—fueled the modern space race in both unmanned and manned spacecraft, but humans have acknowledged the powers of the solar system since prehistoric times. Advanced technologies, and an increasing spirit of private enterprise, open possibilities for new adventures and frontiers.

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Since the first people walked the Earth, the heavens have beckoned to the human spirit and inspired the human imagination. The drama of the sky has enthralled forty thousand generations of men and women. From prehistoric times, the sky and its celestial bodies have played key roles in mythology and religion throughout the world. Early American peoples, including the Aztecs of southern Mexico and the Anasazi of the North American Southwest, used the movements of the sun, planets, stars, and moon for calendrical and agricultural purposes and worshipped gods embodying the sun and moon. Similar religious trends emerged throughout the ancient world on every continent, and until the spread of monotheism, nearly every world culture worshipped some aspect of the sky. Hence, although the ancients had relatively little knowledge of the universe, they recognized the power of the heavens.

By medieval and early modern times, astrology, or the belief that the motion of the stars and planets shape the fates of individuals, kings, dynasties, and empires, was influencing the decisions of both political leaders and peasants. Not until the scientific revolution of the seventeenth century was the idea of the stars and planets as physical bodies obeying regular laws accepted by influential people. For human space travel to become a reality, the work of Kepler, Newton, and Galileo first had to predict the movements and characteristics of bodies in space.

Early Development of Space Travel and Rocketry

Space travel didn’t become feasible until the twentieth century. Rocket technology, which would become the basis of all space travel, began with the rocket development work of Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (1857–1935) in Russia and Robert Goddard (1882–1945) in the United States. The Chinese had invented a rocket weapon in 1232 using gunpowder, which was ultimately adopted in technologically sophisticated societies throughout the world. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, various pioneers improved the rocket’s effectiveness as a weapon. It is Tsiolkovsky of Czarist Russia, however, who is remembered as the “father of astronautics.” Although he dealt with many aspects of the rocket as an instrument of interplanetary travel, his most important contributions concerned propellants and the rocket design needed to achieve flight into the Earth’s orbit and then farther into space. In particular, he discussed the possibility of powerful, controllable liquid propellants, such as hydrogen and oxygen, and multistage rockets. Although Tsiolkovsky accurately predicted many future developments, his writings were not widely read during his life.

The work of the U.S. physicist Robert Goddard also concerned multistage rockets and liquid propellants. In 1926 at a farm in Auburn, Massachusetts, Goddard used liquid oxygen and petrol to send the first liquid-propelled rocket into the air at a rate of 60 miles per hour. He continued his experiments, with a launch in 1935 ultimately achieving 1,000 feet and a speed of 700 mph. Despite his genius and some financial support from the U.S. government, the reticent and publicity-shy Goddard did not contribute directly to the American space program. However, his reticence paved the way for the Transylvanian and German rocket and space travel visionary, Hermann Oberth (1894–1989), who corresponded with Goddard. Like Tsiolkovsky, Oberth dealt with both detailed engineering and the broader issues regarding space exploration. He helped to spread popular awareness of the rocket and the possibilities of space travel throughout Germany. In the 1920s and 1930s, various rocket societies in Europe and the United States, which included engineers as well as visionaries, met to build rockets as well as to advance their general knowledge of space travel.

Military Rocketry and the Imaginative Vision

Meanwhile, leaders in the USSR, building on Tsiolkovsky’s ideas, formed a military organization in 1928 under young engineer Valentin Glushko (1908–1989). The laboratory, called the Gas Dynamics Laboratory (GDL), built solid-fuel war rockets. In 1931, Soviet leaders gained control of another key organization, the Group for the Study of Reaction Motion (known in the USSR as GIRD), which emphasized more powerful liquid-fuel rockets. GIRD had emerged from a core of Soviet engineers and space enthusiasts who dreamed of going to the moon and beyond. The Red Army funded this group as well as GDL. Sergei Korolev (1906–1966), the future mastermind behind the Soviet space program, was one of GIRD’s most enthusiastic members. During this era, Korolev focused on rocket aircraft and honed his organizational skills. Through the efforts of GIRD, the USSR launched its first liquid-fuel rocket in 1933. Its success caused Soviet leaders to take a greater interest in the use of rocket technology in weaponry. Ultimately, leaders consolidated GIRD and GDL into a single organization, RN-II, which made further contributions to rocket development. The tragic advent of Stalin’s purges in 1934 threatened the nascent Soviet rocket program. Many Soviet rocket pioneers and space visionaries perished in the purges. Stalin’s police imprisoned both Korolev and Glushko, but they managed to survive, working as state prisoners to advance rocketry.

In Germany, the state also harnessed space enthusiasts for military purposes. The most notable of these was Wernher von Braun (1912–1977), who would play a vital role in the United States space program as well as in the German rocket program. Born to a prominent family, von Braun was active in the VfR (Society for Space Ship Travel). He joined the German Army Ordnance Department in 1932 to work on a liquid-fuel rocket with a range greater than any preexisting artillery. In 1937, the group moved to Peenemunde, a new proving ground on the Baltic. Von Braun, who was talented as a manager as well as an engineer, led the rocket development program.

Although the Nazi leadership supported the program only erratically, von Braun and his associates made progress as they dreamed of future trips to the moon and Mars. The V-2/A-4 rocket, or “vengeance weapon,” first flew in late 1942. It was much more powerful than any preceding rocket, standing almost fifty feet high, weighing 28,000 pounds, reaching a height of sixty miles, and carrying a heavy bomb. It burned liquid oxygen and ethyl alcohol and had sophisticated guidance and control systems. This rocket was an ancestor to many American rockets, including the powerful Saturn V which would take the first humans to the moon. Workers enslaved by Hitler built most of the V-2 rockets used in World War II. Although the weapons were not accurate, their victims had few defenses against them. In September of 1944, Hitler launched a V-2 bombardment against targets in southern England and liberated Europe. While powerful, these weapons made little difference to the war’s final outcome.

Space Exploration and the Cold War

As the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union intensified after World War II, both the Americans and the Soviets utilized the survivors of Nazi Germany’s military rocket teams. Stalin’s rocket program, approved in 1947, was intended to culminate in the production of an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM). The Soviet army recreated the V-2 rocket through the SS-I and SS-II rockets, but the Soviet aviation industry avoided rocket technology. The first Soviet ICBM, the SS-6/R-7, was built to carry the heavy Soviet nuclear warhead. However, its most significant flight occurred on 4 October 1957, when it launched the first human-made satellite, Sputnik I, into Earth orbit. As euphoria overtook the Soviet Union, the American public reeled in shock. If the Soviets were capable of launching a satellite to fly over American soil, were they not also capable of launching a nuclear weapon to the United States? And why hadn’t the United States launched a successful satellite first? Nikita Khrushchev (1894–1971), who succeeded Stalin as Soviet premier in 1958, recognized the symbolic importance of Sputnik. The worldwide perception was that the USSR had overtaken the United States in science and technology; this implied military superiority.

As Americans panicked, President Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969) remained secure in his knowledge of America’s military superiority in the areas of intermediate-range missiles, miniaturized nuclear weapons, bases near the Soviet Union, and spy planes. Just a year after Sputnik, von Braun’s Army rocket team managed to launch the first American satellite, Explorer 1, with a modified Redstone rocket, the Jupiter- C. On 1 October 1958, Eisenhower announced the creation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which would be based on the modest National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). Although the military branches wished to carve out a place for themselves in the arena of spaceflight, they would not hold responsibility for the high-profile manned space programs of the 1960s.

NASA’s first mission, now that the Soviets had beat it into space, was to put a man in space first. NASA called the program Project Mercury. On 9 April 1959, NASA administrator T. Keith Glennan announced the names of the first seven American astronauts who would fly in Project Mercury. The American media and public went into a frenzy over the “Mercury 7,” one of whom they believed would be the first man in history to orbit the Earth. Americans viewed the photogenic military test pilots as space warriors who, through their bravery, would save the United States from the spreading “red tide” of communism. In the USSR, however, Khrushchev and Sergei Korolev, the Soviet space program’s chief designer, had likewise determined that a Russian should be the first man into space. Indeed, the Soviets won this particular race as well. On 12 April 1961, the cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, in a Vostok spacecraft atop a new A-1 rocket, was launched into Earth orbit. The United States reacted strongly to the news, and NASA administrators and engineers accelerated the pace of Project Mercury.

The first American astronaut was Alan B. Shepard Jr. His fifteen-minute suborbital flight, launched on 5 May 1961, by the von Braun-designed Army Redstone rocket, did not match the Soviet achievement but it did put America back into the space race. However, the Redstone launcher, with a thrust of 75,000 pounds, did not have the power to place a manned spacecraft into the Earth’s orbit. For this objective, NASA used the U.S. Air Force’s Atlas ICBM, with a total thrust of 360,000 pounds.

The Race to the Moon

Following on the heels of Shepard’s flight, President John F. Kennedy (1917–1963) made a dramatic announcement to Congress on 25 May 1961. He called for the achievement of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth before the end of the decade. Kennedy’s announcement accelerated the space race because it gave an increased sense of national importance and urgency to NASA. The agency continued with Project Mercury, but it accelerated development of its lunar landing program, Project Apollo. In December of 1961, NASA announced Project Gemini, which would place two men into Earth orbit for extended periods. Gemini would practice many of the techniques used on Apollo, including the rendezvous of two spacecraft, the docking of two spacecraft, and spacewalking.

NASA successfully launched astronaut John H. Glenn Jr. into orbit on 20 February 1962, in the Mercury spacecraft, Friendship 7. This flight required much more effort on the part of the astronaut, the flight controllers, and the spacecraft, which had to perform critical maneuvers and keep the astronaut alive for several hours. The Mercury program continued with three more flights, concluding with Gordon Cooper’s successful 22-orbit flight on 15 May 1963. Mercury had achieved its major objectives of placing a man into Earth orbit and recovering him successfully.

NASA announced Lunar Orbit Rendezvous (LOR) as the Apollo mission mode in June of 1962. With LOR, von Braun’s Saturn V rocket, with a thrust of 7,500,000 pounds, would propel a crewed spacecraft, a service module with supplies, and a lunar module toward the moon. Once in orbit around the moon, the lunar module would separate from the command and service modules, carrying two astronauts to the moon’s surface while the command module pilot stayed in lunar orbit. The lunar module itself would have two stages, an ascent stage and a descent stage. When the astronauts finished their exploration of the moon’s surface, they would return to lunar orbit in the ascent stage, leaving the descent stage on the moon, and dock with the command module. On approach to Earth, both the ascent stage and the service module would be jettisoned. Only the command module would return to Earth. Although NASA originally thought this method too risky, its weight-saving advantages and the fact that each component could be engineered independently for a particular purpose ultimately made it the most practical of the modes considered. The LOR mission mode determined nearly every aspect of Apollo development, from crew training to spacecraft design to spacecraft maneuvering systems.

Mercury astronaut Gus Grissom and “New Nine” astronaut John Young piloted the first flight of Project Gemini, on 23 March 1965. The Gemini spacecraft, while based on the Mercury spacecraft, was larger and had a number of more sophisticated systems to allow performance in maneuvering, rendezvous, and docking. Later Gemini flights would dock with the Agena target vehicle, which was really the hollowed-out upper stage of an Atlas rocket fitted with docking adapters. But on 18 March 1965, Korolev dealt the United States another blow when Aleksei Leonov made the first spacewalk, lasting twelve minutes and nine seconds. Leonov and fellow cosmonaut Pavel Belyayev orbited the Earth in Voshkod 2, an updated version of Gagarin’s Vostok spacecraft. Edward H. White III of Gemini IV performed the first American spacewalk on 3 June 1965. However, from this point on, American performance in manned spaceflight would consistently outstrip Soviet performance up to the lunar landings.

Between March 1965 and November 1966, ten Gemini flights took place. While the United States set one space record after another, no cosmonauts orbited the Earth. In October of 1965, Gemini VI rendezvoused with Gemini VII, with the crew of Gemini VII spending two weeks in Earth orbit. The first successful docking of two spacecraft occurred during Gemini VIII, which was crewed by Neil Armstrong and David Scott. The final flight of the program, Gemini XII, solved many problems inherent to spacewalking and helped to refine flying techniques as well as spacesuit technology. With the conclusion of Project Gemini, spaceflight had become operational if not routine, and many of the skills needed for Apollo had been honed to sharp accuracy.

Although Project Gemini had seen some close calls in space, NASA’s first major catastrophe occurred on the ground. On 27 January 1967, during a routine ground test at the Kennedy Space Center, the Apollo One command module burst into flames and the three crew members, Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee, perished through asphyxiation. Investigations showed that while faulty wiring was the immediate cause of the fire, neither NASA nor the contractor North American Aviation had fully understood the need for all components to work together in a complex system. Many at NASA and at North American Aviation believed that the fire gave them a new awareness of possible problems and actually facilitated the success of Apollo. The tragedy shook public confidence in Apollo, but, inspired by the memory of John F. Kennedy, Americans continued to support the program.

With many changes now built into the Apollo spacecraft, Apollo 7, a test of the command and service module in Earth orbit was launched on 11 October 1968. Apollo 8, launched on a Saturn V on 21 December of the same year, successfully circumnavigated the moon with the command and service modules, albeit after the USSR had managed to orbit the moon with an unmanned spacecraft, Zond 5. Satellite photos revealed that the Soviet moon rocket, the N-1, might soon be ready to take men to the moon. Project Apollo culminated in the Apollo 11 mission, launched on 16 July 1969, with commander Neil Armstrong, lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin, and command module pilot Michael Collins. Two weeks before the launch, a Soviet N-1 moon rocket blew up on its launch pad, effectively ending the moon race. Armstrong and Aldrin touched down on the moon on 20 July1969, with a television audience of approximately a billion people. Backed by many thousands of workers, managers, and engineering specialists, Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins met Kennedy’s goal and fulfilled the age-old dream.

With Apollo now fully operational, the focus of the program shifted to scientific lunar exploration. With the exception of Apollo 13, subsequent missions made significant discoveries regarding the geological composition and history of the moon using new equipment, such as the lunar rover. The final Apollo mission, Apollo 17, splashed down on 19 December 1972. The crew had taken the first photograph of the full Earth from space, underscoring the planet’s fragility and interconnectedness.

In retrospect, it is not surprising that the Americans reached the moon before the Soviets, despite early Soviet success. The death of Sergei Korolev in 1966 sealed the fate of a Soviet moon program that was under funded and subject to corruption, with resources spread too thinly over many design bureaus. The result was less equipment, fewer tests, and weaker technology. The American space program had the benefit of a thriving economy, largely due to its position after World War II, which was much stronger than that of the Soviet Union. Government and private enterprise formed strong partnerships in the United States that benefited the space program through NASA’s practice of awarding contracts to aerospace companies who would then build space hardware. Ironically, the democratic-capitalist United States government had better command of its space resources than the totalitarian USSR.

Beyond the Moon

Mars exploration has been prominent in the space programs of the Soviet Union (and later Russia), the United States, Europe, and Japan, with numerous missions and robotic spacecraft having been launched toward or directly at Mars since the 1960s. Mercury has been visited by the Mariner 10 and MESSENGER missions, the former in 1975, while the latter made a flyby in January 2008. A third mission is due to arrive in 2020. Similar to Mars, Venus has had many missions sent to it; the first was the American Mariner 2 craft in 1962, but most have been from Soviet Venera craft. Exploration of Jupiter has been undertaken since 1973 by a series of NASA’s automated spacecraft, most of them, apart form the orbiting Galileo craft, have been flybys. Saturn too has been explored only through unmanned NASA visits, including flybys by Pioneer 11 (1979), Voyager 1 (1980), Voyager 2 (1982), and the Cassini mission which entered orbit in 2004 and is likely to run into 2010. Uranus has only been explored through Voyager 2, with the closest approach coming in January 1986. Similarly, the sole visit to Neptune was the flyby of Voyager 2 in 1989.

After the Space Race

With the winning of the space race and the advent of detente, America’s political will to support large-scale space initiatives dissolved. The Skylab temporary space station project of the 1970s utilized leftover Saturn V rockets and increased knowledge of living and working in space. The Apollo-Soyuz test project of 1975, in which Apollo and Soviet Soyuz spacecraft rendezvoused and docked in the Earth’s orbit, marked the first major cooperative venture in space.

During the late 1970s, NASA completed the development of the space shuttle program. Originally intended to serve as a taxi with routine flights to and from a permanent orbital space station, the shuttle instead stood on its own because of NASA’s reduced budget. A private company built the shuttle fleet, which had its maiden voyage with the shuttle Columbia launching on 12 April 1981. During nearly three decades in service, space shuttles have deployed military satellites, housed numerous science experiments, carried the Hubble space telescope into space, and helped build the International Space Station (ISS). Yet the two major disasters of the Shuttle program, the Challenger explosion on 28 January 1986, and the disintegration of Columbia during reentry on 1 February 2003, underscored the problems of constant, routine access to space that had plagued the shuttle program since its inception. In both cases, experts blamed the nature of NASA bureaucracy, which had become increasingly inflexible since the days of Apollo.

The Soviet policy of glasnost (openness) initiated under Premier Mikhail Gorbachev (b. 1931) meant that the successes and failures of the Soviet space program could be discussed openly. This policy certainly helped the success of the Mir space station (1986– 2001), the world’s first long-term orbital structure for living and working in space. Assembled with updated versions of the Soyuz spacecraft, the station proved the feasibility of long-term space habitation, hosting several American crews during its tenure. The fall of the USSR in 1989, although difficult on the Russian program, opened up new commercial opportunities for spaceflight in Russia.

International Cooperation in Space

Since the end of the superpower space race, many other nations have begun to participate in the arena of space exploration. Major European nations joined the European Space Agency in 1980. The agency has contributed key satellites and scientific instruments to Russian, American, and joint endeavors. Additionally, the agency has produced many launchers for commercial use. Groups in Japan, including the National Space Development Agency (NASDA) have also begun to make strides into space with sophisticated technology. The Chinese space program, while younger than and not as versatile as the European and Japanese programs did succeed in putting a man into space on 15 October 2003.

The construction of the International Space Station (ISS) began in 1994. Although NASA has overall responsibility for the project, major components have been built by Russia, ESA, and NASDA. The station has been widely criticized for cost overruns and delays that have consumed much of the NASA budget. However, the station has hosted important research, particularly in the area of pharmaceuticals, and has provided humans with a permanent place to live and work in space.

The Future of Space Exploration

Two major themes currently dominate much of the discourse surrounding space exploration: the possibility of a manned mission to Mars and the widespread privatization and democratization of space travel. For years space enthusiasts of many stripes have been lobbying for a manned mission to Mars. However, without major political impetus, such as the need to upstage the Russians in the Cold War, American leaders have seen little reason to fund such an expedition, and countries other than the United States do not have the resources for such a mission in the near future. President George W. Bush (b. 1946, in office 2001–2009) announced plans for a permanent lunar base with a Mars landing in the next twenty years, but even with careful budgeting, this will be difficult to complete without a strong national commitment. In 2010, at the beginning of the second year of President Barak Obama’s administration, rumors that U.S. plans for future human spaceflights would abandoned were met with harsh criticisms (especially from NASA) until he renewed the goals, which included a Mars landing by 2030.

The flight of the first privately funded spacecraft, SpaceShipOne, designed by the U.S. aerospace engineer Burt Rutan (b. 1943), on 21 June 2004, inspired many entrepreneurs who wish to expand the opportunities for human spaceflight. Using SpaceShipTwo, a reusable sub-orbital spaceplane, Virgin Galactic aims to be taking tourists into space by 2010. Other privateers include Bigelow Aerospace, which has launched two space station modules—Genesis I and II—and plans to build an orbiting hotel in space. SpaceX’s Falcon 1, a liquid-propelled orbital launch vehicle has undertaken two successful flights; Falcon 9 is scheduled to launch in May 2010. To a certain extent the Google Lunar X-Prize has served to hasten private space exploration through the announcement of a $20 million prize for the first privately funded mission to the moon. But so has the general desire for space exploration and the need to be the first.

Existing space technology is extremely expensive and space travel is dangerous. These factors currently inhibit space exploration from being immediately profitable and accessible to all. Yet, if you have enough money the Russian space program has been willing to take paying passengers into space. But if dedicated scientists and engineers continue to pursue solutions to the problems of propulsion, spacecraft control, and long-term human survival in space, the possibility of space exploration for all—both in the Earth’s orbit and in interplanetary space—will come closer to our grasp.

Bibliography:

• Aldrin, B. (1973). Return to Earth. New York: Random House.
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• Bilstein, R. E. (1989). Orders of magnitude: A history of the NACA and NASA, 1915–1990 (NASA SP-4406). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
• Bromberg, J. L. (1999). NASA and the space industry. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
• Carter, D. (1988). Final frontier: The rise and fall of the American rocket state. New York: Verso.
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• Harford, J. (1997). Korolev: How one man masterminded the Soviet drive to beat America to the moon. New York: Wiley.
• Kauffman, J. L. (1994). Selling outer space: Kennedy, the media, and funding for Project Apollo, 1961–1963. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press.
• Kranz, E. F. (2000). Failure is not an option: Mission control from Mercury to Apollo 13 and beyond. New York: Simon and Schuster.
• Lambright, W. H. (1995). Powering Apollo: James E. Webb of NASA. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
• Launius, R. (1994). NASA: A history of the U.S. civil space program. Malabar, FL: Krieger.
• Launius, R. D., & McCurdy, H. E. (Eds.) (1997). Spaceflight and the myth of presidential leadership. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
• Logsdon, J. M. (1970). Decision to go to the moon: Project Apollo and the national interest. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
• Lovell, J., & Kruger, J. (1995). Apollo 13. New York: Pocket Books.
• Mailer, N. (1970). Of a fire on the Moon. Boston: Little, Brown.
• McCurdy H. E. (1997). Space and the American imagination. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press.
• McDougall, W. (1985). The heavens and the Earth: A political history of the space age. New York: Basic Books.
• Murray, C. A., & Cox, C. (1989). Apollo: The race to the moon. New York: Simon and Schuster.
• Neufeld, M. (1995). The rocket and the Reich. New York: Free Press.
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• Sagan, C. (1994). Pale blue dot: A vision of the human future in space. New York: Random House.
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• J Am Med Inform Assoc
• v.9(2); Mar-Apr 2002

The Space Race and Biodefense

Michael m. wagner.

University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The events that followed the launch of Sputnik on Oct 4, 1957, provide a metaphor for the events that are following the first bioterroristic case of pulmonary anthrax in the United States. This paper uses that metaphor to elucidate the nature of the task ahead and to suggest questions such as, Can the goals of the biodefense effort be formulated as concisely and concretely as the goal of the space program? Can we measure success in biodefense as we did for the space project? What are the existing resources that are the equivalents of propulsion systems and rocket engineers that can be applied to the problems of biodefense?

History changed on October 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik I. The world's first artificial satellite was about the size of a basketball, weighed only 183 pounds, and took about 98 minutes to orbit the Earth on its elliptical path. That launch ushered in new political, military, technological, and scientific developments. While the Sputnik launch was a single event, it marked the start of the space age and the U.S.–U.S.S.R space race. 1

History also changed on Oct 4, 2001, 44 years to the day later, when health officials announced that a 63-year-old Florida man had contracted pulmonary anthrax and had been hospitalized with the infection. 2 This event, too, is ushering in an era of new political, technologic, and scientific developments, with a substantial, if not predominant, focus on the fields of medical care and public health. As a result, medicine is already experiencing fundamental changes, such as the demise of the time-honored practice of “watchful waiting” when a patient has symptoms of early viral illness.

Public health is experiencing even greater changes. Techniques of disease control such as sanitation, vaccination, and water treatment that have produced dramatic improvements in health and longevity over the past century are no longer sufficient for the protection of the public health. Traditional disease transmission cycles memorized by generations of students will henceforth include hundreds of new pathways, such as biowarfare plant > foreign agent > terrorist cell > mail handling facility > infected human along side the familiar infected human > mosquito > infected human.

Disease control now involves participation by national security agencies in the detection of terrorists with the motivation and capabilities to conduct such attacks, detection of biowarfare production capabilities, detection of plans to disseminate such material, and detection of actual covert transfers of material. Electron beam irradiation of the mail is an early example of changes in the methods of disease control that could ultimately grow to include the widespread deployment of environmental or even personal portable sensing devices. The broadening of the techniques and organizations involved in the protection of the public health is such that some are speaking of a new field called biodefense .

It is in the area of public health surveillance that the analogy between the space race and biodefense is perhaps closest. To mitigate a medium or large-scale surreptitious release of Bacillus anthracis will require breathtaking improvements in the rapidity of detection and of response decision-making in public health. Improvements of even an hour over current capabilities may reduce economic impact by hundreds of millions of dollars. 3 To attain such capabilities, however, the nation must develop electronic public health surveillance systems that process clinical and other types of data looking for the earliest possible clues of an outbreak in real time on a national or even international scale. Here, the breadth of technologic advances required and the scale of their deployment undoubtedly warrant the label Big Science .

The field of medical informatics, which is the study of the roles and uses of information and information technology in biomedicine, has made foundational contributions in the fields of medical care and public health. These contributions are being leveraged to build new public health surveillance systems. They include highly visible products such as electronic medical records and immunization registries as well as less visible but arguably more influential products such as technical contributions in the key areas of representation, inference, decision-making under uncertainty, and standards for exchange of biomedical data. Indeed, many of these results have influenced and been incorporated into the specifications for the National Electronic Disease Surveillance System being promulgated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 4

Rapid detection and response will also depend on tight coupling between the activities of public-health workers and the activities of individual clinicians. This coupling can be accomplished best through the embedding of decision support and disease reporting capabilities in clinical information systems. Such an infrastructure will help clinicians adhere to the rapidly changing population-based guidelines needed to manage optimally individual cases, and it will provide public health officials with aggregate information about disease activity needed for public health surveillance.

Those researchers in medical informatics who have witnessed the nation's slow progress toward ubiquitous clinical computing over the past four decades may wonder about the nation's capacity for such a breathtaking advance in disease surveillance, especially in light of the present state of deliberations in Congress. The early halting steps of the nation and Congress, however, should not be interpreted as the only and final reactions of the country. The early history of the space race suggests otherwise:

Immediately after the Sputnik I launch in October, the U.S. Defense Department responded to the political furor by approving funding for another U.S. satellite project. Werner von Braun and his Army Redstone Arsenal team began work on the Explorer project. On January 31, 1958, the tide changed, when the United States successfully launched Explorer I. This satellite carried a small scientific payload that eventually discovered the magnetic radiation belts around the Earth, named after principal investigator James Van Allen. The Sputnik launch also led directly to the creation of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). In July 1958, Congress passed the National Aeronautics and Space Act (commonly called the “Space Act”), which created NASA as of October 1, 1958, from the National Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) and other government agencies. 1

It may be reassuring to us now to recognize that President Eisenhower and Congress, under a less dire threat, were nonetheless able to come together to take immediate action in the form of the Explorer I program. Nine months later, they followed with definitive action—consolidation of multiple, small, overlapping efforts into a single dedicated agency. This consolidating of resources under NASA is even more noteworthy given that, at the time, the Army had the most advanced rocket propulsion system (the Jupiter C) and the von Braun team, which subsequently became a key asset of the NASA team. The analogy raises the question of whether the country needs a NASA-like reorganization and consolidation of diverse federal efforts in biodefense.

NASA from its inception was managed by rocket engineers who were (largely) undistracted by objectives other than the single-minded goal of winning the space race. A question for the nation is, Who are the rocket engineers for the field of biodefense? The answer may be that they are the experts in medical informatics. For the past several years, researchers in medical informatics have developed and fielded electronic public health surveillance systems and have provided direction to projects such as those described in a separate article in this issue of the Journal. 5 As in the field of rocketry prior to the space race, the nation has available a body of knowledge, parts, and existing teams of researchers working on actual fielded systems.

The analogy between the space race and biodefense can provide additional insights and guidance to the country. It is widely acknowledged that President Kennedy's promise to land men on the moon and return them safely by the end of the decade inspired Congress and the nation through its simplicity and clarity. This clear goal statement was a source of guidance to legislators, managers, scientists, engineers, and construction workers throughout the world as they made the millions of individual decisions that led to our success in the space race.

It is an interesting question whether the goals of the biodefense effort can be formulated as concisely and concretely as the goal of NASA. Similar goal statements for biodefense might be to, within a year, reduce detection and response time by two days over current levels and, within five years, to detect and respond, within a day of their release, to any biological agents that threaten the health of our citizens.

The Sputnik launch revealed deficiencies in training and education in the sciences that were ameliorated by massive changes in the educational system. A parallel exists in the area of training of the public health workforce in information technology. The analogy also suggests the question of whether the expected technologic spin-offs in the areas of large-scale computing, simulation, and mitigation of naturally occurring epidemics will equal the spin-offs of NASA in the areas of materials, computers, communications, and electronics. The analogy may also reveal differences. Biodefense may fundamentally be best accomplished by regional deployments under central coordination and support, rather than a single national effort.

The development of early warning capability for biological events is Big Science. The nation should draw on lessons learned from the space race 6, 7 and other historical challenges, including the Manhattan Project, to ensure success in meeting the present challenge. These lessons include the value of a clear call to action, identification of existing resources, consolidation of the resources, and in highly technical areas such as early warning systems for biodefense, assignment of responsibility and authority to scientists and engineers in fields that are already working on the problem.

Acknowledgments

The author thanks Gregory Cooper, MD, PhD, and Eric Rodriguez, MD.

This paper is based on a plenary presentation at the AMIA Annual Symposium, Nov. 5, 2001, in Washington, DC.

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Research Paper On The Space Race: How It Changed Everything

Type of paper: Research Paper

Topic: United States , Space , Race , America , World , Cold War , Technology , War

Words: 3000

Published: 01/31/2020

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The Cold War was an era of rapid change the world over. The Soviet Union emerged from World War II victorious but weakened by war, needing to find a new path of industrialization and to maintain control of the myriad of satellite states it had collected as spoils; the United States emerged as the leading Western power, largely unaffected by the war, which was not fought on their own territory, and largely complacent with its position at first. Europe aligned itself between the capitalist and communist powers, and became divided by what Winston Churchill famously termed the “Iron Curtain”. The rest of the world was caught largely in the middle, and was progressively industrializing. The Space Race would become the technological challenge that would bring about rapid innovation in both countries that would affect everyday life in a multitude of ways. It served many purposes, including unifying the people of the respective nations around a goal, boosting morale when achievements were announced, encouraging competition, changing the focuses of education and the educational system, and, most importantly, advancing technology and science, as well as our place in the universe. In this paper, we will examine some of these effects, and look at their impact on us even today. First, let us look at the background. While there had been cooperation between the United States and the Soviet Union during the War, and even after, for example, when negotiating the Potsdam Agreement and in administrating Berlin (until 1946, when the Russians stopped attending the joint meetings), relations worsened dramatically after the war. The Blockade of Berlin in 1948, the Korean War from 1950 to 1953, and the Soviet detonation of a nuclear bomb in 1949, much earlier than expected, were all major factors that increased tensions early on (Beisner 2003). While in the United States fear of communism was nothing new, it reached new levels during the 1950’s during the Red Scare and the McCarthy era. This period tended to focus on fear of the enemy from within, sleeper agents or even Americans who sympathized with communism. A dramatic change of focus came about on October 4th, 1947, however, when the Soviets launched the first satellite, Sputnik I, into space in a low-earth orbit. While this was a major advance for science and human history, it was also a demonstration that the Soviets had technology capable of sending a warhead anywhere on Earth, and it caused great concern in the United States (Kernan 1997). The event led directly to the founding of NASA in 1958, concentrating American space research into one body with its own funding, and also led to the National Defense Education Act, which spent billions refocusing the education system in the United States, placing more emphasis on what are today known as the STEM fields (Science Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) (Flattau, et. al 2006). Despite this refocusing, the Soviets still had a head-start. On November 3rd, 1947, they launched another satellite into space, this one carrying a dog, Laika, which would become the first animal in space. On April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit the earth. The Americans were not far behind, though; Alan Shepherd was launched into space about three weeks after Gagarin, and John Glen orbited the Earth on February 20, 1962. In 1961 and 1962, President Kennedy publically put his support behind NASA, and famously gave a speech about landing an American on the moon before the end of that decade. This was the kick-start the Apollo Program needed to get off the ground. While there were certainly challenges along the way, such as the Apollo 1 fire that killed the Apollo 1 crew and destroyed the spacecraft while it was still on the ground at Cape Canaveral, the achievements of the Apollo Program were many, and included the first orbit of the moon on Apollo 8 (on which the iconic first photo of the earth rising over the moon was taken), the actual moon landing on July 20th, 1969, numerous important space walks, and the successful recovery of Apollo 13 after the first major American disaster in space. The research done on these missions was also invaluable, as are the many moon rocks returned, which have told us much about the formation of the solar system and the Earth-Moon system. Now that we have covered the background, we will examine the effects the Space Race had on people at the time, and the effects it continues to have today. One major effect it had was to refocus the attitude of the American people. The Cold War of the 1950’s was one of paranoia, punctuated by McCarthyism and the House Un-American Activities Committee. The focus had been to promote fear of the enemy within. The Space Race refocused these energies into something constructive. Instead of being purely fearful of the enemy, the focus became finding constructive ways to achieve things the enemy had not, and to focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The results of this are both obvious and hidden, but present in everyday life. Obviously, we landed humans on the moon, and that is a fantastic achievement. But technology we use every day was also developed, either directly by NASA or by repurposing technology developed by NASA. A few examples include the ballpoint pen, satellite television, the dust buster (and other cordless power tools), modern smoke detectors, the joystick, memory foam, freeze-dried food, LEDs, scratch-resistant lenses, invisible braces, the design of many highways and runways with grooves in them to drain water and reduce risk of hydroplaning, enriched baby food, solar technology, ear thermometers, and more (Conger). It would be nearly impossible to imagine life in the 21st Century without these things, and we have the space race to thank for them. It’s also worth noting that NASA has consistently worked with private industry over the years in developing these products, with the added bonus of making their beneficial and pioneering technology available to the public while promoting the private sector. The Space Race also served to boost morale by unifying the nation around a tangible goal. During World War II, for example, morale had been extremely high as all efforts were focused around ending the war. But after the war ended and it became clear that the Soviets had also emerged as a super power, and a hostile one, morale gradually began to drop. After the embarrassment of not being able to win the Korean War set in and paranoia spread among the public during the McCarthy era, there was no clear goal. Military defeat of the Soviets appeared less and less an option as both countries built up their nuclear arsenals with an eye toward mutually assured destruction. There was no clear goal to rally around. The early failures of the United States to achieve any of the “firsts” in space only worsened morale. Therefore, when President Kennedy announced that they would land a man on the moon by the end of the decade, it provided a clear goal for people to focus on, and a clear path to that achievement that they could follow in the news. And even more clearly, it provided a singular event of massive historical significance, the moon landing, which was watched by an estimated 500 million people worldwide and not only restored American faith in themselves and their achievements, but also sent a message of American achievement to people the world over. To this day, Americans regularly point to the fact that the United States landed a man on the moon as one of the primary reasons for their nation’s greatness. It is referred to often in popular culture, and still provides Americans with a sense of pride to this day. It is also viewed as a demonstration of what we can accomplish as a nation if we put all of our efforts into doing something. Astronauts, and the Apollo astronauts in particular, are revered as national heroes, and American children commonly dream of becoming astronauts. It is still something we rally behind as a nation today, even if NASA’s current budget sadly does not reflect that. The Space Race also reinforced one of the traditional values of American society: competition. The American system, and capitalism in general, by nature encourages competition; the many “rags-to-riches” stories of the early 20th Century are great examples of this. Re-casting space exploration as a “race” encouraged the American competitive spirit and reinforced this common American value. It also indirectly encouraged more competition in education and the workplace, as more and more people were encouraged to engage in competition in order to achieve direct, tangible goals. As already mentioned, another major consequence of the Space Race was the redirection of the American educational system to focus more on STEM fields. In addition, the Advanced Research Projects Agency, which would later become the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, was created to execute research and development projects in the defense department. The National Science Foundation’s budget grew exponentially from 1958 through the 1960s. Funding for education, including higher education, also increased exponentially due to the National Defense Education Act. While the act is no longer active today, the focus on STEM fields it began clearly still is (Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum 1957). The Space Race highlighted the need for higher education, and a better-educated and technology-oriented workforce in general. These trends are still active today (Flattau et. al. 2006). Technology and Science also saw great leaps forward. Some of the tangible inventions were already highlighted above. But even the technology that spun off from NASA spinoffs themselves ultimately has roots in the Space Race. Cellular telephone networks, the microchips in our cellular phones themselves, laptops, satellite navigation, etc. would all be nearly unthinkable without the investment made in the space race, and if they did exist in some form, would probably be entirely different than the technology so familiar to us today. The achievements of the Space Race also would lead to an increased understanding of our true place in the universe as humans. The famous “earthrise” picture taken by astronaut James Lovell on Apollo 8, showing the Earth rising over the moon, the first time such an event was ever seen by humans (Apollo 8 was the first mission to orbit the moon), circulated the media. The image certainly shows the beauty that is Earth, and to many highlights its uniqueness. This image was instrumental in the early environmentalist movement, as it can also be seen to demonstrate the fragility of the Earth and why we must protect it. Another infamous image resulting from the Space Race and helping to place ourselves in the context of the universe is known as the “Pale Blue Dot”. This image was taken in 1990 from the Voyager 1 spacecraft, from a distance of about 6 billion kilometers from Earth. It shows Earth as just a small, pale blue dot against the background of space. This image would also dramatically affect the way we see ourselves as humans in the context of the universe; it is incredibly powerful to see our planet as just a pale blue dot; for some, this highlights our insignificance in the universe, yet for others, it highlights our amazing technological abilities, that we can send man-made spacecraft to such a distance that the Earth is made to appear insignificant (Sagen 1994). These, of course, are only some of the iconic images produced by the Space Race which have made ourselves re-evaluate our place in the universe; but they are incredibly powerful ones, and have changed the course of human history. In the meantime, the Space Race also contributed to Soviet and American cooperation and a “warming” of the Cold War. Some consider the end of the space race to be the 1975 docking of an Apollo spacecraft with a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. The mission was symbolic of joint American-Soviet cooperation, and a warming of relations between the nations. It is worth noting the impact that this cooperation has on NASA today; this cooperation set a precedent of cooperation in space, one which would continue between the United States and Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union with cooperation on the International Space Station and now, after the retirement of the Space Shuttles, has resulted in NASA being entirely dependent on the Russian space program to continue a presence of American astronauts in space. While perhaps not the ideal situation, for the moment, the system seems to be working. Such cooperation would have been almost unthinkable in the 1960s, although President Kennedy did briefly attempt to convince Soviet Premiere Nikita Khrushchev that a cooperative moon mission would be beneficial to both countries and send a strong message before a meeting of the United Nations on September 20, 1963. His assassination on November 22, 1963 put an abrupt end to any consideration Khrushchev was considering on the matter, as he did not consider Lyndon Johnson, Kennedy’s successor, to be trustworthy (Sietzen 1997). While it is interesting to speculate on what such an early joint venture between the two nations might have resulted in, what needs to be emphasized here is that the current NASA program of cooperation with the Russian space agency and its complete reliance on them for transportation currently grew indirectly out of the Apollo-Soyuz docking in 1975, and thus it shaped the world, and the structure of NASA, today. As has been demonstrated here, were it not for the Space Race that the Cold War triggered, the world would look quite different today. The trend of indiscriminate paranoia during the 1950s might well have continued later into the cold war in an intensified form similar to McCarthyism had the Space Race not provided a unifying goal and something for the United States to take pride in. It helped the nation to move on from the assassination of President John F. Kennedy by rallying around his specified dream and goal as well. If not given specific achievements to point to, morale might have declined even further than it did during the riots and assassinations in 1968 and the Vietnam War and its disastrous results for the nation. The Space Race created a public adulation for astronauts, treating them as heroes, and making the profession an incredibly revered one. The Space Race also boosted the standing of the United States the world over, with millions watching live around the world as the American flag was symbolically placed on the moon by Neil Armstrong, and listening to his famous words, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” which placed emphasis that this was a moment for ALL of mankind, not just America. The Space Race also encouraged everyone to work harder, much in the way World War II had encouraged massive recycling drives, production improvements in factories, and a general mobilization to involve the effort in everyday life. Education was changed forever, with more funding being provided for science, math, and engineering, and more funds made available for people to pursue higher education (Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum 1957). Curriculum was restructured, and it was recognized that in order to be successful as a nation, we needed to produce scientists, engineers, and mathematicians ourselves (up until that point, the United States was still relying heavily on German scientists, such as Werner von Braun or Robert Oppenheimer; after Sputnik, there was a clear recognition that they needed to start home-growing talent in these fields, as well). Technology and science made great leaps forward, with a cooperation with private industry which led to many of the technologies developed by and with NASA for specific purposes in space exploration to also be given applications in everyday life, improving quality of life in society not just in America, but the world over as well. Thanks to the Space Race, we also came to reevaluate our position on the planet, in the solar system, and the universe; and a new emphasis would come to be placed on our duty to the planet itself, once we were able to view ourselves from afar and truly realize how amazing yet fragile the Earth is. The impact of the Space Race on everyday life, not just for Americans, but for people all over the world, would be almost impossible to overestimate. It is so broad-reaching that it can hardly be measured, and is not in any way limited to just the topics discussed in this paper. It is a prime, awe-inspiring example of what can be accomplished if the effort to achieve results is there- and what amazing results it did achieve. The Space Race ended up being, in the end, a peaceful and benefit-rich outlet for pent-up Cold War energies which became one of the most amazing things humanity itself has ever achieved, and from which all of us, every human on this planet, benefit from, directly or indirectly, on a daily basis.

References:

Beisner, Robert L. American Foreign Relations Since 1600: A guide to the Literature. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. 2003. Bizony, Piers. “Leading the Race to Space”. NASA: The Academy of Program/Project & Engineering Leadership (APPEL) – ASK Magazine. Issue 42, Spring 2011. Retrieved from http://www.nasa.gov/offices/oce/appel/ask/issues/42/42s_leading_race_to_space.html on 4/08/2013. Conger, Cristen. “10 NASA Inventions You Might Use Every Day.” The Discovery Channel. Retrieved from http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/curiosity/topics/ten-nasa-inventions.htm on 4/08/2013. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum. “Minutes of the Cabinet Meeting Concerning Improvements in Science and Mathematics Education, December 2, 1957”. DDE's Papers as President, Cabinet Series, Box 10, Cabinet Meeting of 12/2/57. 1957. Retrieved from http://www.eisenhower.archives.gov/research/online_documents/sputnik/12_2_57.pdf on 04/08/2013. Flattau, Pamela Ebert, Bracken, Jerome, Van Atta, Richard, Bandeh-Ahmadi, Ayeh, de la Cruz, Rodolfo, & Sullivan, Kay. “The National Defense Education Act of 1958: Selected Outcomes.” Institute for Defense Analyses Science & Technology Institute. March 2006. Kernan, Michael, “The Space Race”. Smithsonian Magazine. August edition (1997). Accessed at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/around_aug97.html on 04/08/2013. Sagen, Carl. Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space. New York: Ballantine Books. 1994. Sietzen, Frank. “Soviets Intended to Accept JFK’s Joint Lunar Mission Offer.” Space Daily. October 2, 1997. Retrieved from http://www.spacedaily.com/news/russia-97h.html on 4/08/2013.

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