Preview

The Effects of Space Exploration on Modern Society

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
920 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Effects of Space Exploration on Modern Society
Space exploration has been increasing greatly in the last 50 years. It has allowed us to understand the greatness of the universe and the endless possibilities it offers us. Our planet, Earth, is inhabited by approximately 6 billion humans. This is well over our natural carrying capacity (the amount of resources there are to sustain our population) but with techniques such as farming, we have manipulated our resources to provide us with enough food, but alternate solutions are needed. The Cold War was when the space exploration significantly advanced, with the political competition between U.S.A and the U.S.S.R., where the two nations invested highly on technologies to see who could win the space-race. Artificial satellites, a man made device that orbits around Earth or other planets, came along at about 1951, when the Russians launched "Sputnik 1" into orbit around Earth. Since then, satellites have developed technologically and now they are so widely used, that almost everyone's benefiting from them in everyday life.

Through space exploration, a lot has been learnt about Earth and space. When the Hubble Space Telescope was fully operational in 1993, it allowed us to observe our galaxy in ways that were impossible from Earth. Orbiting observatories such as the Advanced X-Ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF) and the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) also contributed to the study of the stars, galaxies and the structure of the universe. These have all brought back images of previously unknown galaxies and stars, and also have increased our awareness of black holes. Several probes have been sent out from Earth, and collected information about the atmospheres of the planets in our solar system. Scientist and environmentalists have learnt a great deal about our planet. With the help of satellites, they can now easily find facts about deforestation, pollution, global warming and climates, giving mankind a broader understanding of our own planet.

Space exploration has

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    With World War II coming to an end, a new war started between the Union of Soviet Socialists Republic ,USSR, and United States. This war was called the Cold War. There were many things invented during the cold war such as Sputnik. Sputnik was the very first satellite ever launched into space. This gave the USSR the edge on the race to space. (Sputnik)…

    • 1007 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The launch of Sputnik, by the Soviets, in 1957 prompted the US to do something to catch up to the Soviets. The first thing the United States did was to end any opposition to developing space travel. By 1961, national prestige was quoted as a reason for developing space travel. The American people supported the Space Race and were thrilled in the fact that they ‘won’ the race. However, by 1970, the political climate had shifted. For the time being liberals were disappointed with the whole technology sector, due to its association with the military during Vietnam. A conservative administration had taken over as well. With limited liberal support, NASA was unable to prevent the Nixon administration from killing the lunar program. NASA was able to salvage a short-term orbital lab, Skylab.…

    • 650 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Cold War between the United States and Soviet Union separated the world into a clash of civilizations, but one aspect of this global conflict, the space race, ultimately helped to bring the world closer together through…

    • 2337 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The ‘Space Race’ was an unofficial competition between the United States and the Soviet Union, the focus of which was space exploration. It began after World War II, in the mid-1950s, when Russia launched a satellite into space. After this, the race was on between America and Russia to gain as much ground in space as possible. The Space Race began in 1955, when both the United States and the Soviet Union announced they would be launching artificial satellites into space.…

    • 903 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    After reading “Cost Of Space Exploration” and “Poverty in America” it is clear that this is a debating topic. One side of the debate argues that space exploration has nothing to do with poverty and that space exploration is great. The other side argues about space exploration causing poverty.…

    • 224 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    To begin with, Chris Hadfield allowed Canada to be seen as an exceptional technologically savvy country through his superior to any other, achievements of being the first of many situations as a Canadian in space. Firstly, Chris Hadfield became the first Canadian in to walk in space, thus portraying Canada's eagerness to participate in larger affairs further developing the Canadian identity. Space exploration was once heavily dominated by the larger powers of the world, Canada was merely seen as a helper in the bigger picture. The nation was ignored and heavily disregarded however, when news broke out of Chris Hadfield's success the world began to tune-in. For instance, a recent article from a Turkish newspaper describes the country's fascination…

    • 314 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Space exploration has always been fascinating, and it gives us hope of finding something new. According to the video “Space Race: 20th Century Timeline and Firsts,” “though the idea of space travel was discussed for hundreds of years, the field of rocketry got its first big boost in the early 20th century.” A century ago, space exploration was just a concept or a dream for mankind, but this idea had been accomplished by the developed of powerful rocket which overcome the force of gravity. In the beginning, on March 16, 1926 an American physicist, Robert A. Goddard, launched the first liquid fuel rocket in history. After World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union created their own missile programs. On October 4th 1957, the Soviets launched the first satellite into space. Later on, a national goal of “Landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth within a decade” was set by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 (Space Race). On July 20, 1969, Astronaut Neil Armstrong was the first man walking onto the moon. The space exploration improved for the century, and now the advances of technology have pushed space travel to go further and discover other planets in solar system. However, in order to explore universe in details, many scientists have endeavored very hard to invent more new high technologies. Therefore, with its high technologies, space exploration has a lot of impacts on us today. For example, with the satellite system put up in the space, the weather forecast today has a high accuracy level, and this accuracy has helped in preventing many calamities. Besides the weather forecast, the satellite system also helps people to transmit the news or media all over the world almost instantly. Moreover, the researching space becomes a high paying jobs for many…

    • 1254 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”-Neil Armstrong. This quote was said during the process of the space age in 1969. The Space age was a time period related to the three themes, space race, space exploration, and space technology around the period 1950’s-1960’s. It was encouraged by the United States and Soviet Union into determining that their own country is superior than their opponent, which led to an improvement in many technological advancements.…

    • 830 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    After the exhausting World War II, a new battle soon arose in the early 1950’s and continued throughout the 1960’s for the United States: the Space Race. This heated competition began between the democratic United States and the communist Soviet Union, lead to immense costs, heightened rivalries and a blooming of scientific discoveries in the space exploration field. The extensive Space Race was just an element to the Cold War, an expanding strain between the Allies and Axis powers. Each side wanted to exceed the other’s accomplishments. While the Cold War and 1950’s Space Race created intense debates and conflicts, it advanced technology and spaceflight capabilities, setting new precedents for the upcoming centuries.…

    • 407 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Space Race After fighting alongside each other in the Second World War to defeat a common enemy, differing political ideologies resulted in high tensions between the United States and the U.S.S.R. The Soviet communist government, initiated during the Bolshevik Revolution, posed a direct threat to the goal of the United States to spread democracy and capitalism across the globe. These rising tensions manifested themselves in the form of the Cold War-a series of conflicts and antagonism between the two nations that did not involve any direct warfare between the two opposing powers but surprisingly lasted for more than thirty years. In the United States it can be known as lasting for nine presidential administrations from Truman until the…

    • 1513 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    First, The Soviet Union was winning and the U.S was falling behind. The Soviet Union launched the first ever satellite. The Soviet Union also put the first man into orbit. The U.S. Tried to launch a satellite but failed. President Eisenhower was mocked when the satellite crashes because he rushed the production. The Soviet Union launches the first space probe that landed on the moon. The Soviet Union is just beginning as more launches follow. The U.S is losing and the…

    • 324 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    History: The Space Race

    • 2339 Words
    • 10 Pages

    First, I will explain how the actions of the USSR started The Space Race. Next, how the United States developed NASA and eventually landed the first man on the moon. Finally, the technologies that were developed for space travel and have now become household items we all use in everyday life. In the 1950’s, America was in an upswing. After the victory in WWll, the economy was rapidly expanding, the baby boom had begun and Levittown was built as an example of suburban living. In a different part of the world, Russia was moving to annex land, promote communism and conquer space. The USSR launched Sputnik in 1957 as the first successful rocket to fly into space and return. The U.S. took notice and pushed for increased development of rockets…

    • 2339 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Space Race

    • 2336 Words
    • 10 Pages

    The United States and the Soviet Union thought it was a huge deal to be the first country to explore space. It was between 1957 and 1975 these two nations were determined to be the first to explore the unknown in space. What they were first trying to do was shoot these huge technologic metal things known as satellites into space so it will orbit the Earth like the Moon. They also they wanted to be the first country on the Moon as well. They made a huge deal out of this and were very competitive. I was hoping the United States would make it to space first to show the Soviet Union that we are more superior to them.…

    • 2336 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Space Race

    • 1485 Words
    • 6 Pages

    During the late 1950s to the mid 1970s, the US and the Soviet Union, the two Cold War rivals, engaged in a Space Race, a fierce competition for supremacy in spaceflight capability. The Soviet Union achieved an early lead in the Space Race by launching the first artificial satellite into the space with Sputnik 1. The United States quickly followed suit three months later with the launch of Explorer 1. Unsatisfied with being the second to reach space, President John F. Kennedy set his sights for a much higher goal: the Moon. In 1961, President Kennedy announced a national goal of landing a man on the moon by the end of the decade. Eight years later, the goal was actualized with the Apollo 11 mission. In the years between, there were copious technological…

    • 1485 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Space Race

    • 768 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In the beginning of the 1950’s tensions were high between the Soviets and the U.S. The Cold War had become known worldwide as a nuclear arms race between two super powers. However, a new kind of race had begun between the two countries, The Space Race. This was a race to control the outer space surrounding Earth, which could ultimately act as a nuclear missile path. Controlling outer space with nuclear capabilities could mean massive destruction for the world as we know it. The two super powers were now fighting two races, each with their own importance.…

    • 768 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays