Emanuel Cabildo D.

Vallejera Eng10 THU3 From the Moon, to Mars, and Beyond The movie Prometheus shows aA crew in a futuristic spaceship travelling at light-speed while in hibernation stasis only to discover a planet that contained very intelligent life. A robot named Wall-E cleaning cleans up after humans have fled the Earth for good and have been living in space since. Movies like these show how we perceive space exploration as a means of starting again from scratch due to the Earths destruction and being the last hope for a dying civilization. A way of exploring the cold, vast and seemingly lifeless void that we know as space. A way of answering to our undying curiosity of finding out what kind of life is out there. People have been fantasizing long about the mysteries that are contained in outer space. And Today, sspace exploration has paved a way for us to explore the cosmos and indulge at the beauty of its mysteries. Space exploration has led to an abundant advance not only to our knowledge about space but it has also contributed to some of the technologies found here and outside Earth. Satellites have been able to study the sun in order for us to clearly understand phenomena on the sun that have a direct effect on us. Planetary explorations give us insight to what is happening here on Earth and gives us explanations to why such phenomena are happening. Venus atmosphere explains why the greenhouse effect is happening here on Earth. Conditions observed on Mars shows us why it is dry, cold, nearly airless, and dead. compared to Earth. (Plait, 2007). Not only did space exploration improve our technology and understanding of the world, it also made a huge contribution to safe landings for military and civilian aircrafts. A low-cost ballistics parachute system has been developed to safely lower an aircraft to the ground in case of terrible scenarios such as engine failure, mid-air collision, pilot disorientation, etc. This has been credited with saving more than 200 lives to date (Wilson, 2008). Exploring the cosmos may have contributed so much to the technological advances we are enjoying now, but to it comes a very great risk to the astronauts in space. Space exploration

may seem easier than what we see in movies or read in novels but the dangers are evidently real. Going in and out of the planet Earth is no childs play not only for the economy of a planet but also for the health and safety of the astronauts who wade in a vacuum of seemingly pure emptiness which contains tons of cosmic radiation from the sun. The idea of space exploration started when the Russians first launched the first ever man-made object to orbit the earth, Sputnik 1. Sputnik 1 was built with impressive speed. Engineer Gyorgi Grechko tells us that they made it in a span of one month for only one reason, to be first in space (Bille & Lishock, 2004). The satellite transmits useless radio blips while revolving around the Earth (Dickson, 2007). However, this launch made a huge impact on history as it started the space age and the space race against U.S. and the U.S.S.R. Contrary to popular belief, President Dwight D. Eisenhower along with his men, were not alarmed with Sputnik launched into space first before the Americans as he was a strong advocate of the principle of freedom of space. He believed that space belonged to everyone and that we should all benefit from it and not be surprised when an enemy satellite is seen hovering above foreign territory (Dickson, 2007). Today, space exploration has been regarded by many as a means to gather more information about our origins and the world we live in. But on the contrary, it has always been a space race since the beginning. Space exploration should not be a race but should rather be for scientific advancement. Nations ponder upon the idea of space exploration because of militaristic reasons and not for scientific research. This competition for the skies did not equate to a faster development of knowledge about the space but to knowledge for war. During the World War, the two superpowers used satellites for spying on each other and using them to verify if one or the other superpower complied with their arms agreement. Most space system nowadays are being developed for aiding military operations on Earth. Systems that can be used for tactical warfighting such as intelligence, communications, early warning of missile launches, etc (Kaufman, Hertzfeld, & Lewis, 2008). Though many can argue that this development of space systems for military purposes do not equate to weapons made for the destruction of another nation, it still holds that they can result to one having a very huge advantage over another in terms of military power.
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Not only does the space race happen for militaristic reasons, it also leads the masses into a misconception about their leaders and their nations. Sputniks launch into space created an observation of American weakness politically, complacency, and a missile gap 1 . This led to resignations of important military figures and contributed to John F. Kennedy being elected president. Though this may seem as a logical reaction by many, it is not a reason for people to lose confidence in their country. Eisenhower was depicted as passive and unconcerned about the issue at hand that Russia was getting ahead of the U.S. But his dedication in preventing a nuclear war took precedence over it (Wilson, 2008). Speed in conquering the cosmos is a huge factor when space exploration is used for unscientific purposes. This results to technology not fully developed or tested for its dangers and effects to humans. A good example of a catastrophe would be the Nedelin catastrophe back in 1960. It was named after the USSRs top missile guidance designer Nedelin. A short circuit caused the second stage engines to suddenly fire while the rocket was still being prepared for launching. The first-stage fuel tanks exploded resulting to the destruction of the missile and to 100 people being instantly incinerated and vaporized, along with Nedelin (Azriel, 2013).
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Speed in conquering the cosmos is a huge factor when space exploration is used for unscientific purposes. This results to technology not fully developed or tested for its dangers and effects to humans. A good example of a catastrophe would be the Nedelin catastrophe back in 1960. It was named after the USSRs top missile guidance designer Nedelin. A short circuit caused the second stage engines to suddenly fire while the rocket was still being prepared for launching. The first-stage fuel tanks exploded resulting to the destruction of the missile and to 100 people being instantly incinerated and vaporized, along with Nedelin (Azriel, 2013)(Azriel, 2013). If scientific research was the main purpose of having explore space, then disasters from the one mentioned above could have been avoided. The scrutiny and technicality of such complicated circuitry along with sufficient knowledge should have been clearly implemented
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refers to the perceived Soviet superiority in inter-continentary ballistic missiles due to exaggerated estimates by the Gaither Committee in 1957 and USAF in the early 1960s.

with the launch. Poor judgement from Nedelin may be a reason for the incident but due to the fact that the superpowers before wanted to have an advantage over the other, scrutiny and technicality were sacrificed for boldness and swiftness. And that This is a major problem when dealing with the sciences of rocket launching. Before, the space race ended with the U.S. winning over with them having landed the first man on the moon. This spelled an end to the informal war between the two opposing nations. Since there are no more goals to achieve, they are now both looking at a new one Mars. Reports of NASA for a one-way trip to send colonists to Mars is one of its latest plans. China, alongside Russia, has also given its interest into doing a very similar plan. One reason why nations upon nations are still vying for the very delusional (not to mention the risky workings of space exploration) trip to Mars is because of simply the need for a country to be ahead of others. Almost in our everyday lives do we see people around us having a sort of competition with each other, and this certainly corresponds to a nations passion for gaining power over the heavens. From the time of Kennedy until Obamas current position as the leader of their country, times have not changed. Though a change in the countrys Americas approach from being obvious about the intent of having to be ahead of Russia in the race to having a striking faade of nonchalance for militaristic purposes but for scientific advancement is evident today. Competition
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One can argue that the space race made a few contributions to the American society. The overhauling of the American industry, specifically with starting new companies from old ones. The space race had caused the rejuvenation of the rejuvenation of the American industry which gave them an edge over the rising German and Japanese industries. (Rechtin). So some really do benefit from the space race and some are harmed by it. Nonetheless, the dangers that humans encounter outside Earth because of some silly space race truly outweighs the contributions it gives. Truly, this present age where technology being developed at a rapid pace has its pros and cons. The space race can be compared to the very infamous a pPandoras box - a seemingly harmless trip to the heavens now led to a battle over nations advantages over each other. What is
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supposed to be the frontier of mans curiosity about the space towering above him and his origin now becomes a way of developing technologies for war. If the space race were used only for scientific purposes, then the tragedies and misunderstandings could have been prevented. Careful planning along with cooperation and unity of the worlds nations can surely lead to a faster and safer journey for the astronauts who jeopardize their lives for their country and for science. Bibliography Azriel, M. (2013, August 8). Space Safety Magazine. Retrieved September 21, 2013, from Space Safety Magazine: http://www.spacesafetymagazine.com/2013/08/08/failure-launch-padnedelin-disaster-part-2/ Bille, M. A., & Lishock, E. (2004). The First Space Race: Launching the World's First Satellites (Centennial of Flight Series). Texas A&M University Press. Dickson, P. (2007, November 6). PBS. Retrieved September 21, 2013, from PBS: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/space/sputnik-impact-on-america.html Kaufman, R., Hertzfeld, H., & Lewis, J. (2008). Space, Security and the Economy. New York: Economists for Peace and Security. Rechtin, E. (n.d.). California Institute of Technology. Retrieved September 20, 2013, from California Institute of Technology: http://calteches.library.caltech.edu/46/2/Spacerace.htm Wilson, J. (2008, July 21). NASA. Retrieved September 22, 2013, from NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/50th/50th_magazine/benefits.html
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