Space tourism involves travelling in to the space by people for leisure, adventure or investment by established space tourism businesses. It is an expensive undertaking that satisfies the curiosity of people regarding how the space looks like. Virgin Galactic is one of the emerging companies that have taken advantage of the new investment opportunity. Space environment on the other hand is likely to be affected by space tourism due to the black carbon emitted by the rockets involved in space tourism. This paper analyses space tourism and space environment in modern day. It highlights the relationship between modern technology and space tourism. It also talks about how the space is related to astronomy and the efforts by scientists to promote space tourism.
Space Tourism and Space Environment
The modern day space environment is no longer a mystery to humans. Yuri Gagarin of Russia was the first person to experience space adventure in 1961. Since then, technological advances have enabled space exploration, with new discoveries being made from time to time. Scientists have significantly contributed to the development of space tourism. Noteworthy inventions by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have transformed human life through increasing accessibility to space. The agency has made it possible for astronauts to go to the moon and also to walk around planet Mars with robotic automobiles. The invention of the tri-axis control design has had a significant influence on modern space explorations, helping astronauts to effectively focus their satellites on the target. This has been important in increasing efficiency and precision in astronomical discoveries (Birchard, 2003).
In the last five years, NASA has focu...
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...ratosphere and hence should not be ignored. Space tourism is therefore likely to generate significant disquiet among conservationists.
Works Cited
Anderson, E., Piven, J. & Tito, D. (2005), The Space Tourist's Handbook: Where to Go, What to See, and How to Prepare for the Ride of Your Life, Quirk Books
Belfiore, M. (2007), Rocketeers: How a Visionary Band of Business Leaders, Engineers, and
Pilots is Boldly Privatizing Space, Smithsonian
Bernstein, K., Black, B. & Gabriel, H. (2006), “Design space exploration for 3D architectures”, ACM Journal on Emerging Technologies in Computing Systems, Vol. 2(2) pp. 65-103
Birchard, K. (2003), “Scientists grieve loss of astronauts and science”, The Lancet, Vol.
361(9361), pp. 936 - 937
Durante, M. & Cucinotta, F.A. (2008), “Heavy ion carcinogenesis and human space exploration”, Nature Reviews Cancer Vol. 8, pp. 465-472
The Soviet’s were responsible for putting man on the moon, rovers on Mars, and launching the Hubble Space Telescope. Indeed, it was the United States’ foes that drove the U.S. to accomplish perhaps the greatest feats of the twentieth century. Following the defeat of Germany and Japan in World War II, tensions between former allies, the United States and the Soviet Union, began to grow. In the following decades, the two superpowers would duke it out in competitions and tremendous shows of nationalism. They formed unmatchable rivalries in politics, economics, sciences, and sports. These rivalries would become clear when two countries competed in the space race, a competition between the U.S. and the Soviet Union concerning achievements in the field of space exploration. The Soviet’s took the early lead as they put the first satellite, Sputnik 1, into space. The launch of Sputnik 1 established a sense of fear into the American Public, resulting in the creation of NASA in the late 1950’s which opened the door for space exploration today and for future generations.
During the age of space exploration, many new types of technology were created and introduced for public usage based on technology used for space exploration related research. These types of technology include artificial limbs, anti-icing systems for planes, firefighter gear, enriched baby food, and portable cordless vacuums4. These forms of technology became popular due to how useful they were and became essential parts of people's lives across the world. Another way that space exploration influenced social change was is how it created unity amongst the world. Events such as the moon landing in 1969, the first American women astronaut by the name of Sally Ride being launched into space in 1981, or even the tragic event that happened in 1986 where Challenger burned up and killed all crew members on board in a mere 73 seconds after lift off inspired the entire world to put aside their differences and unite together in order to fully appreciate the accomplishments and advances in technology and information that had been being made rapidly right before their very eyes5, 6. Space exploration led to many new discoveries about the world around us and outside our reach, and led to the creation of many new forms of technologies that are now essential parts of our lives, thus having a major impact on social change both during the past and in the
INTRODUCTION Attention-getter: “Space travel benefits us here on Earth. And we ain’t stopped yet. There’s more exploration to come.” (Nichelle Nichols from Star Trek) Credibility: Throughout our childhood as we study space, solar systems, planets we all come to a point of having the dream of exploring the space or learn more about it in the future.
It is within man’s blood and nature to explore, and space is our next New World. Man’s first achievement in space travel was the launch of the Sputnik on October 4, 1957. For the next decades, space travel was roaring like a rocket, fueled by man’s desire to explore, man’s desire for knowledge, and man’s desire to beat his enemies. However, these impulses have died out as the well of government funding has been diverted to wars and debts, and the interest of the American people has been diverted to wars and debts. Amidst all these issues it is debated as to whether or not space travel is worth the money and the attention of scientists, particularly since humanity faces so many issues on earth currently. However, because of the past inventions, current services, and future benefits, space travel is indeed worth the money and attention of governments and people. It is within our hands to control man’s advancement, and space travel is the next venue to do so.
The space race was the product of the Cold War. It was an effort to prove technological superiority but on the other hand, it was also feared on both sides that weapons of mass destruction will be placed in orbit. In 1957, the Soviet Union sent the 184 pound Sputnik 1 satellite into Earth’s orbit. It was the first artificial satellite and the first manmade object to be placed into Earth’s orbit. Following that, they also sent the first animal into space, Laika the dog. In 1958, the United Sates also launched their first satellite into orbit, dubbed Explorer 1. The Soviet space program advanced once again in 1959. The Soviet Union launched Luna 2, which was the first space probe to hit the moon. In April 1961, the Soviet Union had the ultimate success, sending the first human into space. The name of the Russian cosmonaut was Yuri Gagarin, who made a 108 minute suborbital flight in a Vostok 1 spacecraft. One month after that, Alan Shepard became the American in space aboard the Freedom 7 spacecraft. Continuing from there, each nation step...
Humans have dreamed of leaving the earth and traveling space for many years, and up to this day they have taken many steps in the right direction. Yet, with every new frontier they approach, new problems loom over the horizon. All problems involved with space exploration may not directly involve space itself. Many of those problems surface right here on Earth. Some of the easier issues have been resolved, such as escaping the forces of gravity to reach outer space. More of these problems are far more arduous and the solutions need more time to be worked out properly. In “The Coming Schism” by James E. and Alcestis R. Oberg, humans have already begun colonizing space, yet there are still new problems arising. Major problems such as financing, communication and culture conflicts are important in the journey to space, because they all have the potential to disrupt progress.
A day may come with the public will change its opinion to be contrary to the one shown in Greenberg’s cartoon, but until that day comes, space tourism is not practical. It has been forecast to bring in a large amount of revenue, but the current cost versus the amount of money expected to be made yields little to no profit. A serious business like space travel cannot survive with no profit. The cost of refueling, repairs, and maintenance of the shuttles is substantial. Profit would have to be made to make the endeavor worth continuing. As it stands the cost of launching a ship is far too expensive and dangerous to be worth the effort of pursing it for commercial
When considering this topic, one might ask themselves why explore space? We explore space to compare other planets with the earth and to study the sun, to explore the universe while finding if intelligent life exists, for satellites to improve communications, weather forecasting, navigation, resource monitoring, and “to create a focal point for a new intellectual renaissance” (Ruzic).
People have been venturing out into the universe for many years now. In addition to satellites, both women and men astronauts have traveled into space to collect data about the universe. The first human being, the first animal, and the first spacecraft in orbit, were all achievements of the Soviet Union.
Space is unimaginably vast, and the problems keeping humans from mastering the exploration of and colonization of space is equally daunting. Impressive advances have been made within the past century, and dedicated efforts to make equally impressive strides in the next hundred years are in place. Space research will not yield resutls overnight, but the information obtained along the way will have a positive impact throughout the scientific community and the world's population in turn. With a goal of extraplanetary habitation, humans can prepare protective measures for neutralizing danger and managing resources underwater, in space, and on land, domestic and alien. The scientific and cultural unity required to reach this goal has the potential to propel mankind as a species and farther through the stars than ever imagined.
(Source K) Flowers, Sarah. “Understanding: Space Travel.” Rev. of Understanding: Space Travel. PoQuest. N.p., Aug. 2000. Web. 12 Mar. 2012. .
As such, this essay will argue that space exploration is a necessity of our kind and that NASA should be progressively more financed. To begin with, space research has helped bring several developments to modern science, affecting the quality of our everyday lives. With issues like climate change, and population overgrowth, our species faces the risks of major extinction (4). Climate change has been a man-made problem in recent years that threatens our planet. It will take huge mitigations from current and future societies to even come close to reversing climate change.
Space exploration can lead to the possibility to find useful resources throughout the galaxy for human gain. Many severe problems on earth could be solved through space exploration such as world hunger, overpopulation, and dwindling fuel sources. Things such as fuel could be harvested from planets for power generation and propulsion technology, and land to cultivate for growing food, as well as land for building living areas for the growing population. These potential resources...
An Astronomy topic that has always been intriguing is space travel. The ability to rocket into space, look down on Earth, and “…explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before” (IMDB) is an adventure that people dream of experiencing. On July 20, 1969, an estimated six million people watched Neil Armstrong become the first man to walk on the Moon (Nixon Library). Presently, people are paying Virgin Galactic $250,000 to reserve a seat on a spaceship that is expected to tour suborbital space in the near future (Virgin Galactic). Although space travel continues to be of interest, there is also some controversy. Controversies include: the allocation of government resources for space exploration, government verses commercial spacecrafts, and the need to colonize other planets for the survival of humanity. The intrigue and the controversy of space travel are the reasons for this Astronomy conversation.
As Space Exploration advanced so did the diversity of those who entered into it. Only a mere two years after the first man entered into space the first women did, Valentina Tereshkova. After her experience in space, many more women made their mark through the Space program. Each of these talented women strived for excellence in the field of Space Exploration and has provided great role models for people throughout the world. They have made an impact not only in equality among all genders but also in the knowledge we know today about space. These women, all diverse, shared one thing in common, the title of Astronaut.