The visage of a bulky, awkward colonial explorer flickered on television sets throughout the United States on that day in 1969. It was an event that signified much more than what was being relayed. All watched in admiration and awe as the first steps on the moon were made by Neil Armstrong, a lowly Earth creature never meant to break free of its planet’s atmosphere. But it did. And it was an American. As the moon particles settled around the explorer, and a star-spangled flag was brandished, a political victory came into focus, though most television viewers were unable to see clearly what was happening. JFK’s outer space promises to the American people were fulfilled through the NASA program, and we’d left the Soviets, our scientific and ideological rivals, eating our otherworldly dust. On April 15 of this year, at the JFK Space Center in Florida, President Obama gave a speech announcing the discontinuance of any immediately-planned manned space flights launched through NASA, around forty years after Neil Armstrong took that first step. You wouldn’t have known that’s what he was communicating by the content of his speech: Obama was more concerned with a NASA budgetary increase of six million dollars, allocated for robotic space missions and technological advancements (Obama n.p). But the heart of the matter, for the scientific community and commentators listening in, was the end of American astronauts drifting into space at the behest of tax payers. The reason for Obama’s manned space flights cut was due largely to the Constellation program, an expansive effort to erect a moon base by 2020 for use as a pit stop in future Mars missions, enacted by the Bush administration in 2005 (Sutter n.p.). The pre-Obama administration prog... ... middle of paper ... ...ts Jobs at Michoud.” wwltv.com 16 Apr. 2010. Web. 1 Oct 2010. www.wwltv.com/news/local/Obama-NASA-Plan-Cuts-Jobs-At-Michoud- 90984639.html>. Pallone, Greg. “New NASA Budget Includes Additional Space Shuttle Flight.” Orlando News 13. 30 Sept. 2010. Web. 1 Oct 2010. /september/156845/How-the-new-NASA-plan-will-affect-Space-Coast-economy>. Rodgers, Ben. “Scientist: Mars Mission Pushed Back by a Century.” Jamestown Sun. 4 Apr. 2010. Print. Sutter, John D. "Obama Budget Would Cut Moon Exploration Program." cnn.com. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., 1 Feb 2010. Web. 19 Oct 2010. 02-01/tech/nasa.budget.moon_1_space-exploration-nasa-administrator-charlie-bolden-] nasa-programs?_s=PM:TECH>. Swanson, Alex, and Leo Walford. “Mars robots...and God.” New Scientist. 184.2444 (2004): 33. Print.
There are many people who see space as the last and greatest frontier for humankind. There are many groups who are leading the way and NASA is one of them. But should our tax dollars be invested in such an idea? No, according to British history professor Jerry DeGroot. His thesis, in the article “is that United States should, a sensually, defund NASA. From what I can tell, he uses mainly pathos to try to sway his argument, leaving very little appeals to ethos and practically none to logos. I’m going to explore these three appeals, as well as many of the fallacies he uses within the piece.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), was booming in the late 1960 's because the U.S. invested over 4.5 percent of the Federal Budget (Bolden). Unfortunately, in the recent years the Government has slashed funding for many of NASA’s projects in an attempt to cut back on the deficit and boost the economy. Despite the plummet in NASA 's budget, the program has proved that it 's prominence in the U.S., space programs like NASA continue to face difficulty in increasing its funds. Although, NASA leads Evidently, the government doesn 't think NASA is worth more than 0.47 percent of the federal budget. NASA is being underfunded and its funding should be substantially increased to make ends meet. This trend needs
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.
Through this national address Reagan hopes to reach out to the public and encourage them to keep their faith firm in the American space progra...
America went to the moon in the 1960’s, during a time of war, a time that was so far behind in technology compared to now, but yet human beings went to the moon . Human beings are capable of many wonderful things and their potential has no limits, except for the limits that are placed by government and society. Neil deGrasse Tyson attempted to liberate NASA from the limits of low funding by giving a speech to the U.S Senate. Tyson used emotion and logical thinking to make the complexity of NASA as relatable to the audience as possible, and by doing so he wanted to convey to them how important NASA is in our society today and the future of the human kind.
The Space Race is remarkably similar to that of the arms race because of the parallel between the creation of the atomic bomb and the goal of reaching the moon. The United States’ bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki effectively established its place as the technologically superior nation; however, major milestones in space achieved early by the Soviets damaged America’s reputation. In 1957, Soviet scientists shocked the world by successfully launching the Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, beyond the Kármán Line (the boundary of space). This amazing breakthrough “rattled American self-confidence. It cast doubts on America’s vaunted scientific superiority and raised some sobering military questions.” This blow to national pride along with the fear that the Soviets could potentially launch ICBMs from space led to “Rocket fever”. The sudden wave of nationalism and the desire to build a space program worthier to that of the Soviet Union led to the...
Bill Nye, the “Science Guy,” asserts, “NASA is an engine of innovation and inspiration as well as the world's premier space exploration agency, and we are well served by politicians working to keep it that way, instead of turning it into a mere jobs program, or worse, cutting its budget.” The United States of America’s government is currently in an economic debt encompassing billions of US dollars. Unfortunately, the government has attempted to balance finances by cutting the funding for most programs, including NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA, in over half a century, has brought the most economic, technological, and social benefits than any other program held here in the USA, as well as any other extraterrestrial program in the world. The last thing this nation needs is the cutting of NASA finances. NASA should be receiving more funding because the Earth will not last forever and humans will need a place to live, there’s a curiosity within humans about the vast universe they live in, there is evidence to suggest life on other planets, the USA’s superpower status will be improved, and the economical income NASA brings is more efficient than any other governmental or educational program.
While Nixon did allow Kennedy’s dream of a moon landing to become reality in 1969, he soon after put limits on the space program, which had more symbolic value than anything else. The space program was a new-liberal hallmark of the “we can do it all” philosophy of the reaching of new heights in a promising future that promised a “new frontier” (Lecture 25, November 19). Cutting back on this program was a supreme indication that no, we couldn’t “do it all”.... ... middle of paper ... ...
On a cold winter’s morning on the 28th day of January in the year 1986, America was profoundly shaken and sent to its knees as the space shuttle Challenger gruesomely exploded just seconds after launching. The seven members of its crew, including one civilian teacher, were all lost. This was a game changer, we had never lost a single astronaut in flight. The United States by this time had unfortunately grown accustomed to successful space missions, and this reality check was all too sudden, too brutal for a complacent and oblivious nation (“Space”). The outbreak of sympathy that poured from its citizens had not been seen since President John F. Kennedy’s assassination. The disturbing scenes were shown repeatedly on news networks which undeniably made it troublesome to keep it from haunting the nation’s cognizance (“Space”). The current president had more than situation to address, he had the problematic undertaking of gracefully picking America back up by its boot straps.
The 1960’s were full of questions, and one of the biggest questions the world was pondering about was regarding the Space Race: was the USA going to beat their communist enemy, the Soviet Union? The Space Race was a series of events that helped to symbolize and determine in the worlds’ eyes which form of government was better, communism (Soviets) or democracy (United States)? In the beginning of the race, the Soviets had the lead, and it was not looking good for America. Then the United States picked up the pace and spent well over eight billion dollars funding the space studies. This period of time made many scientists and astronauts heroes in the eyes of Americans. The Space Race was a combination of determination, intelligence, space projects, and American pride, all used to reach our exploration goals and surpass the Soviets.
When talking about the current space program, Neil Degrasse Tyson once said, “I got angry with America, because advancing is not just something you do incrementally. You need innovation as well, so that your advances are revolutionary, not merely evolutionary” (Tyson 3). America used to have the top space program in the world. Being first to the moon excited the country and gave everyone a sense of pride and fulfillment. Lately, though, we have been falling behind in space exploration. A successful space program is needed in America, and here’s why: we are losing our grip on the title as the world superpower and a new age of economics and politics is coming faster than we are prepared for. To be prepared for this new age we need the funds,
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 National Space Policy has undergone changes throughout its new creation on August 31, 2006, under both the Obama administration and the Bush administration. The act originally was established for overarching national policies that governed the conduct of U.S space activities. President Dwight Eisenhower said “More than by any other imaginative concept, the mind of man is aroused by the thought of exploring the mysteries of outer space. Through such exploration, man hopes to broaden his horizons, add to his knowledge, improve his way of living on Earth.” With that statement, is where our time in space begins.
“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” It was July 20 1969, the day that reshaped our nation and gave us unparalleled dreams for the future. The impact of the day goes far beyond our pride and nationalism; that day would change space exploration and technology forever. Just like a shooting star, that day would give us a glimpse of hope. A chance to see an event so breathtaking and defying, it would be man’s greatest accomplishment in the 20th century. As millions of people watched from their TV sets, a rush of euphoria came over the nation as Neil Armstrong stepped foot on the surface of the moon. It was the first time in the history of mankind that we would step on the surface of another celestial body. John F. Kennedy dared us to dream, he inspired the nation to reach for the moon, to set ourselves apart from the rest of the world. The Space Race was symbolic of many things. Our future as the technically dominate nation was secured in place; just as secure as Old Glory would be, when she was driven down into the soil of the moon. We not only reached the moon, we conquered it as a nation; united.
Curiosity and exploration are hardwired into our basic human nature. We strive to understand and explore the environment around us. From individuals climbing Mt. Everest, to those journeying deep into the Amazon Rainforest, it is our innate desire to discover and be adventurous. It is natural that this desire would eventually turn to areas beyond our planet. In the late 1950’s the escalation of the Cold War led to the space race. It started with the launch of the satellite Sputnik I by Russia, and produced amazing feats such as the United States putting a man on the moon. During the height of the space race, NASA was receiving 4.31 % of the national budget (Office of Management and Budget), and it took only eight years for NASA to reach the