What Is Space Exploration Essay

On May 25, the president decided to address congress and challenge the nation to make the first man to land on the moon. Then o... ... middle of paper ... ...il Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men ever to walk on the moon. I’ve talked a lot about NASA. NASA is actually an acronym of National Aeronautics and Space Administration that was created in 1958. NASA is the successor of the former space group, National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA).

The administration was formed to research and progress anything that had to do with space, flight, or other aeronautics. Just over a year after the launch of Sputnik, on October 11, 1958 NASA launched its first rocket: Pioneer I. The primary purpose of this rocket was to measure magnetic fields around the Earth. Although the Sputnik projects had many of the same capabilities, the US having finally launched a rocket meant that they were really in the race. On April 12, 1961 Russia became the first to send a manned craft into space.

Beginning in 1955, the Space Race was a technological “race” between the US and the USSR, the main goal of which was to establish a leader in spaceflight. The rivals believed that the technology gained by spaceflight was necessary for national security and research potential, in addition to proving the technological superiority of each ideology. The early endeavors of it included the launching of probes and satellites to Mars, Venus, the Moon, the Space Race also began with manned spaceflight in low-earth orbit. The Space Race was officially sparked on August 2, 1955 when the USSR declared that they had plans of launching their own probe on 4 days later in response to the US's announcement of launching an unmanned satellite into space for the International Geophysical Year. The Soviets took an early lead with the launch of Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1957.

“That’s one step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” That is one of the most memorable quotes said by Neil Armstrong (1969) when he landed on the moon. However, do you know about the previous events that lead to this remarkable achievement? Also, do you know about all the the other remarkable space achievements? This includes the motivation from President Kennedy’s speech, the successful use of satellites, and the previous manned missions. These events all helped in getting a man to land on the moon, which soon led to the conclusion of the Space Race.

The Soviet Union launched a surprise missile the "Sputnik" on October 4, 1957, to orbit the Earth meanwhile initiating the competition between the two countries. Both countries had a large amount of explorations throughout the race, the history of the space race rivalry started from World War II and which ... ... middle of paper ... .... Kennedy and the Two Faces of the U.S. Space Program, 1961-63. W. D. Kay. Presidential Studies Quarterly, Vol. 28, No.

Ancient civilizations, like the Chinese, have made rockets for celebrations, and for the chance to “catch some air.” Leonardo di Vinci himself tried to make a machine that could hover. Coming up to recent history, we have many countries developing rockets to go to the stars. The three main countries involved being Germany, Russia, and the United States of America (Brief). Germany’s attempts made little to no history, but the United States and Russia got involved in what we know today as “The Space Race.” Each country trying to be the first to go into space, have a man orbiting Earth, and get on the moon. Russia struck first with Sputnik 1, the first man-made object to go into space, intentionally.

In order for the U.S. to win the Space Race they would have to succeed in putting a man in earth orbit, but it was on April 12, 1961 just four years after sputnik was launched, Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin went into earth orbit edging out the United States' chance to put the first man in space. It was on April 14, 1961 two days after the Soviets put the first man in space, when President John F. Kennedy decided to put faith in the still young NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) program. NASA, established on October 1, 1958, had the historical job of putting an American on the moon. It was on May 25, 1961 when Kennedy finally made public his commitment "to land an American safely on the moon by the end of the decade," (Shepard 28). The pressure was on the NASA, but all eyes were on James E. Webb, NASA Administrator, who was not even certain the U.S. could beat the Soviets to the moon.

Space Exploration The Space Race began in or around the late-1950s, during the Cold War. The United States and Russia were both anxious to become the country to explore space. Unfortunately for the US, Russia launched the first artificial satellite and man-made object to orbit Earth, Sputnik. The launch of Sputnik surprised the United States, and we rushed to get our own space craft into space, and to beat Russia to anything else space related. In 1958, the United States’ first satellite, Explorer I, was launched.

Recently, NASA has been spending billions of dollars in researching our second nearest planet, Mars. In understanding the scientific importance that such research can mean, the United States is justified in spending this money on NASA space missions to Mars. President John F. Kennedy said in 1961 that he believed that the United States could put a man on the moon before the end of the decade. Unfortunately, he never lived to see this prophetic feat performed. But in July of 1969, Neil Armstrong stepped foot on the moon before live audiences around the world.

Exploration; to travel in a little-known region for discovery, as defined by Webster. Since the age of the Greeks, Anglo-Saxons have been interested in space exploration. From Copernicus to Gaileo to Newton, space has been looked upon with adoring eyes. Space has been regarded time after time as the final frontier. That was until 1957, with the launch of the Sputnik-1, when the Soviet built satellite became the first man-made satellite successfully launched out into outer space.