The United States Federal government is planning on cutting federal funding for space exploration and NASA towards the end of the year. The “Space Race” began in the 1950’s and 1960’s when Russia sent up the first successful, unmanned satellite named Sputnik into outer space. The U.S. response was the creation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). During this time, the Soviets sent the first man in to orbit, Yuri Gagarin. Then, in July of 1969, the U.S. took the lead in the race by sending the first men to the moon on Apollo 11(“Space Exploration 1”). Ever since then, space exploration has led to the discovery of beneficial information that has allowed us to invent some of the greatest devices we now use today. The United States needs to continue its space program and space exploration so we can some together as a human race, continue to discover new and interesting facts, and create jobs for Americans today and in the future.
Space exploration has brought nations of the world together. Exploration of space can be traced back to 1609 when Galileo Galileo made significant improvements to the telescope, allowing humans to observe mountains and craters on the moon’s surface (Horowitz 1). This gave birth to the idea that man could explore or inhabit different planets. Recently, countries have been working together in order to enhance the information obtained from space exploration. In 1981, the Soviet Union, Japan, Europe, and the United States formed the Inter-
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Agency Consultative Group (IACG) to coordinate matters concerning the arrival of Halley’s Comet in five years. The Space Shuttle-Mir Joint Program is one of the most collaborative space programs of all time. The information exchanged between the five space craft was invaluable to studying the comet. From February 1994 to June 1998, 11 shuttle flights and seven U.S. astronaut residencies were able to work together and exchange and deliver supplies and equipment in...