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E&S 8: Students should be able to examine some of the current hazards and benefits of space exploration and discuss the future role and implications of space exploration in society.

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Examine: consider an argument or concept in a way that uncovers the assumptions and relationships of the issue.

Discuss: offer a considered, balanced review that includes a range of arguments, factors or hypotheses: opinions or conclusions should be presented clearly and supported by appropriate evidence.

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Insight into the history of space travel including the cold war, the space race, the first person in space and the first moon landing. Important for students to appreciate and reflect on history of space exploration when deciphering benefits and hazards and in looking towards the future.

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During the time that has passed since the launching of the first artificial satellite in 1957, astronauts have traveled to the moon, probes have explored the solar system, and instruments in space have discovered thousands of planets around other stars.

Subjects

Earth Science, Astronomy, Social Studies, U.S. History, World History

Image

Apollo 11 Astronauts on Moon

A less belligerent, but no less competitive, part of the Cold War was the space race. The Soviet Union bested its rival at nearly every turn, until the U.S. beat them to the finish line by landing astronauts on the moon.

NASA photograph

We human beings have been venturing into space since October 4, 1957, when the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.) launched Sputnik, the first artificial satellite to orbit Earth. This happened during the period of political hostility between the Soviet Union and the United States known as the Cold War. For several years, the two superpowers had been competing to develop missiles, called intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), to carry nuclear weapons between continents. In the U.S.S.R., the rocket designer Sergei Korolev had developed the first ICBM, a rocket called the R7, which would begin the space race.

This competition came to a head with the launch of Sputnik. Carried atop an R7 rocket, the Sputnik satellite was able to send out beeps from a radio transmitter. After reaching space, Sputnik orbited Earth once every 96 minutes. The radio beeps could be detected on the ground as the satellite passed overhead, so people all around the world knew that it was really in orbit. Realizing that the U.S.S.R. had capabilities that exceeded U.S. technologies that could endanger Americans, the United States grew worried. Then, a month later, on November 3, 1957, the Soviets achieved an even more impressive space venture. This was SputnikII, a satellite that carried a living creature, a dog named Laika.

Prior to the launch of Sputnik, the United States had been working on its own capability to launch a satellite. The United States made two failed attempts to launch a satellite into space before succeeding with a rocket that carried a satellite called Explorer on January 31, 1958. The team that achieved this first U.S. satellite launch consisted largely of German rocket engineers who had once developed ballistic missiles for Nazi Germany. Working for the U.S. Army at the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, the German rocket engineers were led by Wernher von Braun and had developed the German V2 rocket into a more powerful rocket, called the Jupiter C, or Juno. Explorer carried several instruments into space for conducting science experiments. One instrument was a Geiger counter for detecting cosmic rays. This was for an experiment operated by researcher James Van Allen, which, together with measurements from later satellites, proved the existence of what are now called the Van Allen radiation belts around Earth.

In 1958, space exploration activities in the United States were consolidated into a new government agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). When it began operations in October of 1958, NASA absorbed what had been called the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), and several other research and military facilities, including the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (the Redstone Arsenal) in Huntsville.

The first human in space was the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, who made one orbit around Earth on April 12, 1961, on a flight that lasted 108 minutes. A little more than three weeks later, NASA launched astronaut Alan Shepard into space, not on an orbital flight, but on a suborbital trajectory-a flight that goes into space but does not go all the way around Earth. Shepard's suborbital flight lasted just over 15 minutes. Three weeks later, on May 25, President John F. Kennedy challenged the United States to an ambitious goal, declaring: "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth."

In addition to launching the first artificial satellite, the first dog in space, and the first human in space, the Soviet Union achieved other space milestones ahead of the United States. These milestones included Luna 2, which became the first human-made object to hit the Moon in 1959. Soon after that, the U.S.S.R. launched Luna 3. Less than four months after Gagarin's flight in 1961, a second Soviet human mission orbited a cosmonaut around Earth for a full day. The U.S.S.R. also achieved the first spacewalk and launched the Vostok 6 mission, which made Valentina Tereshkova the first woman to travel to space.

During the 1960s, NASA made progress toward President Kennedy's goal of landing a human on the moon with a program called Project Gemini, in which astronauts tested technology needed for future flights to the moon, and tested their own ability to endure many days in spaceflight. Project Gemini was followed by Project Apollo, which took astronauts into orbit around the moon and to the lunar surface between 1968 and 1972. In 1969, on Apollo11, the United States sent the first astronauts to the Moon, and Neil Armstrong became the first human to set foot on its surface. During the landed missions, astronauts collected samples of rocks and lunar dust that scientists still study to learn about the moon. During the 1960s and 1970s, NASA also launched a series of space probes called Mariner, which studied Venus, Mars, and Mercury.

Space stations marked the next phase of space exploration. The first space station in Earth orbit was the Soviet Salyut 1 station, which was launched in 1971. This was followed by NASA's Skylab space station, the first orbital laboratory in which astronauts and scientists studied Earth and the effects of spaceflight on the human body. During the 1970s, NASA also carried out Project Viking in which two probes landed on Mars, took numerous photographs, examined the chemistry of the Martian surface environment, and tested the Martian dirt (called regolith) for the presence of microorganisms.

Since the Apollo lunar program ended in 1972, human space exploration has been limited to low-Earth orbit, where many countries participate and conduct research on the International Space Station. However, unpiloted probes have traveled throughout our solar system. In recent years, probes have made a range of discoveries, including that a moon of Jupiter, called Europa, and a moon of Saturn, called Enceladus, have oceans under their surface ice that scientists think may harbor life. Meanwhile, instruments in space, such as the Kepler Space Telescope, and instruments on the ground have discovered thousands of exoplanets, planets orbiting other stars. This era of exoplanet discovery began in 1995, and advanced technology now allows instruments in space to characterize the atmospheres of some of these exoplanets.

Media Credits

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October 19, 2023

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During the time that has passed since the launching of the first artificial satellite in 1957, astronauts have traveled to the moon, probes have explored the solar system, and instruments in space have discovered thousands of planets around other stars.

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Neil Armstrong - First Moon Landing 1969

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Nature of Science:

NOS1, NOS6, NOS7, NOS8, NOS9, NOS10

(justification in links to other strands)

Other Science Strands:

ES7 BW10

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The Young Scientist Journal in which students can research topics and develop their own communication skills in terms of scientific findings and opinions on topical subjects such as space exploration. This will aid students in developing their understanding of NOS 7 and enable them to appreciate the role they play in science as discussed in NOS10.

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We're the Young Scientists Journal, an international peer-review science journal written, reviewed and produced by school students aged 12 to 20. Over the past decade, we have connected students from over 50 countries and have been the vehicle of choice for many in getting their work published.

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This article was taken from the Young Scientists Journal and excellently conveys the past and future of space exploration in a clear and concise manner. It avidly depicts the role of the Germans in the development of the rocket, the beginning of the space race and the intense competition between America and the Soviet Union until Neil Armstrong took his first steps on the moon. it highlights the developments that occurred in space travel post cold war and gives insight to some of the many benefits reaped from space exploration in current times. this article is a prime example for students as to the type of audiences they may be presenting their investigative and research findings to as seen in NOS7.

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Ever since the beginning of civilization, humans have been staring up into the sky, looking at all the stars, planets, and galaxies above them. Humans navigated the globe with the aid of these otherworldly beings, studied how they moved, and have even integrated these galactic beauties into their religions and cultures. Humanities interest in these items of another world lead to many inventions from memory foam to ballistic missiles. Humanity\'s knowledge of space did not come easily, however, modern-day space exploration has allowed us to garner more of an understanding about our universe than ever before.

Space Race
Figure 1: Image of the takeoff of a German V-2 ballistic missile
One major milestone in space exploration was with Robert Goddard on March 16, 1926, with the launch of the first liquid-fuel rocket. After Goddard, these rockets were further refined by the Germans into precision weapons of war (one of them is known as the V-2 rocket), which included the world's first long-range ballistic missile and were used to destroy many Allied targets such as factories. After the war, the German missile effort was gobbled up by two superpowers: the Soviet Union and the United States of America. Both superpowers set up their rocket programs building upon the old German studies. In 1946, American studies allowed for the first rocket to reach "the edge of space" and take the first pictures of the Earth from an altitude of 105 km (the highest at the time). The idea that rockets could be used for unpreventable surveillance and take out a whole nation without warning frightened many all over the world. This fear was further increased when the USSR launched the first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). A conflict sprouted between the two superpowers in which one tried to surpass the other in a race to outer space. The starting gun fired with the launch of Sputnik 1 - the first artificial satellite launched into space. This was followed by Sputnik 2, which launched the first animal into orbit. Both of these events occurred in 1957 giving the Soviet Union the lead in what is known as the Space Race. After the launch of Sputnik, the American space program panicked and formed a new agency: the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) who in 1959 took the first photographs of Earth from orbit. This was followed by Yuri Gagarin, a Soviet Cosmonaut, who was the first human to reach space in 1961.
Figure 2: Artist rendition of Sputnik-1 going through space
While this led to the buildup of pride in the Soviet Union, American hope in this "New Frontier" was dwindling. Since they were second to the Soviet Union, in 1961, John F. Kennedy made a speech to Congress announcing that the American space program would get an American on the Moon and back by the end of the decade. The goal was set and both nations were going full speed ahead. After years of trials, the Apollo 11 mission launched with Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins. On that mission, Neil Armstrong was the first man to step on the Moon and where he gave his famous quote, "That\'s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind". After the Space Race, the U.S. and USSR still wanted to continue their efforts in space exploration, which led to new discoveries such as the first space station in 1971, the first out manmade satellite put on a trajectory away from the sun in 1972, and the first pictures of Venus in 1974. In 1975 there was also the Apollo - Soyuz Test Project where an Apollo crew module and a Soyuz crew module joined together in space officially marking the end of the race.
Figure 3: One of the first colorized images of Venus\'s surface
After the Space Race

After the closure of the Space Race, interests started to move away from the Moon and onto other matters. These included the Space Shuttle Program, which started in 1972 with its first launch on April 12, 1981, on Space Shuttle Columbia. This ended on July 21, 2011, with the landing of Space Shuttle Atlantis. During the time, five fully operational space shuttles (Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour) were built, carrying out 135 missions in total. During their many missions, the space shuttles contributed to space experiments, carried out construction on space stations and satellites, and helped serve crew rotations and resupply missions to the International Space Station. When the first space shuttles were made, scientists thought they would be cheaper to fly, but they ended up being as expensive as a normal rocket flight where the whole vessel is thrown away. This issue left the United States without a space vehicle capable of going to the ISS.

After many years without many new missions in 2006, NASA started commercial programs to return rocket launches to the United States in order to boost the American economy. One of these programs is the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) which were contracts given out to companies for resupply missions to the ISS. The contracts were awarded to a private company named SpaceX and a public company named Orbital Science Corporations. SpaceX is very well known for its CEO Elon Musk and the first uses of vertical landings in a rocket. Vertical landings allow for the reusability of rockets, bringing the prices of space flight down. Elon Musk also helped fuel the desire to go to Mars, leading to the development of a space program called the Artemis Program. It was created in 2017 with plans to send the first woman and the next man to the Moon - the first human mission to the Moon since Apollo 17. After sending people to the moon the Artemis Program plans to do the same for Mars.
Figure 4: Logo of Artemis Program
Current Times

Recently, NASA has run into issues preventing it from getting the funds for the many space programs. NASA\'s current funding is about 0.4% of the total United States Budget. In comparison, healthcare receives 27% of the national budget and the defense budget receives 15%. At its peak, the United States space programs received 4.4% of the national budget. That is eleven times what it currently receives. While it is a small portion of the national funding, space explorations allowed for many important inventions and discoveries. American citizens get to reap the rewards of the space program. We can track asteroids, predict weather and natural disasters, which all have an impact on our daily lives. Soil moisture and fertility can be measured from satellites allowing better farming season decisions as well. GPS and compact cameras were invented while exploring space. Furthermore, space travel has led to improvements in memory foam, LEDs, athletic shoes, portable computers, etc..

Even with all the wonderful things space exploration has given to humans, there is still much more out there to learn. While the space program's percentage of the national budget has decreased it has still remained the same amount of money as that of the Space race. But, prices rise and humans become more and more ambitious leading to further spending. If funding for the space program remains that same amount given back during the Cold War, NASA will not be able to last in the space scene with new companies and nations coming into the picture and taking over it.

References

1. Dunbar, Brian. "What\'s Next For NASA?" NASA. NASA, January 2, 2020: https://www.nasa.gov/about/whats_next.html

2. "JPL." NASA. NASA. Accessed June 6, 2020: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/infographics/infographic.view.php?id=11358

3. "Space Exploration - Timeline." Tutorialspoint. Accessed June 6, 2020: https://www.tutorialspoint.com/fundamentals_of_science_and_technology/space_exploration_timeline

4. Whitwam, Ryan. "5 Reasons Space Exploration Is More Important Than Ever." ExtremeTech, April 24, 2018: https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/268062-5-reasons-space-exploration-is-more-important-than-ever

5. Loff, Sarah. "Apollo-Soyuz Test Project Overview." NASA. NASA, April 16, 2015: https://www.nasa.gov/apollo-soyuz/overview

6. Rogers, Simon. "Nasa Budgets: US Spending on Space Travel since 1958 UPDATED." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, February 1, 2010: https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2010/feb/01/nasa-budgets-us-spending-space-travel

About the Author

My name is Kaleb Lee and I\'m a rising 9th grader living currently in South California. I find interest in space exploration which encouraged me to write an article about the history and
future of space exploration.

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Ever since the beginning of civilization, humans have been staring up into the sky, looking at all the stars, planets, and galaxies above them. Humans navigated the globe with the aid of these otherworldly beings, studied how they moved, and have even integrated these galactic beauties into their religions and cultures.

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This paper analyses the implications on society of a mission to Mars. It analyses its impact on society from the point of view of different stakeholders such as the government, space agencies and taxpayers. this paper gives an insight into the direction of which space exploration is heading and how it could result in implicating on society in various ways, for example it noted that the high costs of human missions to Mars could significantly increase the rate of tax paid by the tax payer significantly, not ideal in a time of high living costs. The paper emulates learning outcome E&S8 in which students have to discuss the future role and implications of space exploration in society.

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The Societal Impacts of a Mars Mission in the Future of Space Exploration

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The human race has evolved, grown and expanded through the exploration of Earth. After initial steps on the Moon, our next challenge is to explore the...

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The U.S. National Research Council's views of the radiation hazards in space

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This article addressees a major hazard of space exploration which is the risk of human contact with radiation. Based on research carried out by the task group the article deciphered that radiation is a major threat to astronauts and space travellers. It conveyed a wide range of numerical data which demonstrated the dangers of radiation in space and the significantly higher level it exists at in comparison to the atmosphere on earth. This paper acknowledges the possibility of fertility issues and cancer risks and provides experimental evidence to back up such claims. This relates to student insight into a major hazard of space travel for humans and again a major risk to be morally debated in society regarding human health and ethics

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This article divulges how space exploration plays a significant role in tackling climate change by highlighting the applications of satellite contributions, space infrastructure, nuclear powered space craft, the earth system observatory and synergised climate and space technology in monitoring, predicting and gathering data on climate change.

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Space Exploration is the Worst | Emily Calandrelli | TEDxIndianaUniversity                                                         

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In this ted talk the speaker directly addresses some of the main disadvantages people associate with space exploration. Through her indirect defiance against such concerns about hazards and drawbacks she convincingly highlights the major benefits of space exploration. In this talk the speaker could be referring to statements made in the media, meaning this is where NOS8 may come into play in students having to evaluate and form their own autonomous opinions on media based arguments. Student autonomy is an important element of student centred learning in a classroom environment

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Space Exploration is the Worst | Emily Calandrelli | TEDxIndianaUniversity

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Representation of GDP percentage put towards Space in 2013

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Both Russia and the USA dedicated almost 25% of their GDP budget to space research, development and exploration. Could this money have been used in a better way?

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Representation of the costs of exploring Mars throughout time.

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As seen from this table costs towards exploration of Mars have gradually decline since 1975 with the highest expense being approximately 7.1 billion dollars.

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Interactive games on space and space exploration

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Interactive games on space and space exploration

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NASA provides a website in which children can play interactive games and learn more about space exploration and other elements of space.

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Play | NASA Space Place – NASA Science for Kids

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Learn about NASA space and Earth science with our educational games for kids

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In this particular game students can discover mars through the POV of a rover residing on the planet, this links with students insights into space exploration for the future

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How to Play

Always wanted to cruise around on the surface of another planet? Well, you're in luck! In Explore Mars, you will be driving a rover on Mars and collecting information about Martian rocks.

First, you will choose a rock to investigate. Then, you'll send a sequence of commands telling the rover how to get to that rock. Don't forget to include the command to analyze the rock! This information will then be sent back to scientists on Earth.

You will earn points every time you successfully analyze a new Martian rock. If you want a high score, plan carefully. Some rocks are worth many more points than others!

The Voice of the Game
Charlene Pfeifer, NASA/JPL Systems Engineer
The encouraging voice guiding you in this game is from Charlene Pfeifer, an engineer who works on the real Mars 2020 mission. Learn more about Charlene and her work in this profile!

About the Perseverance Rover

Perseverance is a rover that NASA landed on Mars in February 2021. The rover will cruise around investigating rocks in a region called Jezero Crater. A very long time ago, Jezero Crater contained a lake that was filled with liquid water - and possibly even living organisms.

By studying the rocks in this crater today, scientists can learn what the environment on Mars was like billions of years ago. Certain kinds of rock in the crater could even hold evidence of past microbial life on Mars!

About Mars Helicopter

When you're playing the game, you might notice a little helicopter joining you on your journey. The real Perseverance rover will have a helicopter friend, too! NASA's solar-powered Mars Helicopter will be the first aircraft to fly on another planet.

The Mars helicopter is an experiment for NASA's scientists and engineers. It will be a test to see if small aircraft can be used to do science on future Mars missions.

Related Resources for Educators

Mission to Mars Student Challenge

Make a Moon or Mars Rover Game

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Drive around the Red Planet and gather information in this fun coding game!

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Ethical issues of human enhancements for space missions to Mars and beyond

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This paper highlights another hazard of space exploration while also incorporating how it may ethically and morally implicate on society in the future, by addressing immediate health and biological concerns in the context of space exploration, specifically focusing on Mars missions. Key issues identified include determining acceptable risk levels, establishing deliberative bodies for addressing biological risks, and developing ethical frameworks for conflicts related to the human body in space. The authors emphasize the importance of considering values and ethical conflicts across various Mars mission types, from short-term flag-planting to long-term activities like research, mining, tourism, and settlement. The primary ethical concern discussed is human enhancement for deep-space astronauts, considering potential negative effects of the space environment on health. The authors argue that current space medicine may be insufficient, making human enhancement a justifiable consideration for mission safety and success. The paper also explores the potential impact of human enhancement on moral intuitions, ethical rules, public policy, and Earth's population values. Overall, it underscores the necessity for mission planners to seriously consider human enhancement in the absence of effective current countermeasures

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Classroom Debate as a Systematic Teaching/Learning Approach

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This paper analyses the importance of giving students the opportunity to verbally communicate their thoughts and opinions to ensure students are are more actively involved in the learning process. It acknowledges the expansion of experience when carrying out critical thinking among peers in which they can take a collaborative approach to higher level thinking. Based on studies and investigations carried out while researching this paper it concluded that activities such as debates evoke multi-faceted thinking and absorption of lesson content through active participation. in relation to space exploration, whether or not the benefits outweigh the negative implications now and in the future will peak student interest and understanding of the topic, hence why it is used as a form of assessment in the lesson plan.