Weeks 32-35: Modern history IDs

Up, Up, and Away!

Space exploration initially began during the Cold War. The Cold War produced a rivalry between the US and the Soviet Union.  Each wanted to surpass the other for fear of being outmatched in a war.  When the Soviet Union launched a rocket into space, new fears were ignited because this could possibly mean that the USSR could launch missiles from space. This caused a scramble for many "firsts" and the beginning of the Space Race.

The USSR launched the first satelite, Sputnik, in 1957, and then the first human, Uri Gagarin, and 1961.  The USSR, however, had secretly been using humans as their "guinea pigs," Once this secret had been leaked, they were discredited greatly. They also made the first space walk by Aleksei Leonov in 1965.  The US was able to send the first man to the moon, Neil Armstrong, in 1969.

e 1900s.

This was the first picture of earth taken by a satelite on April 1960.

In the 1970s, space programs began to work on reusable materials. The US created a reusable space shuttle in 1980, and many other advances were made in this area as well.  Individual countries also began to work together instead of compete for space advances, one example being the Space Station.  More recent goals include public tourism, permenant locations on the moon, and increased Mars exploration, possibly even colonies. There is also the goal of better spacecraft, and more stations in space.  There has also been alot of focus on exploration out of this solar system, and continued exploration of other planets.