A month after the first man was sent into space, President John F. Kennedy on May, 1961, announced a dubious but feasible goal of getting a man to the moon and back by the end of the 1960s. The Gemini space program was designed by the United States to develop new technology and the skills needed for a lunar mission (“Historic” 3). This included fuel cells for electrical power and the process of orbital docking between crafts (“Historic” 3). Parallelig Gemini, the Soyuz missions were the Soviet Union's program that tested technology needed for lunar voyages (Bruccoli & Layman 476). During this period, space walking was tried by Aleksei Leonov of the Soviet Union in March, 1965 and by Major Edward White of the United States Air Force in June 1965. Because both men nearly died in the experiments, Space suits were heavily redesigned (“Historic” 3). “The way to the moon had been paved. Men could safely walk in space, docking had been achieved, and maneuvering the spacecraft had all been completed” (Bruccoli & Layman 474). Starting in 1965, all of the Gemini achievements were accomplished in two years.
The Apollo missions were where the United States finally got ahead of the Soviet Union. Apollo missions tested the Saturn rocket, orbited the moon, and launched soft landing probes which helped determine where to land on the moon (“Historic” 3). These missions were not without problems. The first Apollo/Saturn 204 mission in January 1967, was marked with tragedy because fire broke out on the launch pad while tests were being preformed; the three crewmembers were killed (“Space Disasters” 1). The crewmembers were Edward White, Virgil Grissom, and Roger Chaffee (“Historic” 3). Apollo 13 also experienced problems in space but returned to Earth without loss of life Space Disasters” 1). Progress toward the moon leapt when Apollo 8 was the first manned mission to complete a lunar orbit. The sensational accomplishment of the Apollo missions was Apollo 11; it was the first landing of men on the moon. “Following their two-and-a-half hour moon walk, Armstrong and Aldrin Blasted off from the moon on July 21, leaving behind a US flag and a plaque bearing the inscription: "Here men from the planet Earth set foot upon the moon, July 1969 AD, We came in peace for all mankind"” (“Historic” 4). The citizens of the United States were glued to their televisions and a surge of pride swept the country.
Having lost the race to the moon, the Soviet Union transitioned their space program to other endeavors in space. The Soviets became quite good at building space stations (“Space Disasters” 2). They did have problems occur though. “The second crew of the first space station, Salyut 1, was launched aboard Soyuz 11 on June 6, 1971. After a problem aboard Salyut 1 shortened the trip from thirty days to twenty-four days, the crew attempted to return home. They never made it alive” (“Space Disasters” 2). The Soviet Union found a more economical presence in space with the use of space stations. The easing of Cold War Tensions brought a cooperative venture between the United States and the Former Soviet Socialist Republics in space-station scientific investigations. This was the first time since the end of World War II that the US was cooperating with Soviets.
The ability to travel is space brought about the mind-set that humans would eventually populate space. The US and USSR had already sent instrumented probes to explore the inner system of planets by 1960 (Edson 2). As Edson suggested that “soon after men conquered the moon, they will ride out to explore this wider realm” (2), he was promoting this new vision of colonizing planets. “Perhaps, as men have today broken the chains of gravity, in that great tomorrow our children will somehow break the barriers of time and distance, so that humanity will move freely among the stars” (Edson 4). In this time period mankind is allowed to stay optimistic about what the future will enable our species to do, but, also has to realize its present limitations. Pushing through these barriers is the propelling aspect of manifest destiny.
During the late 1800's America experienced manifest destiny as colonist moved through and settled the rest of the North American continent. The westward expansion of the United States and the Cold War were similar because in both cases Americans pushed into unclaimed land in hopes to prosper from the resources that are found on it. In both cases the psyche of the American spirit was defined by the experience. The race to the moon was how humans were able to enter this new unconquered realm of our solar system and beyond. Humans had sent man-made objects into orbit. Satellites brought forth communications across the globe and advanced targeting for long-range missiles. Life emerged from earth into an area thought to have none, as animals and people rocketed into space. Man then set his imagination on the moon while project Gemini tested new technology to make the trip possible. The Apollo missions took him to the moon and back so that man could stretch his possible grasp further and further. Mankind meanwhile has many more important issues to be concern with here on Earth. The space race did have a positive effect on earthbound life with the new technologies it developed that are now an essential part of our lives: computers, lasers, satellite communications, solar panels, and robotics. The impulse of controlling land beyond Earth will wait for a definite calling; when mankind decides spending trillions of dollars to expand its territory will be beneficial and worthwhile.
