Space Race's Influence On American Culture

Among other events, there were two important events that took place during the 1960s. One of them was the Space Race. The Space Race was a fight between the United States and the USSR to see who could put satellites into space first. Another event that occurred was the progression of 1960s of music. With music progressing, many groups from Great Britain came to the United States. This became known as the British Invasion and the groups that came had a great influence on the people of United States and the music of the United States. But with that being said, the 1960s Space Race had a greater impact on American life than the music of the 1960s because of the Space Race’s impact on technology, education, and society.
The 1960s in America was …show more content…
In response to the release of Sputnik, Eisenhower created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA , for the purpose of researching space. NASA has played a big role in shaping American culture because of the new technologies that the organization is steadily inventing. Another positive impact that the Space Race had on America was that it influenced the increase of spending on math and science subjects in schools . Once the United States of America’s government saw that there were a fewer number of people who could work on Space Race projects than hoped, they decided to raise the money being spent on Math and Science departments to better persuade students to go into that field . The Space Race was also good for giving people of the United States of America a sense of place in the world. Before Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped foot on the moon , there had been few trips to space, but when the two astronauts came back from their trip to the moon, they had pictures to show for it. These photographs were shown to citizens of the United States of America and the photos gave them a sense of place in the universe. Also, from the plethora of images brought back to earth, people were able to see photographs of the earth . Again, these images gave people a sense of direction in the world. Overall, the Space Race had a great impact on United States culture and …show more content…
Ranging from technology to be used in the home to technology beneficial to health and medicine, the space race paved the way for many new discoveries in technology. Although many technologic advances did not come from the research made during the Space Race, the space race allowed for the creation of NASA, which later created many new devices and gadgets . Some of the most important devices that come from NASA’s research are in the field of health and medicine. Machines such as the MicroMed DeBakey VAD have vastly improved the lives’ of patients awaiting a heart transplant . This particular VAD, founded by NASA, Dr. George Noon, and Dr. Michael DeBakey, was a fraction of the size of other VAD’s at the time . The small size of the device made the device less invasive and a small percent of people experienced machine-related infections. Another positive technologic breakthrough made by NASA, and it’s funding, was the improvement of artificial limbs .Technologic advances made by NASA have also brought about moldable materials that offer the natural look and feel of skin. This same material is also able to prevent heat and moisture build up and inhibits friction between skin and the prosthesis . These advances in technology have bettered the life of many by making it more comfortable for them to use prosthetic or a VAD. Along with technology