Vision for Space Exploration

Chapter One “GET DOWN !” my commanding officer screamed We all scrambled into the trenches and I watched in horror as a football sized ball of lightning came smashing into his chest. He said nothing he didn’t even scream he just stared at me and fell over backwards, dead. screechers we call them, they came only a year ago in great big spacecraft 10 times larger than our own. We don’t know much about them where they came from, what they want and why us but we do know that they are killing us…

In Ray Bradbury’s short science-fiction story, Dark They Were and Golden Eyed, Mr. Bittering and his family move to Mars in order to escape a war-torn Earth. At first, Mars is simply scary, but slowly Mr. Bittering, his family and all the Earth product they brought with them are changed. Over the course of a few months the empty martian villa is filled with a fresh, new generation of Martians, with no recollection of their past life. Ray Bradbury paints an eerie picture in this short story…

People have heard about the most famous contributors to space travel such as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. However, the woman who made space travel possible, Katherine Johnson, has not been properly recognized for her contribution to the exploration of space. Johnson was a NASA mathematician who who calculated the trajectories of objects in space. Despite the oppression she underwent because of her race and gender, she was still able to accomplish many feats and refused to be ignored. She was…

Recently there has been a proposal that the government should cease funding to space exploration programs, and instead use the money for public education. Some people might argue that this is the way to go. However, I believe that if we honor this proposal we are limiting ourselves as a human race. First, we live in just a small speck of the Universe, and it is hard to believe that we are the only living creatures within that universe. Second, putting more money into the education system maybe…

enter space, died at the age of 34 in a plane crash in 1968? Gagarin was an astronaut of the Soviet Union, also known as the USSR. In April of 1961, aboard the Vostok 1, Gagarin earned his place in the history books by being the first man to enter space. However, a few years before this in August of 1957, history is was also made when the USSR successfully developed a sufficient space launch vehicle in the form of the R7 Semyorka. Thus, the space race had begun. In broad terms, the space race…

proficiency in their students. Sally died in 2012, but left behind a legacy that continues her dedication to educating students in STEM. Sally Ride accomplished much in her life, from being a nationally ranked tennis player, to the first American woman in space. She spent the later years of her life dedicating herself to the furtherance of girls’ participation in STEM and generally proved herself to be someone of extraordinary value. If I could choose one person to spend the afternoon with, I…

Velcro in order to stick and loose fibers creating debris in space. The Gecko Gripper would be able to stick to any hard surface regardless of the material and uses Van der Waals force to create tinier material fixing the issue of the loose fibers. Second, we could attach this amazing new technology to robots to travel around the ISS or any other spacecraft to make any repairs required. Currently, astronauts must fix broken parts on space craft and solar panels themselves, but a robot equipped…

Should NASA’s budget be cut? They spend billions of dollars every year and we have not saw a major leap like we did with Apollo. Well, that's not true. NASA has had amazing breakthroughs and some that are still in the works. If anything NASA should be receiving a larger budget so that they can complete their missions on schedule. The main reason why NASA has not had another Apollo is because of the lack of funding. NASA’s budget should not be cut because of how it contributes to the general…

Rockets are a very important aspect to the world, for they help in making huge discoveries in science and astronomy. Expensive materials, such as aluminum, titanium, and nickel alloy, help make a sturdy rocket. For the bottle rocket, my partner, Maren Cheney, and I used the following materials: 2 plastic 2-liter bottles, office folder paper, clear duct tape, yarn, 2 sponges, and cotton. The payload of the rocket is the object(s) being carried throughout the flight. While the payload of real…

is always good to see a scary rocket that may be heading for Mars one day. New footage of a SpaceX rocket cruising down Main Street America may be intimidating to some YouTube viewers. Simply because it is footage of a real rocket that will go to space. And not a bizarre flying saucer that is blowing up volcanoes with laser beams. The footage of the SpaceX rocket was posted by USLaunchReport. There YouTube channel has a little more than 3,500 subscribers. But it’s hard to believe that they don’t…