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The Space Race: The Milky Way Telescopes

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One of the biggest mysteries for the human race isn’t what is on Earth, or even in the solar system, but what is beyond. Although powerful telescopes, such as the Mauna Kea Observatories, can see incredibly far, they’re only able to see roughly 46 billion light years in any one direction, making the diameter of the observable universe, or the part of the universe that humans can observe with telescopes, roughly 92 billion light years. Since the universe as a whole is so vast, scientists are unable to estimate the actual size (Redd, 2013) and possibly will never be able to do so if it continues to expand. In the Milky Way galaxy alone, there are an estimated 8.8 billion stars with habitable Earth-like planets (Borenstein, 2013), which greatly …show more content…

He would rather have flags of freedom and peace waving, than a hostile flag of conquest; Kennedy vowed that space shall not be seen with weapons of mass destruction, but rather instruments of knowledge and understanding. This speech was essentially a way to formally announce that the US was entering the space race with the intentions to win, the prize being growth in research and science, knowledge about the universe, and new tools and computers. Although going to the moon was challenging, Kennedy believed that it was essential since there was no national conflicts, issues, or hostility from other countries, but rather just from space itself. The space race effort, even in the early stages, created tens of thousands of new jobs and companies, with expectations of scientists and engineers doubling within five years just in the Houston area alone. He admitted that although America had been behind in manned flight, their intentions were not to stay behind, but make up for the time lost and move ahead (JFK RICE MOON SPEECH, …show more content…

Intangible benefits are “an expansion of experience, bring[ing] people into new places, situations and environments, [and] expanding and redefining what it means to be human” (Logsdon, 2010). The experience gained from exploring space pushes humans to challenge boundaries that were previously thought to be only theoretical. The International Space Station is used as a stepping stone since space is so hostile to humans, and what is learned from experiments on the station is going to be used to prepare astronauts for long term flights and permanent settlements in places other than Earth (Wiles,

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