Historians view

[adventure]

I am doing an honors social studies project on the space race and I have to find an historians opinion on my thesis question, Was the space race beneficial to mankind as a whole. If you could direct me to some historians opinion I would be grateful.

[LunarOrbit]

I guess you could say I'm an amateur historian... do I count?

I would say, without a doubt, that the space race was beneficial to everyone on Earth. The medical advances alone made it worthwhile, and then there are the weather and communication satellites that we can't live without anymore.

[Bob B.]

I agree with LunarOrbit.  You don't have to be a historian to see all the technological innovations that came from the space race and how those technologies have benefited mankind.  The following is a link to an essay written by former astronaut Jim Lovell in which he spells it all out for you,

http://space.balettie.com/Lovell.html

[LunarOrbit]

adventure asked me to elaborate on what I said before. I sent him a response privately but I have decided to share it with everyone else (and feel free to correct me or add to it).

How has the space race benefited mankind?


The Environment

Without the space program weather forecasting would not be as accurate as it is today. Satellites warn us before severe weather such as hurricanes and tornados hit us, reducing the amount of harm they can cause.

We are able to monitor the state of endangered species, the destruction of rain forests, the expansion of deserts, tsunami and earthquake damage, oil spills, volcanic eruptions, and more, all using satellites. They have made us more aware of the effects we have on our environment.


Communication

People take for granted how easy it is to communicate now. Major news events are broadcast around the world as they happen. We can communicate with other people in distant countries almost as easily as we can with our next-door neighbour. It brings us together and makes the world a smaller place.

Live broadcast television was improved greatly as a result of the need to transmit video of the Moon landings back to Earth.
 

Computing

Although computers were not invented for or by the space program, their development was certainly helped a great deal by it.


International Co-operation and Peace

Although the space race was a competition between two cold war foes, it was peaceful. By the middle of 1975 the Americans and Soviets were actually working together to make the first international space docking (the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project) possible. So, rather than heating up the hostility between the two nations, the space race actually helped create peace.


Knowledge

We understand our world, our solar system, and the entire universe, better as a result of our exploration of it. Whether it is through manned or robotic exploration, the knowledge we gain is priceless.


Medical Advances

There are many examples of medical advances that are a direct result of the space race. Pacemakers, biorhythm monitors, CAT scans, and even cold medicines are examples of how something created for NASA have worked their way into common use.


Safety

Smoke detectors, fire resistant fabrics, fire extinguishers, etc. were all either invented or improved by the space program.