The Space Race, part 6, The End?

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Human beings put the step into the lunar surface (article The Space Race, part 5) . Despite the cold war was both sides achieved to carry out the joint project and shake the hands above all the Earthy problems. Humans are staying in the orbital space station. Since the first rocket attempts people started to send spacecraft far away. History of solar wind, Pioneer program, Juno mission etc.

What happens after the amazing years of Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Luna, Sputnik, Vostok, Voskhod, Soyuz programs? That almost feels like space bubble. 

Already in 1970s US started to develop Space Shuttle, which would be more reusable. Soviet focused on developing of orbital space stations Salyut program and MIR space station, which means Peace in translation. This stations were supported by Soyuz program. They developed also their own space shuttle program Buran (also started in 1970s). After the dissolution of the Soviet Union on December 26, 1991 practically all programs continued under Russia. Note that Baikonur Cosmodrome is located in Kazakhstan. It is currently leased by the Kazakh Government to Russia until 2050.

The US and Russia worked together with the Space Shuttle/MIR program and again with the International Space Station (ISS).  The Soviet/Russian R7 rocket family, which also launched Sputnik at the beginning of the Space Race is still in use and it supports ISS. The US Space Shuttle was retired on July 21, 2011 and since that Russian Soyuz transports  both Russian and American crew to and from the ISS.



Why to come back to the Moon?

 I have read an answer on it from US president Bush in 2004: 

Why should we send humans back to the Moon? After all, we have already done it, sit times, in the 20th century.

 Well, that could be enough. But why to stay on the same place, why not to move forward, to develop. May be it is not only to reach the top of the mountain, it is about the whole civilization. I think that natural need for all humans is to explore. We explore since we are small babies, and we should follow it. If we stop where we go next, what message we will send to our kids. The Moon is our nearest target where we can practise new technology and to get the best knowledge about our outer environment. How can we survive in other worlds. What we will do, if any huge disaster occur on the Earth? Could we build there a station? Can we survive in such environment for longer period? What is going to happed to people?

 The next stop is also Mars (Mars, magnetic field,  Soviet Mars probe program). How do we continue? Do we stay or do we follow our dreams?


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