oct 4, 1957 - The Space Race

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The Space Race, in simple terms, was a Cold War competition between the United States and Soviet Union. These two superpowers competed to prove their superiority through intellectual and technological innovations, with the end goal of being the first nation to put a human into space. It was a fight between Capitalist and Communist, and this contest for dominance between the Soviet Union and the United States captivated the worlds attention.

The Space Race was a perfect demonstration of the Cold War. A fight between Capitalist and Communist, trying to prove their political system was better then the other. It would show the world which country had the best systems in science, technology and economics, and with both the United States and the Soviet Union realizing how useful rocket research could be. It would also play a pivotal role in their military power as well, and reestablished the US as the leading technological superpower.

As one of the most important events of the Cold War, the Space race paved the way for new inventions and ideas. It saw the events of the first satellite to orbit earth, the first human-crewed spacecraft and the first person to walk on another planetary body, the Moon. There were also many developments in aerospace capabilities, with unmanned space probes being sent out as well as satellites which we use today for many of our daily activities. As well as this, other inventions from the space race include durable healthcare equipment, water filtration systems, artificial limbs, solar panels, firefighting equipment, air purifiers and many more other vital inventions that benefit the world today.

Although many say that the United States were the winners of the Space Race, the real winners were the human race, as with over 650 million people across the world watching Neil Armstrong step onto the moon live, the whole world was brought together, inspired by one of the greatest achievements the human race has ever accomplished. The end result of the Space race was also a remarkable moment of reconciliation, with the US and Soviet Union linking up in orbit and shaking hands. Now decades on, unmanned spacecraft have landed on both Venus and Mars, with manned trips to come, expressing the curiosity we have for the unknown, and incapsulating this to explore these places and beyond.

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