Week 9: Space + Art

Carl Sagan’s speech, Pale Blue Dot, really puts into perspective just how insignificant we are as human beings in the vastness of space. He describes our planet as “a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark” and describes it as nothing more than a “mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.” I have always been fascinated by space because there is so much that is unknown about it. This desire to discover the unknown is what has fueled space exploration for many years.

A Pale Blue Dot

As early as the 1950s, there was a rise in science fiction such as Planet Stories, The Jetsons, Lost in Space, Star Trek and many others. Many of the things that people fantasized about in these fictional stories actually because a reality not too long afterwards. The first step in space exploration is coming up with a project idea, and this creativity is illustrated perfectly in these science fictions stories. For example, The Fountains of Paradise by Arthur C. Clarke proposes the idea of space elevators. Believe it or not, NASA already has plans on how to make this fiction a reality. The Virgin Galactic is also a project well within our reach that would commercialize space flights.



Even though people had been fascinated by space for hundreds of years, space exploration was really sparked in the 1940s. During World War II, the United States had a monopoly over atomic weaponry; however, this ended in 1949 when the Soviet Union detonated its first atomic bomb. This event was the beginning of the Cold War and of the arms race that ensued between the United States and the Soviet Union. In 1957, the Soviet Union pulled ahead in the race with their launch of the first satellite, Sputnik. The launch of Sputnik escalated the arms race and led to the creation of NASA to bring competing military space programs into one effort. Shortly after, there was the first living creature to go into space, then the first and second people to go into space, the first American to circle the earth, the first person to step on the moon, etc.

The Satellite Sputnik

We have made so much progress in space exploration to this day; however, there is even more progress to be made. This unit made me realize that it would have been impossible to make that progress using only science. The creativity that goes into science fiction is a key component, and our progress depends on art and science working together.





References:

CarlSaganPortal. "Carl Sagan - Pale Blue Dot." YouTube. YouTube, 24 Mar. 2009. Web. 05 June 2017. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wupToqz1e2g>.

Uconlineprogram. "Space Pt6." YouTube. YouTube, 30 May 2012. Web. 05 June 2017. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYmOtFjIj0M>.

Uconlineprogram. "Space Pt5." YouTube. YouTube, 30 May 2012. Web. 05 June 2017. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnSUHMXBmdg>.

Uconlineprogram. "Space Pt4." YouTube. YouTube, 30 May 2012. Web. 05 June 2017. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnSUHMXBmdg>.

Uconlineprogram. "Space Pt3." YouTube. YouTube, 30 May 2012. Web. 05 June 2017. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnSUHMXBmdg>.

Uconlineprogram. "Space Pt2." YouTube. YouTube, 30 May 2012. Web. 05 June 2017. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnSUHMXBmdg>.

Images:

Szoldra, Paul. "26 Years Ago, Carl Sagan Gave Us an Incredible Perspective on Our Planet." Business Insider. Business Insider, 14 Feb. 2016. Web. 05 June 2017. <http://www.businessinsider.com/pale-blue-dot-carl-sagan-2016-1>.

"The Jetsons (TV Series 1962–1963)." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 05 June 2017. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055683/>.


"Sputnik." Beyond Geek. N.p., 08 Apr. 2015. Web. 05 June 2017. <http://www.beyondgeek.com/sputnik/>.

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