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USA
celebrates space travel
Tuesday
was the 30th anniversary of Neil Armstrong
and Buzz Aldrin's moon landing. America
has come a long way since then through technology.
What have we really accomplished in space
travel since then?
Back
during the cold war, the USSR beat America
with the first manned space flight and first
space station. America chartered the first
man to walk on the moon and some flybys
of outer planets, but nothing so amazing
as that first step. America is now exploring
Mars and contemplating an asteroid mission.
An
International Space Station was launched
in the '90's, and not much has happened
since. The International Space Station involves
16 nations and may begin a slow transition
from Earth to Moon living. The station will
orbit and have a view of Earth while scientifically
exploring life outside Earth. The plot is
reminiscent of the Disney movie "Zenon"
and its horrid sequel (oh, you know you
watched it).
The
latest we have heard of the International
Space Station was when it sprang a leak
back in January of this year. The two men
aboard the ship, a British-born American
and a Russian, had their breakfast interrupted
by the sound of impact. They thought they
had been hit, according to BBC News, but
no damage was found. The two men are spending
six months aboard the station with a small
leak that experts say is not dangerous.
Perhaps more people will be sent to orbit
if this initial stay proves worthwhile.
The
prospect of living on the moon is intriguing
and brings to mind the plot of countless
"B" movies. Hopefully no space
aliens will eat up our current venture.
Some
believe that no American ever set foot on
the Moon and that it is all a vast conspiracy
to speed up America's win of the space race.
Armstrong and his buddies may have been
in the desert, filming images of their first
moon landing, instead of actually taking
that step for mankind. Either way, the moon
landing is usually taken as truth. NASA
cancelled its book countering the conspiracy
theory and nothing has been proved in either
direction.
While
we have spent years working on exploration
of other planets, particularly those that
may harbor life, we have been ignoring the
demise of our own planet, Earth. America
especially is spewing out gasses and toxins
into the atmosphere and polluting our groundwater
and oceans while buying bottled mountain
spring water because it isn't healthy to
drink tap water.
We
are like children who threw our toy into
the wall in a tantrum and now we are crying
for a new one. Exploring other planets for
the sake of exploration is science, but
for the sake of habitation it makes sense
to preserve what we have. We should take
care of the planet we are living on before
rushing out to find another. So far, the
Earth has been good to us.
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