A documented Space Race

marzo 27th, 2012 · No hay Comentarios

The one who insists on hitting a rock on the moon will not get it, but will end up knowing how to handle the slingshot. Arabian proverb

This proverb sums up the spirit that in the decade of 1960 to 195o led the two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union to start a space race culminating in the arrival of American astronauts on Apollo 11 to the Moon in August 1969. There is one little difference between the proverb and reality: the man succeeded in walking onto the Moon. This is one of the most important historical events of the twentieth century that capped a process of technological expertise, but that, in turn, hid a cultural and political confrontation between the two blocs. As mentioned, it was a race, a competition between two parties and countries to step on the moon, so that, when studying this event, it is vital to avoid bias. Therefore, official press and official news agencies are going to be attended in documenting this historic event. Here are two examples:

From El Mundo digital newspapper this special report about the 40 years since the man walked on the moon. It has been written by Amado Herrero, Carlos Fresneda, Pablo Jaúregi, Ángel Díaz, Mario Viciosa, Raquel Quílez and Fernando Mas, all of them proffesional journalists especialised in writing and editing for diverse newspaper, such as El Mundo or La Gaceta de los negocios newspapers. The report is divided in 7 sections: La Odisea del Apolo 11, Los 12 magníficos, Así lo viví, Fascinante, La cara cultural, La carrera espacial and El regreso. As it cab be inferred, the report provides key information in order to understand the development of the space race. This data can be considered as verifiabiable because it has been published in a national newspaper and its authors are proffesional writers. Furthermore, the information presented is supported by videos and aditional information from NASA and professional agencies. Finally, there is some additional videos who show relevant people who lived the Space Race first-person. Consecuently, this report is crucial to consult and support any article about the Space Race.

An article from RIA Novosti. The International Information Agency of Russia, “RIA Novosti” is one of the most prestigious sources of information in Russia and abroad. It discloses sociopolitical, economic, scientific and financial information. Although it is an article where opinion is manifested, it is a very valuable source because the opinions expressed are those of first-hand, namely, people in the article were participants in the space race. It’s been written by Konstantín Bogdánov, a Russian anthropologist and philologist whose areas of investigation covers Russian culture, including folklore, rhetoric, and the history of science and humanities. Moreover, the pictures showed are selected from NASA and Routers, both prestigious institutions, so it an be said this page is veriafiable. Finally, it is important to note that the agency RIA is a major source of information, offering articles on the same topic, such as an article called “Obama reaffirmed the U.S. willingness to develop its space program” that are interesting when discussing the future of space activity.

These two examples serve as reference information to support a detailed analysis of this event. As it has been mentioned, both are reliable sources, written by media professionals and published in official newspapers or agencies. As already said, no information will be used in a partial way and in the case of quoted words of the protagonists, their intention is merely informative and testimonial, that is, this does not make any kind of apology or sympathy or pretend policy positioned at all. History has many prisms, but it must be seen through the prism of truth.

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