June 24, 2014

History and Future of Space Travel Videos

Since the 1960s, humanity has seemed destined for Space, but how are current scientists planning to keep us there? With this list of 6 free audio and video resources, LearnOutLoud.com traces the history and future of space travel. Here you will find a history of NASA hosted by Neil Armstrong, learn how we plan to put humans on both the Moon and eventually Mars, and find out how scientists are planning out the next 100 years of space exploration. From the rocket age, to the Space Shuttle program, to the Mars Rover, to our next great adventures in the Solar System, we’ve got it covered here. Click below to get started:

1. Future of Space Travel

Theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking marks NASA’s 50th birthday by giving his hopes for the future of space travel in this streaming video lecture provided by C-SPAN. Joined by his daughter Lucy, Hawking makes the case for why the human race should reach for the stars, arguing that it will completely change our perspective on our own planet, and may actually determine if our species has a future at all. After plotting out a 200+ year plan that starts with the moon, moves on to Mars, and then contemplates eventual interstellar travel, Hawking speculates on the alien life we may encounter and explores why we haven’t made contact just yet. The talk offers a wonderful vision of the future from a man dedicated to exploring the cutting edge of what’s possible for mankind.

2. NASA’s Vision for Human Space Exploration

In this streaming discussion provided by the Forum Network, Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist and host of the hit show Cosmos, discusses what has stalled recent space exploration and what strategies we might employ to get us moving towards the stars again. The 2003 Columbia disaster gave cause for many in the government to reassess NASA’s mission statement. Then President George W. Bush announced a bold new initiative to launch man to the Moon, and eventually Mars. However, as DeGrasse Tyson points out, the drivers we had in the past, such as the space race in the 1960s, are no longer existent, and the motivation to fund such a huge endeavor has been slight. In the discussion, he lays out various ways private industries can help lower the costs of space travel and convert the space program into a space industry that will move us forward.

3. Space Exploration: The Next 100 Years

In this streaming video panel discussion from MIT, three space experts make their predictions about what the next 100 years will bring when it comes to exploring space. They talk about potential ways to make space travel cheaper and more accessible along with power point presentations of images to help us visualize some of these developments. The talk is quite informal, and the lecturers have fun with it. There’s a lot of interesting topics addressed such as the state of the U.S. space program, the possibilities of asteroids hitting the earth, and much more.

4. The Eagle Has Landed (1969)

Over forty years ago the Apollo 11 landed on the moon carry astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, and Michael Collins. This 30-minute 1969 documentary from the National Archives depicts the Apollo 11 mission from launching through post-recovery activities. The National Archives features five more documentaries about the space program in the 1960s and their mission to go to put a man on the moon including The John Glenn Story (1963), Assignment, Shoot the Moon (1967), America in Space – The First Decade (1968), Within This Decade (1969), and Debrief: Apollo 8 (1969). You can watch these documentaries on streaming video on YouTube.

5. The Quest for Mars

For this streaming video lecture released by MIT World, Mars mission specialist Jim Garvin discusses how NASA plans to explore the Red Planet in the coming decade. After disappointing technical failures in the late 90’s, the Mars team made headway with its rover missions, and here Garvin details how forthcoming missions will take advantage of burgeoning technology to continue the search for life on our neighbor’s surface. Garvin makes a convincing argument for how a more complete understanding of Mars may offer invaluable insight into the way life operates outside the confines of earth.

6. Neil Armstrong Hosts NASA 50th Anniversary Documentary

Neil Armstrong will forever be known as the first person to walk on the Moon. In commemoration of Neil Armstrong and the whole NASA space program, NASA TV has posted to YouTube their documentary on the 50th Anniversary of National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Hosted by Neil Armstrong and featuring dozens of great American astronauts and scientists, this 90-minute documentary gives us a whirlwind tour of NASA since its formation in 1958. The documentary features amazing imagery and classic footage from the history of NASA, and it is available to watch on high definition video. From the Apollo missions of the 1960s, the Skylab space station of the 1970s, the Space Shuttle of the 1980s, the Hubble Telescope of the 1990s, and all the way up to the creation of the massive International Space Station in the 2000s, this documentary is a great introduction to the history of NASA complete with fun popular music of each era. Enjoy this look back at some of the greatest scientific achievements in the past 50 years.