[NASA, 2020]
The space exploration barrier that was broken by Apollo 11 still has an effect on us today and the future. For example, SpaceX, a private company founded by Elon Musk, designs, manufactures and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft with the ultimate goal of enabling people to live on other planets. Elon states that he plans to send a rocket to Mars and back in 2022 in the hopes of a successful mission. His next step would be sending cargo and a crew to Mars in 2024. Their primary objective is to build a depot for later flights to Mars. Achieving these steps will allow us to create a Mars base and a “self-sustaining civilization”.
[SpaceX, 2017]
Apollo 11 not only encouraged new space missions, but also opened up a new way of looking at flying. SpaceX is also considering an alternative to commercial flying by using rockets for flights from one city to another. They would travel outside the Earth’s atmosphere to travel to another city during its flight. For example, traveling from L.A. to New York would take five hours and 25 minutes, while using a rocket would only take 25 minutes total.
Background [NASA, 2017]