As Apollo 11 hurtled through the heavens to land two Americans on the moon, it seemed as if all mankind were kin. Whether in stilt-supported houses over the canals of Bangkok or by the azure swimming pools in Beverly Hills, families sat mesmerized before the flickering history unfolding on their television screens. Along London's Picadilly and Toyko's Ginza, crowds and traffic thinned as the launch began. In West Berlin, as in South Nyack, N.Y., there was a rare sense of camaraderie. Strangers on the street were united by the universal question" "How are they doing?" It seemed, as Tennyson wrote more than a century ago, "'One far-off divine event/To which the whole creation moves " [49, p.16]. Collins reported that during his trip following Apollo 11 the reaction of the international community was "We did it!", not "You Americans did it." Although the effect was short lived, it represented a triumph for everyone [27]. In the future, international space ventures may unite participating nations. For example, a common justification for a joint U.S.- Soviet mission to Mars is to underscore cooperation rather than competition between the two countries and further reduce east-west tensions. The intent of the joint mission is to dissolve distrust with a healthy substitute for nuclear and space weapons programs [50]. Vicarious Actualization Almost everyone is aware that the space program brings technological advantages to the average person, but fewer people are aware that it yields psychological benefits as well. As with all "noble endeavors", our triumphs in space bring a strong sense of human achievement. Following the Apollo 11 mission, Time reported "an exhilarating sense of human solidarity and potential" [49, p. 16]. Said Buzz Aldrin, on his last night in space: This has been far more than three men on a mission to the moon... more, even, than the efforts of one nation. We feel that this stands as a symbol of the insatiable curiosity of all mankind to explore the Universe [51, p. 222]. What causes this strong sense of identification? Perhaps it is the feeling that these individuals, these adventurers, represent the best that we can be. They are our surrogates; they go where we would like to, and with modern means of communication, take us there with them. They are us, as we would like to be. It is not just a few people going into space; it is all of us, for the few that we send bring it back for us. We expect, with further advances in remote sensing and virtual reality technology, that the images sent back to Earth will become more vivid, more all-encompassing; this will bring non-astronauts even closer to being in space. The space program may affect the lives of average citizens more powerfully than in the past, as many or most of us come to experience outer space through virtual reality. Certainly, as we explore the universe, we will gain new knowledge about it. We will also gain new knowledge about ourselves - through studying human adaptation to the unique set of conditions that make up life in space. Our reactions to isolation, confinement, separation from significant others, interaction with and dependence upon automated systems, and life under continuous risk will give us new insights
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