If the first man on the moon would have been a soviet do you think the space race would have carried on to mar

Question

If the first man on the moon would have been a soviet do you think the space race would have carried on to mars?

Answer 1

I never wondered about that before. Yes, I think it is almost certain that the USA would have tried to beat the Russians to Mars. The only reason I say "almost" is that Nixon was President in '69 when we landed on the moon. It is well known that he hated the space program.

Answer 2

It depends... The space race ended not because the USA got men on the moon, but because both countries signed a treaty taking away the reason for the space race.

It might seem funny to think about it now, but at the start of the space race, it was legally accepted that the first country to land on the Moon (or any other celestial body) would have the right to claim the Moon (or celestial body) as the country's own. The first country to land on the Moon could, before 1967, claim the Moon, build lunar bases (both military and other wise), and otherwise have ownership of a really big piece of prime real estate.

This is why the race to the Moon ended: Both the USA and USSR wanted to use the space programs' money for other purposes, and so the countries drafted and ratified the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, which essentially forbade soverign ownership of other celestial bodies. The budgets for both governments' space programs immediately dropped, making the space programs little more than employment centers for scientists.

So, to answer your question: If a Soviet had landed on the Moon and taken ownership in the name of communist Russia, then yes, the space race would have gone on full-speed.

Answer 3

Since the USSR went down the tubes some time later, it must have been struggling at the time. So, I don't think this would have ever been an issue. IF USA had thrown more money at Apollo and carried on, probably USSR would have gone bankrupt much sooner.

Also, if you read the history, the Russian's answer to the massive Saturn V of the Americans had 32 engines. Saturn V only had five, but the Russians had not come up with anything so powerful as the Saturn's engines. So, they had the almost impossible task of trying to synchronise 32 engines on takeoff - you must appreciate that if any fail, the thing becomes hopelessly unbalanced.

As it happened, it did fail on the launch pad. The massive rocket exploded and wiped out the entire complex. That was the end of Russian hopes of getting man to the moon. The only rocket they had powerful enough to escape Earth's orbit with a manned payload was a complete and utter failure.

They were able though to do a lot of work with probes, and of course they still have rockets that get men and women up to orbit. But they were basically out of the space race by 1970.

Answer 4

Doubtful. The Space Race started because any vehicle capable of launching a satellite into orbit could also launch a nuclear missile capable of being targeted ANYWHERE on earth. The original idea of a moon landing was to obtain the high ground. Mars is irrelevant to that goal. We would probably just armed every satellite we sent up. Then we could have a space war that didn't kill anyone. Fortunately, that never happened, so people can now kill each other here on earth, like we are supposed to...

Gee. I didnt' realize how cynical I've become.

Answer 5

Mars can be anywhere from 300 to 900 times farther away from the Earth than the moon. Can I get a wow.

Most likely we would've built a base on the moon, then they would've built a base. Then we would've built a bigger base, then they would've built a refinery, then we would've built a bigger refinery and then a small city of scientists, etc... and then in the distant future of 2006 we hopefully land a man on Mars and a Woman on Venus with a very thick space suit.... Ask me why...

Answer 6

those hoax innovations are in basic terms loopy. The Apollo Moon landings have been between the main public, superb lined and documented occasions ever. it would be much less stressful to pretend the large bowl.

Answer 7

No, it's too far away to matter. The important thing was dominance of space in near earth orbit.

Answer 8

I think that our national pride at that point of the Cold War would have definately driven us on to prove our technological superiority at any cost. So yes, I think we would have gone to Alpha Centauri if needed.

Answer 9

A very good question. Probably yes.

Answer 10

may be