America constantly seeks to be the global leader in every field on Earth, and following the Mercury and Apollo space programs it is was clear that America was at the forefront of that which was outside of Earth as well. Apart from more prestige and scientific knowledge through America’s triumph in the space race, a deeper connection between the individual and the grandeur of the cosmos become evident. Astronauts and spectators of the Mercury and Apollo missions gained a new perspective of their place in the universe and ideas as to what mankind’s new achievement meant to them. An analysis of the Mercury and Apollo space Programs reveals two limiting factors to the extent of spiritual transformation and religious implications the programs evoked:
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The windows on the Mercury capsules that were there for the astronaut to view the earth, the sun, and the stars were heavy and dense and canceled much of the light from stars. However astronauts were further constrained by the medium through which they enjoyed space, formally called Heaven, even outside of their space crafts and on spacewalks. An astronaut’s visor can occasionally mist up and render him nearly blind, and the weight of his pressure suit opposes a desire to lean back, arc his neck and gaze at the beauty of Earth high in the lunar sky. The astronauts were restricted by these barriers which resulted in a loss of detail from viewing space and a loss in their sense of …show more content…
Medium influences the message behind what it transmits and in this case it affected the meaning behind the space frontier by dwarfing it’s potential for a spiritual impact by diminishing the detail and wonderment of space. If the at-home viewers could have been in space themselves, they would be more profoundly affected by its depth and magnitude. Likewise, if the astronauts who were in space had no physical barriers to their senses or time constraints to their presence in space, it would have been a more spiritual and sacred occasion. If observers were unrestricted by such mediums and could view space and planet earth in its unaltered and fullest form than the metaphysical and spiritual would be easier to relate to space and such connections could be redefined or
The windows on the Mercury capsules that were there for the astronaut to view the earth, the sun, and the stars were heavy and dense and canceled much of the light from stars. However astronauts were further constrained by the medium through which they enjoyed space, formally called Heaven, even outside of their space crafts and on spacewalks. An astronaut’s visor can occasionally mist up and render him nearly blind, and the weight of his pressure suit opposes a desire to lean back, arc his neck and gaze at the beauty of Earth high in the lunar sky. The astronauts were restricted by these barriers which resulted in a loss of detail from viewing space and a loss in their sense of …show more content…
Medium influences the message behind what it transmits and in this case it affected the meaning behind the space frontier by dwarfing it’s potential for a spiritual impact by diminishing the detail and wonderment of space. If the at-home viewers could have been in space themselves, they would be more profoundly affected by its depth and magnitude. Likewise, if the astronauts who were in space had no physical barriers to their senses or time constraints to their presence in space, it would have been a more spiritual and sacred occasion. If observers were unrestricted by such mediums and could view space and planet earth in its unaltered and fullest form than the metaphysical and spiritual would be easier to relate to space and such connections could be redefined or