One Small Step for Mines, One Giant Leap for Mankind

The Cold War is one of the defining conflicts in history. Over the course of almost five decades, from the end of WWII to the dawn of the 1990’s, the United States and Soviet Union competed for military, political, and cultural hegemony over the world. There were many defining moments in this conflict and one of them was the Space Race, a phenomenon made possible by mining.

In the late 1950’s, the Soviet Union launched the first man-made object, a satellite named Sputnik, into space. The Space Race had begun. The Soviets followed this up by launching the first living being, a dog named Laika, into space. Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human being to travel into space and orbit the Earth. The Soviets were also the first country to conduct a spacewalk. The U.S. tried to catch up when Alan Shepherd became the first American in space and John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth. Nevertheless, the U.S. fell behind after the Soviet Union’s string of pioneering space feats, and began looking for a way to catch up and surpass their rival in the eyes of the world. When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon in 1969, the United States achieved the unthinkable and, in so doing, won the Space Race.

Landing on the moon is one of the single greatest cultural achievements in the history of mankind, and the research that went into developing the Space Race technology needed to make it happen pioneered several advances we benefit from today. Satellite TV and laptop computers both grew out of technologies developed for astronauts, smoke and gas detectors were born out of the sensors built into spacecraft to help astronauts detect fires or toxic fumes, and 3D graphics and virtual reality have their origins in the simulators NASA built to help its astronauts learn how to deal with space environments.

At the heart of all these “leaps” for mankind was mining. The exteriors of spacecraft built by the U.S. and Soviet Union made extensive use of titanium and aluminum alloys due to their lightweight, heat-resistant properties. The sensors, computers, radar, and onboard communication devices used by the cosmonauts and astronauts made use of rare earth elements (widely used in electronics), and copper (used extensively to help conduct electricity). Gold, a third vital element, was used to coat the panels of spacecraft, satellites, and even the faceplates of space helmets in order to help deflect the harmful radiation given off by the Sun. The Space Race profoundly shaped history and modern society. Without a doubt, it produced one of the single greatest achievements in history: landing a man on the moon. At the heart of these historic scientific achievements were the mined materials that made the whole enterprise possible. Without mining, mankind could only dream of travelling in space. Thanks to mining, that dream is now a reality.