Week+2+-+Discussion

=Discussion= Due Thursday August 28

The **Age of Exploration** did not end once Christopher Columbus discovered the New World in 1492 or after Portuguese sailor Ferdinand Magellan navigated around the world in 1519. Today, our explorations take us into outer space where we have sent both [|men to the moon] and [|machines to other planets]. Do you believe that man will discover new worlds, resources, and life forms in outer space the same way that earlier explorers did when they traveled the seas?

Imagine that you are a modern day explorer like Prince Henry the Navigator or Christopher Columbus who wants to explore the wonders of outer space. Below are questions Prince Henry and Christopher Columbus had to overcome and find answers to in order to make their expeditions possible. What answers do you come up with for the following questions? Complete your answers in your binders.


 * 1) The invention of maritime technologies that allowed sailors to master treacherous and unfamiliar ocean environments is what really allowed for the Age of Exploration to occur. If you wanted to extend the Age of Exploration into outer space, what new space technology would need to be invented so that human beings could travel to other planets and solar systems?
 * 2) Think of some of the fears that existed amongst people during the 15 & 16th century when it came to sailing the open seas (monsters, boiling waters, falling off the edge of the Earth). Identify some of the fears that other people might have today if you had to convince them of traveling into the far reaches of outer space. What would you have to say or do to convince people that their fears are unwarranted and that they will be safe?
 * 3) Both Columbus and Magellan had a hard time finding someone to pay for their trips. If it wasn't for the Spanish monarchy, these men would never have been able to afford the financial cost of their adventures on their own. Finding someone to pay for your space expedition is going to be tricky too. Where would you go to gain the funding you need to pay for your space exploration trip? What would you say to the leaders of that nation to convince them of the benefits your expedition would have for their country?