Impacts of New Technologies

Terrance visiting NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building

Martina and Terrance are no strangers to rapid technological changes. They are pilots of a time machine, after all. While your pilots get set for the next stop, review what you learned on this part of your journey. First, you got a refresher on how John F. Kennedy started the space race in competition with the Soviet Union. As NASA began to change the focus of its missions, it created a space shuttle program, and Sally Ride became the first female American astronaut to go into space. NASA has also been busy exploring space through programs like the Mars rover, the Voyager missions, and the Hubble Space Telescope. Thanks in part to the technological advances needed to successfully explore space, each day people have also seen changes in their lives. Improvements in robotics have altered many areas of our world. In the arena of communication, satellites, GPS, and personal communication devices like cell phones, technology has brought about better access to information for people all across America. Technology has also changed the way we work, learn, and care for our health through telecommuting, online learning, medical research, and the growth of service industries. All of these changes come at a cost as some companies have moved to outsource and offshore American jobs.