This work is a hardcover documentation of early Spanish intervention in the new World written by Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas. The man was an accomplished historian of his time. Unlike other archival accounts of the Spanish-Native American interface, these writings were authored by a man who had an extensive background in documenting history and was well respected in his field. This does no mean that Tordesillas was not bias in his observations. The accounts portray the Europeans as charitable and divinely instructed in their expedition to convert the primitive natives to Christianity. Tordesillas was an esteemed historian of his time and was aware that his writings would be among the first impressions Spain received regarding the New World. Besides the bias weight of a national hubris, the deeds were most likely further skewed by direct means to present the Spanish explores in a positive light.

Dated to have been created by Mayans approximately 1,400 to 1,800 years ago, these small artifacts speak loudly to the object's intentions as well as the Mayan religious atmosphere. Historians and archeologists believe the cache was used to store sacrificial offerings to the Mayan gods. These vessels were recovered from beneath stone monuments, also believed to had religious purposes. The flints are considered eccentric do to their obscure shapes. They resemble Star Wars space fighters to give a clue to their far out design. The flints were found inside of the cache vessels and are believed to have been designed as offerings to he gods.

This early hypothetical map of what the Earth might look like according to Marco Polo, Christopher Columbus and Amerigo Vespucci appears to have drastically underestimated the presence of North America. The second biggest continent in the world is drawn as a sliver of vertical land, more of an island really, attached to a small extension of South America, which is also underrepresented. The mapmaker's homeland of Europe is more accurate however, there is a global miscalculation of the amount of land as well as the details concerning known geography. Antarctica appears to be completely missing, probably because it had yet to be discovered. The map shows a collaborative initiative to plot the globe in a time of feverous exploration of the seas.

National Air and Space Museum Space: A Journey to Our Future

Scheduled to Launch April 24th, 2009, The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter will we shot into orbit around our only natural satellite by NASA's Atlas V rocket. The Orbiter will be collecting a range of data, including day/night surfaces temperatures, a complete geodetic map, and high resolution pictures in preparation of sending humans back to the moon. The LROÕs purpose is to collect the most information ever attempted about in the moon to bring astronauts to the Moon by 2020. NASAÕs long term expectation is to turn the moon into a base camp of sorts for jumping off further into space, namely the next stop being Mars. The exhibit displays cartooned drawings of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter with maps of the Moon.

With the decommission of the Shuttle, the only vehicle currently used by NASA to send astronauts into space, America will experience a hiatus from space travel for the next few years. NASA is currently in development of their Constellation Program that plans to put humans back into space by 2014 and back on the moon by 2020. Ares I and Ares V are the new rockets that will blast mankind back into space. These powerful rockets incorporate elements of the original Apollo moon program as well as cutting edge technology. The display shows artistsÕ depictions of what the Ares series rockets will look like upon completion as well as a 1/34 scale of the larger, Ares 5 rocket, with a man for scale.

The Hubble Telescope has exceed its original life expectancy by many years and is on the verge of decommission. The next generation instrument for stellar observation will be the James Webb Space Telescope scheduled for launch in 2013. This telescope will not replace Hubble as the mac daddy of visible light collecting telescopes. The James Webb Space Telescope will record data in the infra-red spectrum, a lower energy from visible light. The twenty one foot long instrument will we looking for energy left over from the Big Bang, as well as observing light from stars formed early on in the existence of the universe. Scientists anticipate the data from JWST will extrapolate on the evolution of galaxies and stars. The display was a one sided walled diagram featuring an artist's depiction of the telescope in use in space.

The Library of Congress has a very antiquated feel for the purpose of staying in tune with the historical context of the exhibit. The lights were dimmed and soft, creating a lounge like atmosphere. The exhibits obviously contained a great deal more history than there paragraph of description lead on but it is expected when displaying such a number of works. The National Air and Space Museum was always a fun and interesting place to go and learn about an exciting time in history. The Journey to our future exhibit is no exception. The exhibits are portrayed simplistically to accommodate many ages and educational backgrounds yet hints at the complexity of the actual projects.

It is not profound to say that exploration has changed a good deal since the Europeans began to explore the New World contrasted with our expeditions into space. However, the basic intentions have remained the same. We are a curious organism and are never complacent with what we know currently, we strive to always discover more. Explorations of the 15th and 16th Centuries were well contrived and their execution changed the history of the world making life as it is today a reality. We have that same power in out future exploration of the solar system and beyond. We can come together as a global population with a global goal to achieve such in a way never possible before modern technology. The possibility to work cooperatively as a species to obtain our dreams in space has never been more possible.

Last modified: 9 December 2008