Forty years ago, Neil Armstrong landed on the moon on July 20, 1969, opening a door of possibility. It was the beginning of a new era of exploration. After Neil Armstrong's landing, the United States dedicated another forty years to space exploration. This has led the United States to spend billions of taxpayer dollars on satellites, visits to Mars and the Moon, and launching numerous rockets into space. However, recently the United States has been forced to focus on other issues such as national security, declining economy, and many others. With all of these problems occurring at once, the United States is having trouble figuring out how much funding should go to programs like NASA. While these issues are important, we must not sacrifice our knowledge for exploration in exchange for only national issues. We must instead “face the reality of world events” and “should not let terrorism set the agenda. HG Wells said many years ago that "human history increasingly becomes a race between education and catastrophe" (Dick). As a nation we need to take care of our country but we almost expand our knowledge. Like the first explorers, the actions of today's explorers will influence the next generation as we continue to explore the final frontier. From 1405 to 1433, commander Zheng He explored the ocean representing the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) of China. Sailing across the Indian Ocean he traveled through East Africa, Mecca and the Persian Gulf. During his travels he traded with foreigners and brought back giraffes, lions, ostriches and leopards for the Chinese emperor in exchange for stones, ivory and dyes. Zheng He's travels to China increased China's resources, foreign affairs, and military might. However, after his death in the year 1433, the Chinese...... center of paper......dDavis, Rebecca Harding. Life in the ironworks. New York: The Feminist Press at City University of New York Dick, Steven J. “The Importance of Exploration.” NASA. November 22, 2007. October 18, 2009 “Famous Chinese Explorers: Zheng He.” Ancient China. 2009. October 18, 2009. Kinzer, Stephen. Turn over. New York: Times Books.Mel-O-Toons: Christopher Columbus. Youtube. Youtube.1960. Network. 18 October 2009.Poirot. “Zheng He and Ming China: The Lone Mariner and His Times.” The entire Empires OnlineHistory community. 2009. October 18, 2009. Rosenberg, Jennifer. "Boxer Rebellion of 1900". About.com. 2009. October 29, 2009.Standard, David E. American Holocaust. New York: Oxford University Press. 1992Zheng He. Youtube, Youtube, June 1, 2007. Web. October 18, 2009. "Zheng He (1371-1433), the Chinese Muslim Admiral." Islam for today. 2009.18 October,2009