What was the 'space race'?

The mid-to-late 20th century saw the emergence of a keen competition between the United States of America (USA) and the Soviet Union, the most powerful nations after the Second World War, for technological supremacy in space; this was the 'space race', which grew out of the ongoing cold war that had spread not only on the Earth but also in space. Both the countries vied with each other to be the pioneer in space exploration and launching of satellites and other technological innovations in space. The successful launch of Sputnik 1 was followed by the establishment of the NASA, and around twelve years later human beings set foot upon the moon for the first time. Today, the space shuttle, an American spaceship driven by rockets, is used to take researches and astronauts to the ISS-a space station constructed in space.