Four decades ago, the "space race" between the US and the Soviet Union was in full swing. The costly competition pitted scientists from the two countries against each other just like soldiers on the battlefield, each working to defeat the other, duplicating research and keeping key information secret to win the cold war competition to be the first to land a man on the Moon. Dominance in science was a key part of the push for political dominance.

In the years since America won the race to the Moon, landing its astronauts in 1969, competition has been replaced by co-operation in space. Astronauts and cosmonauts from the US, Russia and other nations work side by side as partners on joint projects. They live together and learn together in space, expanding human knowledge.