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Two weeks ago, India launched its Mangalyaan mission to Mars. The mission, which will take ten months to reach Mars, is intended to study the Martian atmosphere and conduct scientific tests to determine if any forms of life exist on the Red Planet. If India’s mission is successful, it would become the first Asian nation to launch a successful Martian mission and it would become the first nation to successfully reach Mars in its first mission attempt. Success would also increase the prominence of the Indian space program, which launched a successful lunar mission in 2008. Since China is considered the preeminent space power in Asia, having already placed a men and women in Earth’s orbit and having more powerful rockets than India, analysts are speculating that India’s Mars mission could inaugurate a space race between both powers, setting the tone for twenty-first century space exploration.
This topic brief will describe India’s Mars mission and compare it to other Asian nations that have pursued a space exploration, assess how the Mars mission can enhance India’s international profile, and then assess the status of the Asian space race.
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Nova Senior High School, one of the premier forensic programs in the country, held its annual Titan Invitational last weekend in Davie, Florida. Twenty-eight extempers participated in the tournament and Daniel Greene of The University School (FL) took the championship, going straight 1’s in the final round. Sydney Britton of The American Heritage School (FL) took second and Greene’s teammate Samantha Koreman took third.
Last weekend at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, thirty-five extempers competed in the Remy Wilcox High School Speech Tournament. Patrick Spieker of Gig Harbor High School (WA) edged teammate Heather Selby by judges preference to win the title. Arman Cuneo of Eagle High School (ID) took third. Gig Harbor and Highland High School (ID) had two finalists each and the final round saw three Washington extempers take on three Idaho extempers.
Today’s R&D provides resources about the state of the Russian economy.
Today’s R&D provides extempers resources on the marijuana legalization debate. Generic “Should marijuana be legalized?” questions often appear at local tournaments, especially when the question writer is search for topics to fill the Domestic Social round.
Last Tuesday, voters in Virginia and New Jersey participated in off-year gubernatorial elections and voters in New York City elected a new mayor. All three campaigns were watched closely by the national media to provide information on 2016 presidential aspirations, the fallout over Obamacare’s technical glitches and broken promises, and to gauge the enthusiasm of voters for conservatism or liberal ideas. Off-year elections are typically under covered by the media, but this year was different because of Virginia’s emergence as a swing state in the last two presidential elections, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie positioning himself for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg stepping down after three terms. Due to this importance, extempers can expect to see some questions about these races in the coming weeks.
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Months ago we revealed that Millburn High School extemper, former Yale University Invitational champion, and two-time NFL finalist Chase Harrison was running for a seat on the Millburn Board of Education. Chase was eighteen years old at the time of the vote and was declared eligible to run. In last Tuesday’s election, Chase defeated his incumbent opponent, Rona Wenik, with 52 percent of the vote to become the youngest elected official in New Jersey history.
Today’s R&D provides information on the United Nations Human Rights Council.