The human race as a whole now seems destined to explore beyond the boundaries of our own planet. Motivation to do so varies greatly from person to person; however, moving out into the unknown regions of space is a necessary endeavor to secure a future for mankind. Many have argued over whether our extraterrestrial endeavors need to be funded privately by companies or publicly by the government. There have been many fears related to this topic, including the belief that the privatization of space travel will cause science to play second fiddle to profit. This, however, is simply not true and has been proven time and time again with the advancements industry has made. NASA and many other space programs have made numerous important advancements in all major fields of civilization. A large factor in this advancement was due to the Cold War and the Space Race that resulted from it. With two of the largest powers in the world racing to dominate the ultimate high ground, massive amounts of funds were put into the research and development of new technologies, and scientific advancement progressed at a rapid pace. Unfortunately, with the space race being concluded and the Apollo missions coming to an end, the government’s interest in space exploration went on a sharp decline. The main cause of NASA’s deterioration was a product of simple numbers. A single mission to the moon cost millions, with the final cost of Project Apollo reported to Congress as $25.4 billion. This has made space exploration unreasonable to the American government, which was already dealing with a precarious budget for many years. With so many of the world’s economies in a state of recession, procuring the vast amounts of funds needed to continue the exploration of space has become increasingly difficult. A corporation-based space program would make priorities out of researching and developing new transportation technologies. A commercial space flight program could easily become the catalyst for creating the fresh technology needed to create civilian passenger space vehicles. This may sound like an unnecessary endeavor, but it would actually be a real solution to many of the problems accompanying commercial flight as we know it today. Even though we already possess the ability to travel just about anywhere on the planet, the process is expensive and often quite time-consuming. Commercial flights from California to Germany take roughly thirteen hours of flight time to complete, but if a craft were to carry passengers in a low non-geosynchronous orbit, it would cut the flight time down to about a half-hour.
Some people call Space “The Final Frontier” but at one point all land west of the Mississippi was considered the frontier. Humans are curious people, sometimes too curious for our own good, but when we find something new we always explore and why would it be any different with space. When we explore the out reaches of space will no longer seem so small or insignificant. The idea of one day unlocking all of the Universe’s secrets, solely through our own advancements as a people, is what gives me that sense of
The debate about space exploration has been raging on for decades, people on both sides of the issue vehemently arguing their point of view. However despite the possible risk space exploration has the potential to change humanity for the better, and doing so is well worth the risk. This essay will elaborate some of the plethora of ways that space exploration could benefit mankind.
In 2013 spending on NASA will be at the lowest point in the last four years because the United States government is in extreme debt. Many feel that this will lead to a halt on all space exploration and technological advancements in the world of Astronomy. In my opinion I feel that this lack of funding for NASA will thoroughly hinder progress for future generations as well as our own.
When considering this topic, one might ask themselves why explore space? We explore space to compare other planets with the earth and to study the sun, to explore the universe while finding if intelligent life exists, for satellites to improve communications, weather forecasting, navigation, resource monitoring, and “to create a focal point for a new intellectual renaissance” (Ruzic).
After World War II, the capitalist U.S. and the communist U.S.S.R. developed a long period of tension and rivalry, commonly referred to as “The Cold War.” In our history class we learned that this rivalry led to a competition in space between the two superpowers to prove which one had the best economic system, military, science, and technology. This competition became known as “The Space Race.”
Human fascination with the stars is as ancient as Babylonians and has been suggested to be older than Stonehenge. From “be fruitful and multiply” to “live long and prosper,” the instinct to protect and propagate the species has manifested in religion, art, and the imaginations of countless individuals. As human understanding of space treks out of the fantastical and into the scientific, the realities of traveling through and living in space are becoming clearer. Exploring, investigating, and living in space pose an expansive series of problems. However, the solutions to the problems faced by mankind's desire to reach beyond the horizon, through the night sky, and into the stars are solutions that will help in all areas of life on Earth.
and the amount they could charge for these flights. Weather or any other problem could only
“Why should we go into space? What is the justification for spending all the effort and money on getting a few lumps of moon rocks? Aren’t there better causes here on Earth?”- Stephen Hawking. Space is the everlasting, ever growing place where we happen to reside. From the beginning of intelligent life here on Earth, we have wanted to learn. Whether it be simply constructing a fire, or solving the riddles that still puzzle us to this day. Many of the questions we still have are pertaining to space. Are we alone? How did we get here? Where are we going? Many answers can come from exploring space. Getting a “few lumps of moon rock” can answer so many questions we asked ourselves for millennia. Can we truly belong in a place we do not know about? Space exploration will better us now and in the future for several reasons.
Since the beginning of time, mankind has sought after learning about and exploring the universe. This yearning drove us to achieve such great things as the journey to the moon and the discovery of water on mars. Nowadays, several people argue as to whether or not space exploration is worth the effort. I believe that it is humanity’s instinctual nature to pursue a better understanding of ourselves, and our universe. Further understanding of our universe will lead to the discovery of new technologies and ways to secure humanity’s survivability. As such, this essay will argue that space exploration is a necessity to our kind and that NASA should be progressively more financed.
Michael Collins once proclaimed that, “It’s human nature to stretch, to go, to see, to understand. Exploration is not a choice really; it’s an imperative.” People have always been fascinated by space exploration and it was during the 1950’s that the “race to space” took off. Both Russia and the United States wanted to be the first to travel into space and the first ones to land on the moon. Today, nations are still active in space exploration. This includes NASA (the U.S.), the Russian Federal Space Agency, CNSA (China), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe), ISA (Italy), ROSA (Romania), and the Soviet Union. Now, some may argue that the United State’s space program has slowed down or even stopped having interest in space. However, there is a great deal of evidence that shows that NASA is still very much interested in space.
Curiosity and exploration are hardwired into our basic human nature. We strive to understand and explore the environment around us. From individuals climbing Mt. Everest, to those journeying deep into the Amazon Rainforest, it is our innate desire to discover and be adventurous. It is natural that this desire would eventually turn to areas beyond our planet. In the late 1950’s the escalation of the Cold War led to the space race. It started with the launch of the satellite Sputnik I by Russia, and produced amazing feats such as the United States putting a man on the moon. During the height of the space race, NASA was receiving 4.31 % of the national budget (Office of Management and Budget), and it took only eight years for NASA to reach the
Space exploration can lead to the possibility to find useful resources throughout the galaxy for human gain. Many severe problems on earth could be solved through space exploration such as world hunger, overpopulation, and dwindling fuel sources. Things such as fuel could be harvested from planets for power generation and propulsion technology, and land to cultivate for growing food, as well as land for building living areas for the growing population. These potential resources...
Some may think exploring outer space is simply a human’s curiosity. This is true but on the contrary, people explore to learn about things they may have never known and touch on the essence of the creation of the universe. Another reason for exploring this uncharted area is the technological advancements people have made and immense amount of innovation they have achieved in this field (Wood). Lastly, scientists study the other planets just in case one day humans need to relocate after overwhelming damage has been done to Earth. Suffice to say, it is a vital part of today’s day and age to research outer space (Rothery).
Overall, the Astronomy conversation was a success. Sharing of information led to new ideas and a great discussion on the future of space travel. All participants learned something new about the future of space travel. Last, it was obvious that regardless of age, education, or professional background, people are interested and excited about the future of space travel.
shuttle is a very versatile instrument. From experiments in human research to inserting the Hubble space telescope into orbit. What would it be like in another 200 years when man has established colonies on mars or the moon? What an interesting life our future children will have.