Every year, the government uses a large portion of taxpayer’s money to fund NASA. America shouldn’t be funding NASA with money that could be used to help the growing homeless epidemic or fund cancer research. We need to focus our efforts and spend our money on the problems that exist here on Earth. NASA hasn’t done anything significant in space in years. It’s also incredibly risky and quite dangerous to travel into space. With the introduction of programs like space-x, a program for private space flight and research, the government is able to spend less on NASA space funding, and more on things that are immediately beneficial to the American people. The American economy is the worst it’s been since the Great Depression, which begs the question, why are we even considering …show more content…
For example, finding out Pluto doesn’t really count as a planet is interesting and scientifically accurate, but it doesn’t make much of a difference if we know how many planets there are, what matters is that we use our money to fix existing problems on Earth instead of problems thousands of miles away. It’s great that we have the technology and skills to travel into space, but it’s becoming unaffordable and we have bigger problems on our hands. These problems, such as disease and cancer could be researched on and eventually cured. In a quote from Katie Couric “NASA’s requested budget for 2007 is nearly $17 billion. There are some who argue that money would be better spent on solid ground, for medical research, social programs or in finding solutions to poverty, hunger and homelessness… I can’t help but wonder what all that money could do for people right here on planet Earth.” (Outside source) With the billions spent on space research, we could solve problems that have plagued the human race for hundreds of years instead of looking into future problems in the
NASA Funding The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was booming in the late 1960s because the U.S. invested over 4.5 percent of the Federal Budget (Bolden). Unfortunately, in the recent years, the Government has slashed funding for many of NASA’s projects in an attempt to cut back on the deficit and boost the economy. Despite the plummet in NASA's budget, the program has proved that it's prominence in the U.S., space programs like NASA continue to face difficulty in increasing its funds. Although, NASA leads evidently, the government doesn’t think NASA is worth more than 0.47 percent of the federal budget.
On June 30, 1908, the Tunguska Asteroid struck an isolated area in Siberia. The asteroid was 164 feet in diameter, and caused tragic devastation to the forest that it hit. People 37 miles away from where the asteroid touched down were knocked off their feet. If this asteroid were to hit a populated region of Siberia, thousands of people would have been killed. Asteroids have the ability to cause significant damage; it is believed by some that an asteroid wiped out all the dinosaurs, in the Pre-historic Era. However, thanks to NASA, today there is nothing to worry about because of the satellites it has launched. NASA already does so much with the little money the government provides, if congress decides to continue funding for the company, its possibilities are endless.
Bill Nye, the “Science Guy,” asserts, “NASA is an engine of innovation and inspiration as well as the world's premier space exploration agency, and we are well served by politicians working to keep it that way, instead of turning it into a mere jobs program, or worse, cutting its budget.” The United States of America’s government is currently in an economic debt encompassing billions of US dollars. Unfortunately, the government has attempted to balance finances by cutting the funding for most programs, including NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA, in over half a century, has brought the most economic, technological, and social benefits than any other program held here in the USA, as well as any other extraterrestrial program in the world. The last thing this nation needs is the cutting of NASA finances. NASA should be receiving more funding because the Earth will not last forever and humans will need a place to live, there’s a curiosity within humans about the vast universe they live in, there is evidence to suggest life on other planets, the USA’s superpower status will be improved, and the economical income NASA brings is more efficient than any other governmental or educational program.
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.
Would you want to live on Mars? Some would say yes, others no, I am against going to Mars and think that we should stick to Earth and put our time, money, and energy into fixing this planet. I will show you all the reason why we can not go to that red planet.
According to Space.com the Federal Government approved a budget of $16.6 billion for NASA in 2014. Approximately 1/3 of that will be spent on space exploration.
Over the past few years, NASA has been the victim of larger and larger budget cuts. The United States government thinks that money that should be being used for funding NASA is more useful elsewhere. This is a real shame, space travel is the future. One day we will run out of resources,or become over crowded on Earth, and mankind will have to expand to the stars for another place to live. Space travel is our future and needs exploration. NASA should be more highly funded by the United States government, in order to continue research towards future objectives.
In conclusion, Continuing NASA and the programs run by it, is harmful to American society and Government. NASA harms the economy. NASA also harms the environment in which we live. And the money that NASA spends could be used to help solve problems in our country, not on another planet. Only if we work together, fixing our own problems first, respectfully with each other, as one body, one world, and one planet, then we will be able to reach out into space. We will be able to explore it safely, efficiently, and environmentally soundly.
There are many opinions on if the Government should continue funding NASA or not. My belief is that yes, the Government should continue funding Nasa for many important reasons. One of those being is that NASA’S technology helps save new mothers, We use their inventions in our everyday lives and, NASA is far more advanced than other private companies.
Space Exploration has waisted billions of dollars on just failed attempts to go to space. This is foolish, when we have so many problems in the world to solve. World problems range from poverty and starving people to natural disaster damage. Every problem requires a surplus of money. This means we can’t spare any to unnecessary causes such as space exploration.
NASA’s research and innovation looked promising, but it came at a cost. Money, resources, and spacecraft accidents, most famously Apollo 13 all hindered NASA’s research. In the 21st century, the debate over funding for NASA is at its peak since the birth of the organization in 1958, especially when there are numerous problems throughout the world. Is the money spent on space exploration worth the advantages and advances it contributes to society? When considering this topic, one might ask themselves, why explore space?
And it creates knowledge and know-how that benefit us all” (Dunford). This is a very important fact to get through people’s minds that even though space travel can be considered “expensive” the money stays here and is distributed back to the people. Charles Bolden who is a NASA administrator said “It’s also important to remember that the $2.5 billion investment made in this project was not spent on Mars, but right here on Earth, supporting more than 7,000 jobs in at least 31 states,” (Howell). This fact is usually forgotten by many people today most think that when the government spends money it just disappears. With the space program this is untrue in the case of the mission to Mars “The money spent went into salaries of highly-skilled engineers, programmers, managers, and independent contractors in over twenty states across the country” (Dreier).
The main argument against space travel is that the money used could be better put on other matters. This is, in fact, very untrue. Looking at NASA’s 2015 budget of $17.5 billion, it may seem like a lot, until you realize that the US military budget for 2014 was $581 billion (5). Furthermore, it was estimated that each dollar in NASA’s budget was equivalent to 8 – 10 dollars of economic benefit (6). If an organization can bring about economic value at 10 folds the original budget, it would be logical to continue funding it, if not increasing the funds.
Even with a federal budget of over $18 billion NASA still manages to bypass through these budget cuts. NASA propitiously influences our economy, increasing the United States’ economical standards. NASA’s space research has contributed positively to our society through technological innovations, many successful missions, and a greater comprehension of our universe. NASA benefits our society by exposing us to new technological innovations. NASA has developed machines
Most people think that the costly downside to funding space exploration is a reason to avoid spending money on sciences and instead spend it on problems here on earth, but such funding for space exploration actually promotes economical as well as scientific benefits. Space exploration is an important expenditure for the high cost because of the potential for numerous benefits such as the possibility to find useful resources to cultivate, space exploration and satellites produce many thousands of jobs in our economy, and it creates and discovers newer and better technologies through research and development.