Is Human Spaceflight a Thing of the Past?

1079 Words3 Pages

"That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." - Neil Armstrong (Dunbar). When Armstrong took those first steps on the moon he probably never realized that, in the future, people would be questioning whether we should continue spaceflight. Some question whether human space flight is worth all the money that goes into it. So why not send robots, others inquire, they are less expensive to send. Some question whether space flight is necessary at all and plead with others to focus on the problems we face here on Earth. Others would refute that remark and say that space flight helps us to understand our own planet and is therefore benefiting us. Not to mention all the inventions that are created that aid in everyday life that were created in the space flight endeavor Importance: This topic is important because this is our future. This is the nations money, should we be willing to spend this money for knowledge or should we be using this for issues here on Earth? We explore or we do not explore. We send live beings to space or robots. The Space, Policy, and Society Research Group Massachusetts Institute of Technology stresses the importance of space flight when they say “The recent Bush vision gives a representative set; search for habitable worlds away from Earth, possibly leading to the discovery of present or past life on other planets, develop a new technology; inspire children to study and seek careers in science, technology, engineering, and math; and symbolize American democracy to the world.” The essence of what they are saying is space flight is important to us as a nation because it aids in discovery, the inventing of new technology, and it inspires children. Though, others would argue that it is important ... ... middle of paper ... ...k together for a cause they are excited about. Hulst is also saying that human space travel is more relatable than robot space travel. Works Cited Dunbar, Brian. "July 20, 1969: One Giant Leap For Mankind." NASA. NASA, 19 July 2013. Web. 6 Mar. 2014. Halvorson, Todd. "NASA Chief: We Explore Because That's What Humans Do." Florida Today. 23 Aug. 2012: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher.Web. 26 Feb. 2014.’ Kaku, Michio. "The Cost Of Space Exploration." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 16 July 2009. Web. 8 Mar. 2014. Space Exploration." (n.d.): Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia. Web. 27 Feb. 2014. Space, Policy, and Society Research Group Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Future of Human Spaceflight. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Web. 4 Mar. 2014. "This House believes in manned space flight." idebate.org. 21 Feb 2012. idebate.org, Web. 27 Feb 2014.

Open Document