Is Space Exploration Worth The Cost

1023 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Spending money on space exploration

The history of space exploration began with U.S satellite, Explorer 1, in January of 1958. The purpose of the satellite was to go into orbit around Earth. The date was July 29th, 1958 when NASA started and what would begin the Apollo missions to the moon (Garber N.p) and other missions like exploring the moon and Mars. “In 1961, it was decided that John Glenn would orbit Earth. This historic event made him the first American to orbit Earth.” (Aerospace.com P5). This event had made NASA want to explore what lies beyond Earth. The United States would never have been able to land on the moon or find water on Mars or create any of the technologies that could help humanity such as artificial limbs for humans or anti-icing systems during the winter …show more content…

As one user states, “The US government needs to stop spending money on space and start spending it on shelters for homeless people and feeding the starving people of the world. Not only that but the US owes China around $2,500,000,000,000 […]” (“Is Space Exploration”). Another post on the debate website states that “pollution is too high for both air and water, and that NASA’s funding could be better used for solving that problem instead of finding what lies beyond the atmosphere.” (“Is Space Exploration”). I disagree with the claim because NASA has developed a machine that reduces the amount of pollution in water by using beeswax. “tiny balls of beeswax with hollow centers are used… what happens is that water cannot pass through the cell, but rather the oil is absorbed into the spheres.” (NASA technologies). With this technology, this allows for oceans to reduce the damage taken by pollution. Space exploration is not worth the cost because, according to an article written by Brian Kennedy, “even though Americans are proud of NASA’s achievements and that they value the program, Americans are reluctant to pay more for space exploration.” (paragraph 10) According to Kennedy, he says that “Americans say that the US government spends too little on education (70%) and healthcare (57%)” (paragraph

Show More
Related

  • NASA Apollo 11: Neil Armstrong

    1345 Words  | 3 Pages

    "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," said by Neil Armstrong as he took his first steps on the moon during the NASA Apollo 11 expedition to the moon. No man has ever been to the moon before and NASA, The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, was the first to get someone to land on the moon. NASA has had many great accomplishments in exploring the "new frontier" that have affected the United States ever since it was first created in July 1958. The idea for NASA first started when the Soviet Union launched the first satellite on October 4, 1957. United States started up its own space travel program and started to work on its own projects that would be better in than the Soviet Union's. This all started the great space race. It was a big race between the Soviet Union and the United States to see who could learn and discover the most. The United States and Soviet Union started building and sending satellites and space ships. Then they tried to see who could make a suit and ship that would be able to allow a living thing to go up in space. They tested out all of the equipment with monkeys and dogs, seeing what would work. Many animals did die in the process but by the results of their testing they were able to build suits and ships that allow human beings to go up in space. Even though they were able to create these machines, that doesn't mean that they didn't have their difficulties and dangers. Two space shuttles were crashed or blown up. There were many key factors that they had learned to fix that resulted in the crashing of those ships. They have made many discoveries and accomplishments like having the first astronauts walk on the moon.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of NASA Funding On NASA

    1056 Words  | 3 Pages

    NASA is being underfunded and its funding should be substantially increased to make ends meet. This trend needs to be changed and re-evaluated. About $2.9 trillion is spent on health care alone (Millman). The U.S. government spends a mere $17.7 billion on NASA and spends more than 36 times that on defense $647 billion, with nearly $20 billion alone in 2011 spent on air conditioning tents. Since NASA’s Cold War glory days, the budget has gone from 4.41% of the total budget in 1966, to less than 0.45% today, its lowest ever.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of The Cold War

    1416 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Cold War presented the United States with a unique decision. The Soviet Union had created a space program and the United States needed to decide if a space program would be beneficial for them. The Soviets sent probes out to space, and soon American probes followed. There are many reasons that the U.S. could have made this decision, but two reasons are more prominent that the others. Firstly the United States found it necessary to compete with the Soviets, and they could not accept the fact that the U.S.S.R had something that they didn’t. Secondly, JFK and his administration thought that space was the final frontier, and it would provide valuable scientific research. Ultimately, John F Kennedy and the United States decided to create a space

    Read More

  • Increasing Funds for NASA

    1329 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Failure Of The Space Race In The United States

    1326 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Americans took a much more urgent approach after seeing what the U.S.S.R. was truly capable of. The United States would respond with various satellites including those of the Explorer Series and more. However, the Soviet Union would again one-up the United States, and all of their now seemingly feeble satellite launches, by putting the first man into outer space, Yuri Gagarin, in 1961. Now the quest gained an even more competitive drive and the United States soon put Alan B. Shepard into space twenty-three days later. The Space Race was truly a trek for the firsts of history, essentially just exterrestrial one-ups throughout an extended period of time. That very same year, John F. Kennedy founded NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, just for that purpose, to explore the world beyond their own, while maintaining the central aim, to beat the Soviets outright. JFK was a leading power in this race, and “by giving NASA programs top priority, his actions essentially played on American fears of communism and implicitly inferred that the Eisenhower administration had not done enough to meet the Sputnik challenge. Too many Americans were beginning to feel a need to vindicate the ‘long-standing communist boast that theirs was the superior system for galvanizing human productivity’” (Koman 43). Winning this space race was way more than just an extraterrestrial victory, it would hopefully squander the communists’ hopes and assert true American dominance. The United States sought to eliminate any presumption of communist superiority and did so in the near future by winning this Cold War space race, thanks to the execution of a truly unimaginable

    Read More

  • Is the Hubble Telescope Worth the Cost?

    947 Words  | 2 Pages

    Dubner, Stephen. "Is Space Exploration Worth the Cost?." Freakonomics: The Hidden Side of Everything. New York Times, 11/1/2010. Web. 18 Jul 2010. .

    Read More

  • Persuasive Speech On Space Exploration

    2129 Words  | 5 Pages

    When talking about the current space program, Neil Degrasse Tyson once said, “I got angry with America, because advancing is not just something you do incrementally. You need innovation as well, so that your advances are revolutionary, not merely evolutionary” (Tyson 3). America used to have the top space program in the world. Being first to the moon excited the country and gave everyone a sense of pride and fulfillment. Lately, though, we have been falling behind in space exploration. A successful space program is needed in America, and here’s why: we are losing our grip on the title as the world superpower and a new age of economics and politics is coming faster than we are prepared for. To be prepared for this new age we need the funds,

    Read More

  • Innovations Needed for Deep Space Exploration

    2718 Words  | 6 Pages

    It is within man’s blood and nature to explore, and space is our next New World. Man’s first achievement in space travel was the launch of the Sputnik on October 4, 1957. For the next decades, space travel was roaring like a rocket, fueled by man’s desire to explore, man’s desire for knowledge, and man’s desire to beat his enemies. However, these impulses have died out as the well of government funding has been diverted to wars and debts, and the interest of the American people has been diverted to wars and debts. Amidst all these issues it is debated as to whether or not space travel is worth the money and the attention of scientists, particularly since humanity faces so many issues on earth currently. However, because of the past inventions, current services, and future benefits, space travel is indeed worth the money and attention of governments and people. It is within our hands to control man’s advancement, and space travel is the next venue to do so.

    Read More

  • Why Should Humans Explore Space?

    1412 Words  | 3 Pages

    We explore space to compare other planets with the earth and to study the sun, to explore the universe while finding out 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). When considering space exploration, one can look at Columbus. If Columbus had never set out to find a better trade route but instead found the new world, the economy in Europe would have declined to the point where another country would have sent explorers out and that country would have discovered the new world.... ...

    Read More

  • Why Is Space Exploration Worth The Effort?

    888 Words  | 2 Pages

    The main argument against space travel says 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 dollars (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 if we disregard the economic value of the space program, the achievements of NASA speak for themselves. The ability to send humans onto the moon, survey the surface of Mars using the Curiosity rover, and even finding water on a foreign planet is astounding. Even looking at the International Space Station, it seems abundantly clear that the space program brings more unanimity between nations than the military will ever hope to achieve, while the military has a budget 33 times that of the space program. Hence, blaming the costs of the space program is an absurd argument, as the budget that is put into the program is used very

    Read More

  • Space Exploration and Travel: Necessary or Waste?

    865 Words  | 2 Pages

    In America, space travel is a controversial issue that many discuss. Although exciting, some people find it unnecessary and a waste of money. There are also many risks associated with space travel and many issues are more important than space travel that should be focused on. There are ethical, diplomatic, and economic issues that need to be considered before making decisions about space exploration.

    Read More

  • The Benefits of Space Exploration

    819 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mankind has always been fascinated with exploring the unknown. From sailing to distant lands to someday setting foot on other planets, the spirit of exploration is the same. Bur now with the current economic situation and the high cost of sending people to space, NASA is being looked at as a way to free up some much needed funds. Although, there is many problems here on planet Earth that need addressing, the benefits of space exploration far out weight the disadvantages. Space exploration has given us more advanced technology, advances in the medical field, and a boost to the economy and these facts cannot be disputed.

    Read More

  • Advantages of Space Exploration

    1395 Words  | 3 Pages

    The 1960's brought new advancements for all of Earth. Machines and men were sent into space, and this sparked a new government agency, called NASA. Space was a new frontier, and virtually everyone was interested in exploring it. Over the years, the interest in space exploration has weakened, and NASA was almost terminated from existence, although there have been many advancements in it over that time. Space exploration should continue because it could help solve many problems on Earth, such as overpopulation and lack of resources. Exploration of the final frontier must continue in order for human life to continue.

    Read More

  • Should Money Be Spent on Space Exploration?

    591 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Benefits of Space Exploration

    721 Words  | 2 Pages

    Space has always been a pivotal and utmost important subject for many years. In the past, scientists have made monumental advances in this field such as sending people into orbit and landing a man on the moon. Of course, this has only barely been explored and we still have a lot more to see of the ever-vast outer space. One of the most significant topics of all of science has only been touched and there’s still more to come.

    Read More

More about Is Space Exploration Worth The Cost

Open Document