Imagine: a catastrophic event similar to the extinction of the dinosaurs has happened. With humanity wiped out, one person says, “We could have prevented this.” In 2017, NASA received $19.3 billion in funds from the US government to operate. Even though that seems expensive, NASA only uses about 0.5% of the Federal Budget. Space exploration should continue because of the advances it has given to society and the future. It has advanced technology, it provides future generations with necessary knowledge, it can help us with foreign relations, the crewed missions are more scientifically beneficial, and it increases availability for jobs.
First, Technology has progressed significantly since the start of the space age. For example, Methods used
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It is well known space exploration is an effective way of inspiring students to join STEM courses. For example, returning to the moon will not require as many advancements with technology. A mission to Mars, on the other hand, will inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers, doctors, and educators to reach that goal (Webster). This article states that even though a return to the moon will not see a large advancement in technology, but it will be enough to possibly inspire a generation to go in to science and engineering fields to make a mission to Mars possible. During the early days of space exploration in the 1960’s, people were inspired as children to go into engineering, which created the private space sector. In his childhood, Dale Thomas, a former director at the Marshall Space Flight Center, remembered watching his father, an engineer at General Electric, build the Apollo launch sequencer. This started an interest in the space program, especially how private industry can work better with government agencies like NASA (Duggins and Cole). This article says that watching leaps in space can inspire the current generation to help in the private industry to work toward goals. The main reason why the current generation is not inspired to go into science and engineering related fields is sadly, there is not many interesting firsts in space exploration …show more content…
A prime example of this is the International Space Station, which has been one of the most successful international projects in history. Starting 1998, the US, Russia, Canada, Japan, and the ESA, the ISS is the most ambitious international undertaking currently attempted. The largest station ever built, it has been visited by astronauts from 18 countries (“International cooperation”). Since this project has started, astronauts from nations that were once enemies have had a positive relationship in orbit. Also, establishing good relations in space can also help nations in the event they need to rely on each other for help. For example, allowing Russia to join the International Space Station project (ISS) proved to be a wise decision for its survival. When Space Shuttle Columbia was destroyed in 2003, the Russian Soyuz spacecraft became the only way to keep the ISS in service for nearly two years. Now with the Shuttle retired, the ability to support the aging station falls on the Russian agency until the US develops new transportation (Slazer). In other words, it was a good idea to let Russia join the ISS project because a backup mode of transport would be needed in the event that something would go wrong with the shuttle. Finally, working together in space can also have positive effects on Earth. For example, NASA could enhance how much it provides to national security by putting an
NASA helped usher in a promising new future in the 1960s and it was rewarded with a rapidly-eroding budget. The U.S. should invest more money in NASA and less on unnecessary health care and military. Budget cuts are affecting our technology development. Evidently, increasing NASA’s budget to 1 percent of the federal budget will not hurt the economy. But instead it would benefit by creating jobs here on earth, especially for the next generation of American scientists and engineers.
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.
The word race is defined at its core as a competition between runners, horses, vehicles, boats, etc. to see which is the fastest in covering a set course. Well, interestingly enough, a race of a different kind occurred between two countries from the years 1957 to 1969. The competition was unclear, and the opponents were on two entirely different continents, not something as simplistic as two horses. The United States and the United Soviet States of Russia both set out as arch rivals in the “Space Race,” a quest for dominance beyond the known Planet Earth. Ironically enough, just as communism was spreading to all parts of the world, the United States always sought to squash this form of government, despite somewhat dire consequences. Now, with
...in the space race each country racked up a series of important firsts. The moon marked the finish line for the space race and once that was conquered there was little left to explore with the current technologies. But the space programs continue and with them bring us new technologies and products. The cold war although was still in its prime but with the end of the space race closed one of the sources from which it was fueled.
These are the reasons why I believe there should be more investment in space research and technology. It would be a time consuming and financially draining quest, but the pay off in new technology, applications, resources, and expansion opportunities make it a goal to strive for. As our rate of consumption of Earth’s natural resources continues to increase, it is imperative that we invest in the research of outer space as a possible solution to sustaining the human race.
Space exploration needs advancing scientific research, more machineries and equipments which means that it would cost us a lot of
Colonizing Mars, it seems like a distant achievement. Some say impossible, some say it will happen soon. Since Elon Musk has entered this field of exploration colonization of Mars has seemed even more plausible. Still, problems have surfaced to make this much more difficult than it has to be. This makes some believe this to be impossible or unlikely for the time. Despite what side you are on we can both agree that we want to advance in space exploration.
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.
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.
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).
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.
As such, this essay will argue that space exploration is a necessity of our kind and that NASA should be progressively more financed. To begin with, space research has helped bring several developments to modern science, affecting the quality of our everyday lives. With issues like climate change, and population overgrowth, our species faces the risks of major extinction (4). Climate change has been a man-made problem in recent years that threatens our planet. It will take huge mitigations from current and future societies to even come close to reversing climate change.
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.
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.
“Our understanding of the Earth has increased due to space exploration. Scientists are able to study the Earth's atmosphere from space and understand the changes in climate and their effects on the life on Earth. A proof space travel is that it is possible to observe our planet from a distance” Explains UniverSavvy. “Changes in the environment, and issues like global warming and ozone depletion can be studied. Space exploration has helped answer questions like how the Earth was formed.” Space research will help us understand the Earth we live on. Without space research, we wouldn’t know about the ozone layer and we would be in serious trouble. Also, we can see our planet from a far away so we can see if hurricanes or other natural disasters are coming. Space exploration has also figured out where a lot of our natural resources come from.