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Spending money on space exploration
Spending money on space exploration
Should the government fund space exploration
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Recommended: Spending money on space exploration
The idea of space travel has fired the imaginations of people for hundreds of years. From the publication of Jules Verne’s book, From the Earth to the Moon, in 1865 to the recent release of the movie, The Martian, space travel has held a special place in the hearts of human beings. However, unlike so many other fictional sciences, modern humans have the capability to travel through space! Unfortunately, skeptics say that space exploration is a futile waste and that programs like NASA are throwing away money that the government should spend on more useful projects. These naysayers would put to death one of the greatest undertakings in human history without considering the various values of space travel. For one instance, numerous innovative …show more content…
This invention is the man-made satellite. Space programs first launched satellites during the 1950s and ‘60s as the first step in launching spacecraft. Since NASA took the first satellite photo in 1959, Earth-orbiting satellites have realized their full potential as scientific and commercial aids (Stillman). Today, companies and governments worldwide utilize satellites for a variety of applications. Satellite make wireless internet, television, radio, and phone service possible from anywhere in the world. Satellites dedicated to the Global Positioning System (GPS) are especially important. According to Robert S. Bachelder, “Any major problem with the Global Positioning System would disrupt fire, ambulance, and police operations around the world” (Bachelder). Meteorologists utilize satellites extensively to observe weather patterns and predict weather. Because of meteorology satellites, weather forecasts are much more accurate. Man-made satellites are integral to the working of the modern world, and they could not have come to exist without the advancements of space programs. Continued space exploration will undoubtedly yield technologies that will be just as useful, if not more so, than the …show more content…
Private corporations, such as the Tempur-Pedic mattress company and the Umqua water purification company, received their start in the NASA space program (McBrien). Companies like these employ hundreds of Americans, and the world would surely feel their absence if these businesses did not receive a jump start from NASA. Space programs themselves contribute significantly to the economy, furnishing a significant return on the money invested in them. Estimates of NASA’s economic gain relative to money spent range from 2-to-1 to as high as 14-to-1 (McBrien). In any event, the companies and technologies that originated in space research certainly provide full reimbursement for government spending on
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), was booming in the late 1960 's 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. NASA is being underfunded and its funding should be substantially increased to make ends meet. This trend needs
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.
Dubner, Stephen. "Is Space Exploration Worth the Cost?." Freakonomics: The Hidden Side of Everything. New York Times, 11/1/2010. Web. 18 Jul 2010. .
The question and controversy central to this paper and following ones will be “Should NASA be funded?” This question has several sub-questions and will need to be answered with accuracy and care. To further define the question, NASA’s current level of funding,
With the advances in technology and humanity’s ever growing need, the concept of space colonization is being discussed more and more as a possible solution to many of the problems that the planet Earth is facing. W. H. Siegfried, in his article “Space Colonization—Benefits for the World,” adopts the viewpoint that space colonization would be beneficial to the human race. Lynda Williams, on the other hand, chooses to view the idea of colonial space as unreasonable at this time in her article, “Irrational Dreams of Space Colonization.” Both of these authors make reasonable arguments, however, Williams provides a much more effective, well organized, and logical point of view.
Accordingly Livingston’s passage disproves Russell Roberts oral commentary “Funding Space Travel”, where he states, “as much as I like space and the idea of people on Mars, I don’t see the case for using taxpayer money to get it done… leave the money here on Earth” (Source H). Livingston emphasizes the point that the small amount of money allocated for space research and exploration, as demonstrated in Andrew Chamberlain’s “Pennies of Each Federal Spending Dollar” (Source C), is also being used to help the economy by indirectly warranting the need for more jobs directly related to the space program and those created by the city of Houston which has grown to accommodate the space industry and all of its’ employees. Through the small investment of money put into space, the return has benefitted “corporations and businesses both large and small” (Source A), not to mention the
If a planet-scaled catastrophe occurred on Earth, would the human race survive? This question has emerged and disappeared throughout the 21st Century, and it's highest point of interest was during the years 2011 and 2012, because it was the National Debate Topic. During the debates, only 36% of people disagreed that space exploration is not the right thing to do. I support the Colonization of Space, because the extinction of the human race is inevitable if a new home is not discovered, according to astrophysicist Dr. Richard Gott III. He calculated that human beings would either outgrow the planet or not survive in at least 5100 years. Humans would have to explore different planets in the interest of survival.
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,
Humans have dreamed of leaving the earth and traveling space for many years, and up to this day they have taken many steps in the right direction. Yet, with every new frontier they approach, new problems loom over the horizon. All problems involved with space exploration may not directly involve space itself. Many of those problems surface right here on Earth. Some of the easier issues have been resolved, such as escaping the forces of gravity to reach outer space. More of these problems are far more arduous and the solutions need more time to be worked out properly. In “The Coming Schism” by James E. and Alcestis R. Oberg, humans have already begun colonizing space, yet there are still new problems arising. Major problems such as financing, communication and culture conflicts are important in the journey to space, because they all have the potential to disrupt progress.
It was a time unlike no other other time that had occurred, planet Earth was flourishing and technology was advancing to levels never before imagined. That is until we paid too much attention to what was out there rather than paying attention to our own affairs and every nation contributed well over billions to what was thought to be the most successful space mission in the recorded history of mankind. But the mission did not exactly go as planned as there were a few dilemmas aboard a massive space vessel.
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.
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.
“I think fundamentally the future is vastly more exciting and interesting if we're a spacefaring civilization and a multiplanet species than if we're or not. You want to be inspired by things. You want to wake up in the morning and think the future is going to be great. And that's what being a spacefaring civilization is all about.” says Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX.
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.
We have benefitted our world by using satellite technology to preform tasks and provide a range of innovated services. The main applications of satellites are in the fields of communication, Earth Remote Sensing, weather, and scientific research. In some ways the use of satellites has made our world smaller. Satellites make it possible to establish a connection between two people that are on opposite ends of the globe via a telephone call or the use of the internet. Each of these satellites have many parts, but two parts are common to all satellites are called the payload and the bus. These groups of devices make the satellite capable of accomplishing their tasks.