Space Exploration Dbq

Space Exploration
Space exploration is a significant part of today’s culture because it is improving our knowledge of what's beyond our atmosphere. It is important to consider the cost of space exploration, the risks, and how the world takes care of Earth. Overall, this issue requires society to consider the financial and ethical consequences that exploration has.
The topic of space exploration is significant because their are many important issues that need to be addressed. The amount of taxes Americans pay is on the rise, with space exploration being a little chunk of the puzzle. In a dollar worth of taxes, $.06 of it is in the ‘other’ category; within this category includes eleven services including space exploration (Source C). If you were to divide $.06 between eleven different services that leaves about $.005 per dollar of taxes. To look at it on a

broader scale, if you were to spend $100 on taxes, only $.54 would be going to space exploration.
As space exploration is becoming more popular, and more frequent among astronauts through NASA, its important to consider how humans treat the planet Earth, it is full of trash and pollution in the oceans, and even around cities and nature.

If Earth is treated this poorly, how would humans treat different planets if they were moved their? They would be polluting the planets and transforming them from their natural state. As NASA chief Michael Griffin is setting the stage for the expansion of human presence into the solar system, we need to think about the problems that occur with it (Source E). If humans are moving and exploring planets like the moon, or mars (as they are trying) it could potentially harm the planets if humans are not careful. As we make more frequent trips we are harming and changing the presence state the planets, especially since we cant even take care of our own planet. Disturbing these planets can cause disruption of migration routes, soil erosions and species extinction (Source E). Potentially our explorations could cause a more substantial risk than anticipated if NASA is not

careful.
Going into space can lead to a great deal of hazardous problems for the human body, that can harm the body long term. As recognized decades ago, there are hazardous risks of traveling through space, even going to the moon! Astronauts have returned back to Earth to be put into quarantine to prevent back contamination, which is the hazard that some infectious germs might be riding with them back to Earth (Source F). If this hazardous germ got out and reached the rest of the human population there could be a great safety risk involved. How would we survive this potential life threatening germ if humans were to move to different planets? It is also possible that the infection of alien ecosystems could get down to Earth as well, which gets their by attaching onto the spacecraft (Source F). Avoiding this possibility is almost nearly impossible. As once landing on Earth this torturous organism may spread its way around the Earth, with the risk of attaching to and harming living creatures.
Space exploration has many issues that need to be considered. As I feel the taxes being paid and and the risks to the planets themselves and earth are the most important. That being said, space exploration is important, but has some flaws in the system that may potentially be very harmful for living species.