Have you heard the common discussion of space travel? Wouldn’t it be wondrous to not only reach for the stars, but reach beyond them? It is in human nature to want to explore and discover the unknown. Space has left much to our imagination and many people can not help but wonder what it would be like to explore more. However, before we embark on such a journey like space exploration, we must consider what important decisions have to be made. With our current technology going to space will harm us more than help us. As seen in Source D there have been many improvements in our lives; death rates have gone down, childhood cancer survival has risen, the rate of death from AIDS has gone down, sudden infant death syndrome has decreased in numbers, infectious disease that killed millions are now avoided by vaccines, and many facing depression have been given sufficient help. All of these improvements have happened between 1975 and 2001.(Source D) Our technology continually …show more content…
These people believe because we could look down and see how small we are, we would realize how unimportant our fights are. As Collins said, “That all-important border would be invisible, that noisy argument suddenly silenced.” (Source G) That is a possibility, however, what about the space race? Earth was being seen for the first time from above and no borders were visible. That did not stop the United Stated and Russia from finding something to fight over. Russia was thrown into bankruptcy and the U.S. was close to the same fate, yet that did not stop us from the unnecessary competition that lasted years. If we had collaborated, both countries would have been better off financially and tension could have been avoided. We also could have furthered technology and exploration ranges. It is human nature to cause such disputes and going further in space will only cause more and more problems amongst
The Cold War formed political, social, and economic struggles that impacted the two world superpowers, the United States and Soviet Union. The war began in 1947 at the end of WWII and lasted until the fall of the Soviet Union on December 26, 1991. During the 1950’s, the United States and USSR began their fight in space to prove who had better technology, military firepower, and also stronger social, political, and economic systems. Due to the political, social, and economic changes during the Space Race, the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union began to drift apart. During the Cold War both the United States and Soviet Union were so caught up in the war that they formed tension within their relationship. This led to the Soviet Union and United States space programs to work even harder in their voyage in the Space Race.
INTRODUCTION Attention-getter: “Space travel benefits us here on Earth. And we ain’t stopped yet. There’s more exploration to come.” (Nichelle Nichols from Star Trek) Credibility: Throughout our childhood as we study space, solar systems, planets we all come to a point of having the dream of exploring the space or learn more about it in the future.
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.
The debate about space exploration has been raging on for decades, people on both sides of the issue vehemently arguing their point of view. However despite the possible risk space exploration has the potential to change humanity for the better, and doing so is well worth the risk. This essay will elaborate some of the plethora of ways that space exploration could benefit mankind.
As a country we need to start investing more money and research into space technology. Programs currently exist for this effort, but the potential for research and progress is limited by a lack of funding; compared to other government funded programs, aerospace funding is pitiful. Continued research in space technology is a necessary step in our growth and development not just as a country but also as entire human race. If we are to achieve this goal, it is necessary to increase funding for space research and technology and consider the possibility of colonizing outer space. If we limit our existence to the planet Earth, and continue to drain the resources on this planet, we will destroy the only home we have.
Outer space has always intrigued the human mind. Ever since humans inhabited the Earth, they have always looked to the heavens. Ptolemy, who lived over two thousand years ago, dreamed of being with the stars. He said, “I know that I am mortal by nature, and ephemeral; but when I trace at my pleasure the windings to and fro of the heavenly bodies I no longer touch the earth with my feet: I stand in the presence of Zeus himself and take my fill of ambrosia” (Tyson). At that time, reaching the “final frontier” was not even remotely possible.
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.
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).
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.
We are already ruining Earth, why expand to space as well? Humans have plagued our planet for many, many years now. For example, a civil war over states right or paying billions of dollars to exploit a planet. We shouldn't bring our small brains and impulse thinking to a highly dangerous place, such as space. "Everybody's Going To Be a Space Pioneer" proudly proclaims an advertisement. People are already making brass ads which will always end badly. What happens on Earth should stay on Earth.
Now as we are rapidly approaching the Millenium many people are getting the blues. This seems absurd because this offers all of us a perfect chance to start again. NASA is embracing this chance to grow and expand their departments. The phrase, “Space, the final frontier,” expresses the world’s obsession with space travel, that started centuries before it even became popular 30 years ago in Gene Roddenberry’s TV series “Star Trek.” Science fiction has entertained our culture for years. Movies such as Star Wars and Planet of the Apes have helped fuel our desire to get off the planet earth, find new life forms, and conquer the stars. Science-fiction dreams of worlds beyond our solar system have taken on a more realistic aspect since astronomers discovered that the universe contains planets in surprisingly large numbers. Studying those distant planets might show how special Earth really is and tell us more about our place in the universe (NASA homepage). Finding a planet that can support human life would revolutionize our society into the Jetson’s. These ideas are soon to become our realities. NASA is currently experimenting with many methods to try to explore the outer edges of the galaxy. In order to understand NASA’s excitement about star traveling, we will first fly through current projects concerning space travel, second explore three possible technologies being experimented with for the year 2000, finally take a trip into our future and experience how star traveling will change our lives as we approach the end of the second millenium.
Human fascination with the stars is as ancient as Babylonians and has been suggested to be older than Stonehenge. From “be fruitful and multiply” to “live long and prosper,” the instinct to protect and propagate the species has manifested in religion, art, and the imaginations of countless individuals. As human understanding of space treks out of the fantastical and into the scientific, the realities of traveling through and living in space are becoming clearer. Exploring, investigating, and living in space pose an expansive series of problems. However, the solutions to the problems faced by mankind's desire to reach beyond the horizon, through the night sky, and into the stars are solutions that will help in all areas of life on Earth.
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.
An Astronomy topic that has always been intriguing is space travel. The ability to rocket into space, look down on Earth, and “…explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before” (IMDB) is an adventure that people dream of experiencing. On July 20, 1969, an estimated six million people watched Neil Armstrong become the first man to walk on the Moon (Nixon Library). Presently, people are paying Virgin Galactic $250,000 to reserve a seat on a spaceship that is expected to tour suborbital space in the near future (Virgin Galactic). Although space travel continues to be of interest, there is also some controversy. Controversies include: the allocation of government resources for space exploration, government verses commercial spacecrafts, and the need to colonize other planets for the survival of humanity. The intrigue and the controversy of space travel are the reasons for this Astronomy conversation.
Space exploration is very beneficial to humankind because it creates new technologies, it brings different countries together, and gives people a better understanding of our Earth.