The Space Race: The Cost Of Space Exploration

Ever since the beginning of time, humanity’s greatest achievements have always been driven by our fundamental desire to explore. It is human nature to be curious, to question, and to go where no man has gone before. This should come as no surprise, as every man, woman, and child is the descendant of someone who survived by outsmarting or outperforming others. Mankind has always been consumed by the need to push the limits and achieve the impossible. However, with today’s population increasing exponentially, humans have ran out of mountain tops to conquer, and more importantly, in a couple of decades we will eventually exhaust all the resources this planet has to offer. If humanity wants to continue progressing and not become stagnant,

If the space industry really gets going, and we start to mine asteroids and set up lunar, possibly Martian, colonies we would see the greatest economic expansion in the history of man. We are currently on that path, just at a slower pace due to budget cuts. However, with private industries like SpaceX and Virgin Galactic joining the space race, the competition to be the cheapest should serve as a catalyst to jump start the movement. As this emerging industry continues to grow, so will the need for highly qualified employees. This would fix our dilemma with, college students graduating and having nowhere to go. It would give adults the motivation to pursue higher education along with captivating the hearts and minds of young children. Children need astronauts to look up to, they need to have a goal that is right on the edge of impossible. Will Smith, a firm believer in self-worth and hard work once said, “Being realistic is the most common path to mediocrity.” It is true that many of humanity’s greatest ideas we not realistic and having that mentality impedes progress. It is sad how many people will say we are 18 trillion dollars in debt, let’s be realistic do we need to spend 17 billion on space junk? 17 billion dollars sounds like a lot until it is compared to the cost of the war in the Middle-East which will eventually total 4 trillion (Washington Post). Aside from helping America’s economy to grow, it will also improve relations with foreign countries. Just as the International Space Station united eleven countries with a common goal, many countries will want to join us and be a part of next gold rush in space. Advancing our goals in space is not just one way to improve the economy, it is the only