Benefits Of Private Space Travel

1120 Words3 Pages

Private space travel should be encouraged. Private space exploration can lead to many positive benefits for our country. With the no longer continued support of public funding to NASA the threat of losing our space programs as a whole is in jeopardy. Putting an end to our space programs would destroy the continuation of space related research and all hopes of the United States reaching Mars. Privately funded companies would allow for continued research, hope of one day putting humans on Mars and most importantly explore many new things that were once never an option with government funded programs. The encouragement of private space travel is vital for our country. With the thought of Mars right around the corner many companies are scrambling …show more content…

The “gold rush” could soon become the “asteroid rush”. Mining space is something that has never been conducted behind NASA, but behind private companies this is a new venture that can be explored. Although, the technical aspects still need to be worked out and the thought of mining asteroids is ludicrous, this is a very feasible option. Many companies have already constructed a plan on how they could mine these asteroids. In an interview with Elon Musk, he discusses how mining asteroids will one day be able to sustain the space economy. When Musk refers to the space economy he is referencing his idea and plan of one day colonizing Mars along with constant interplanetary travel. “Others [asteroids] are substantial and potentially packed full of water and various important minerals, such as nickel, cobalt, and iron. One day, advocates believe, those objects will be tapped by variations on the equipment used in the coal mines of Kentucky or in the diamond mines of Africa. And for immense gain: According to industry experts, the contents of a single asteroid could be worth trillions of dollars” (Shaer). The thought of wiping out the entire United States debt with one or two successful excavations of an asteroids should be enough to gain public support of privately funded space programs. Although private, these companies will need immense public support. In order to gain billionaire investors and find people willing to risk their life to pioneer space, people want a plan. Private companies such as Blue Origin and SpaceX have provided the world with numerous plans on how we can commercialize space on our journey to discover more of the vast

Open Document