Ever since man first made contact with the moon in 1969, there has always been a continuous eagerness to gain more knowledge about the unknown realm of the universe. This has lead to countless endeavors in the dynamics outside of earth. On a study that was done in 2011, space shuttles flew around earth in a total of “135 missions starting with the Colombia in April 1981 and ending with Atlantis on July 21” (sciencenews.org, 2011). It is also recorded that NASA had conducted space trips that amounted to 542,398,878 miles traveled, or 21,156 orbits around earth, have spent a total of 1,332 days, 20 hours, 1 minute, and 34 seconds, and have flown 355 individuals between this span of time (sciencenews.org, 2011). This amount of effort put into NASA has surely spent a heavy amount of money. In order to accumulate an image of how much money NASA spends, in the fiscal year of 2012, the United States federal government approved NASA with funding that equated to 3.9 billion dollars. NASA ended up outlaying about 20 million dollars into its own projects (NASA). In particular, in its existence as a whole, NASA has spent about 790 billion dollars, dating all the way back to 1959 (Hamilton). At the surface, this amount of money may seem unreasonable, but in comparison to other federal departments, NASA is actually not that expensive. For example, provided is what other departments ended up spending the 2013: • Defense department - $618 billion • Health and Human Services - $78.3 billion • Education – $71.2 billion • Housing and Urban Development - $33.1 billion • Energy - $28.4 billion • Agriculture - $21.5 billion (Amadeo, 2014) NASA actually only accumulates more federal spending than the Justice department, Transportation, and Treasury. In... ... middle of paper ... ... welfare programs that NASA’s money could contribute to if the government were solely focused on its own social programs. Space exploration is a huge part of advancing the knowledge of the human mind, but we cannot determine whether or not it takes away from the quality of some human lives. Taking money away from space exploration does not automatically mean that there will be a rise in the solving of worldwide economic and social problems. This depends on the government and the people who are spending the money. The question that needs to be addressed is if NASA is truly a productive and worthwhile financial investment while other people are constantly experiencing hardships in their lives in the forms of hunger and homelessness. Additionally, we need to determine if the U.S. proceeds in NASA’s efforts into space exploration can be, or is done in an ethical manner.
This is because if we let them, another country can one-up us which in the end can lead to major problems for the U.S. The NASA program also gives us a whole new insight to how we see things and how we live our lives daily. For example Google Maps, which is used by many people, uses satellite that we get from having this program. However, some of the money used for this category can be taken and put into another category such as the FBI. “The FBI is the Federal Bureau of Investigation which operates field offices in 58 cities to combat terrorism and crime” (Document E).
Such as poverty and health-care, but in fact NASA 's funding is only a half a cent on the dollar, and the U.S. spends most of its deficit on war and other barbaric acts. About 2.9 trillion dollars are used on health-care alone (Millman). The U.S. government spends a mere $17.7 billion on NASA and spends more than 36 times that on defense $647 billion, with nearly $20 billion alone in 2011 spent on air conditioning tents. Since NASA’s Cold War glory days, the budget has gone from 4.41% of the total budget in 1966, to less than 0.45% today, its lowest ever. NASA helped to usher in a promising new future in the 1960s and it was rewarded with a rapidly-eroding budget. The U.S. should invest more money in NASA and less on unnecessary health care and military. The budget cuts are affecting our technology development. Evidently, Increasing NASA 's to 1 percent of the federal budget will not hurt the economy. But instead it would benefit it by creating jobs here on earth, especially for the next generation of American scientists and engineers. By increasing funds it would support cutting edge aeronautics and space technology innovations, education, and development that will help fuel the nation 's economy for years to
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.
In 2013 spending on NASA will be at the lowest point in the last four years because the United States government is in extreme debt. Many feel that this will lead to a halt on all space exploration and technological advancements in the world of Astronomy. In my opinion I feel that this lack of funding for NASA will thoroughly hinder progress for future generations as well as our own.
Over the past few years, NASA has been the victim of larger and larger budget cuts. The United States government thinks that money that should be being used for funding NASA is more useful elsewhere. This is a real shame, space travel is the future. One day we will run out of resources,or become over crowded on Earth, and mankind will have to expand to the stars for another place to live. Space travel is our future and needs exploration. NASA should be more highly funded by the United States government, in order to continue research towards future objectives.
Have you ever wondered what Earth was like without space exploration? In the story Leaving Main Street the author states, “The United States has more important things to spend money on.” On the other hand some people believe that successful space programs adds to our economy,national prestige,create jobs,and improves national security. We shouldn't spend valuable resources on space exploration, because we could end hunger and poverty.
Think about NASA and all it's done for the better of humanity. Without it being funded, there is hardly anything to fuel any future interest in the space program nor would our world learn anymore about itself. NASA needs this funding to stay alive, to answer the world’s questions, and show everyone how it important it is to keep NASA
The question regarding the value in financially supporting large American institutions, such as NASA, has indeed generated prevalent debate. Bobby Braun addresses his individual view on this issue in his article entitled “Space Technology: A Critical Investment for Our Nation’s Future,” published on October 27, 2011, in which he argues that the United States government must continue to invest in NASA. Braun strengthens the logic and persuasiveness of his argument by incorporating facts and examples about the benefits of NASA’s contributions to American society in order to support his central claims and by asserting the long-term influence of NASA’s existence as well as a powerful call to action in order to emphasize the significance of the organization to the reader.
Although, like many projects, financial support is needed in order to provide the materials necessary for furthering our education. According to source C, only four cents of every dollar goes toward education, this needs to change. Space could help us solve challenges we face in our world today while overcoming unknown complications we may face in a new environment. Through space exploration we are putting money toward a "research and development, salaries, benefits, doctors, teachers, scientist’s… corporations and businesses both large and small. (Source A)" In fact, space satellites have inspired numerous scientists to find new ways to cut emissions while conserving energy, overall working to stop global warming and preserve the life of our world along with the human species. Funding is vital in order to expedite space exploration and provide our scientists with superior machines. Many do not realize this is not just a "silly research project,” it is a cause that not only benefit our generation, but many generations to
However, thanks to NASA, today there is nothing to worry about because of the satellites it has launched. NASA already does so much with the little money the government provides, if Congress decides to continue funding the company, its possibilities are endless. The government gives NASA $16 billion every year. That is only 7% of the federal government’s budget, which is $2.8 trillion. To put it in perspective, for every $2800 in federal government budget, $16 goes to NASA.
According to Space.com the Federal Government approved a budget of $16.6 billion for NASA in 2014. Approximately 1/3 of that will be spent on space exploration.
...fe, with the inventions they have produced and by learning what they have done I think the budget should be increased. I am a firm believer in that science holds the answers to our problems in the world. If NASA and other scientific organization continue their research I think issues and problems in the world will fix themselves. For example, if NASA or another organization finds a way to effectively convert salt contaminated water to fresh drinkable water, our problem regarding water shortage will subside. Maybe NASA found a way to have cars or some other found of transportation run on soil, sand, or grass (very unlikely but it is possible). NASA would need workers to build these devices, which would create many low education jobs across the country. Continued funding for NASA and other scientific organizations will fix the social injustice problems of the world.
Mankind has always been fascinated with exploring the unknown. From sailing to distant lands to someday setting foot on other planets, the spirit of exploration is the same. Bur now with the current economic situation and the high cost of sending people to space, NASA is being looked at as a way to free up some much needed funds. Although, there is many problems here on planet Earth that need addressing, the benefits of space exploration far out weight the disadvantages. Space exploration has given us more advanced technology, advances in the medical field, and a boost to the economy and these facts cannot be disputed.
Even if we disregard the economic value of the space program, the achievements of NASA speak for themselves. The ability to send humans onto the moon, survey the surface of Mars using the Curiosity rover, and even find water on a foreign planet is astounding. Even looking at the International Space Station, it seems abundantly clear that the space program brings more unanimity between nations than the military will ever hope to achieve, while the military has a budget 33 times that of the space program. Hence, blaming the costs of the space program is an absurd argument, as the budget that is put into the program is used very proficiently.
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.