Pros And Cons Of Space Travel

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The idea of space travel has fired the imaginations of people for hundreds of years. From the publication of Jules Verne’s book, From the Earth to the Moon, in 1865 to the recent release of the movie, The Martian, space travel has held a special place in the hearts of human beings. However, unlike so many other fictional sciences, modern humans have the capability to travel through space! Unfortunately, skeptics say that space exploration is a futile waste and that programs like NASA are throwing away money that the government should spend on more useful projects. These naysayers would put to death one of the greatest undertakings in human history without considering the various values of space travel. For one instance, numerous innovative …show more content…

This invention is the man-made satellite. Space programs first launched satellites during the 1950s and ‘60s as the first step in launching spacecraft. Since NASA took the first satellite photo in 1959, Earth-orbiting satellites have realized their full potential as scientific and commercial aids (Stillman). Today, companies and governments worldwide utilize satellites for a variety of applications. Satellite make wireless internet, television, radio, and phone service possible from anywhere in the world. Satellites dedicated to the Global Positioning System (GPS) are especially important. According to Robert S. Bachelder, “Any major problem with the Global Positioning System would disrupt fire, ambulance, and police operations around the world” (Bachelder). Meteorologists utilize satellites extensively to observe weather patterns and predict weather. Because of meteorology satellites, weather forecasts are much more accurate. Man-made satellites are integral to the working of the modern world, and they could not have come to exist without the advancements of space programs. Continued space exploration will undoubtedly yield technologies that will be just as useful, if not more so, than the …show more content…

Private corporations, such as the Tempur-Pedic mattress company and the Umqua water purification company, received their start in the NASA space program (McBrien). Companies like these employ hundreds of Americans, and the world would surely feel their absence if these businesses did not receive a jump start from NASA. Space programs themselves contribute significantly to the economy, furnishing a significant return on the money invested in them. Estimates of NASA’s economic gain relative to money spent range from 2-to-1 to as high as 14-to-1 (McBrien). In any event, the companies and technologies that originated in space research certainly provide full reimbursement for government spending on

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