As humans our desire to visit space has never ceased, but our scientific advances have so far only allowed manned visits to the moon. There are many political factors that influence the ongoing attempts to engineer space tourism and future missions to Mars, which has been in the works since the twentieth century. High costs and risks involved in spaceflight due to the longevity in space and the effects of cosmic rays have been many of the setbacks in making it a reality. The United States is currently unable to conduct human spaceflight after losing its capability to launch upon the retirement of the space shuttle in 2011. China National Space Administration and Russia Federal Space Agency are the only two government facilities that continue sending humans to space. Should spaceflight agencies continue manned missions to outer space? I believe that many people are not aware of all the knowledge we have gained from sending trained professionals into outer space in the past. Global issues amongst many other problems have been improved due to necessary collaborations made in the name of science and exploration.
Is it wise to continue the funding of NASA for future space travels? The health risks involved in visiting alien planets are extremely high as well as the cost for the roundtrip, which has been estimated to be between 6 to 500 billion dollars for various crewed programs. President Barack Obama has recently signed a 17.6 billion dollar NASA budget that will be used to focus on missions beyond Earth's orbit (Clark). I have found this to be wonderful news that our nation is still supporting such projects as they are the future and the hope of our existence. With modern day technology and the pace in which it advances, it is fool...
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...umans by nature will have to relocate as it has been throughout the entire existence of the species in the planet. The only possibility that humans have for relocation is to move to a neighbor planet. According to experts in the physics and astrophysics department in 2078 Mars, Europa, and Titan will align and it will be the only opportunity in decades to visit these in one mission (Lali). Mars, although not habitable like Earth, is perhaps the safest planet to one day call home. Although its atmosphere is not equal to Earths' it is capable of sustaining life; therefore, it needs to be examined closely by humans, because the knowledge acquired by satellites and robots is limited. The opportunity of relocating is also ideal to allow Earth to heal over a period of time, which is estimated to be a little over a decade, and then perhaps returning home would be possible.
NASA is being underfunded and its funding should be substantially increased to make ends meet. This trend needs to be changed and re-evaluated. About $2.9 trillion is spent 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 is a symbol of all things American, including the positive and the negative. NASA displays technical excellence, unflappable determination, and a sense of innovation that some could call uniquely American. NASA also shows a profound organizational malaise, an unwillingness to respond to new technologies, an inability to operate safely, and a bloated bureaucracy that refuses to stay on budget. NASA is quite simply, the best and worst of the United States, summed up in one organization.
To fund, or not to fund: That is the question. When it comes to funding from the government, NASA gets the short end of the stick. Without this funding and support from the government, the search for discoveries that could further help the world and find out more about space itself would be put to a halt. The question isn’t whether NASA should get more money, the question is what the company would do with it once the budget is increased. According to Leonard Richards, Laura Riggan, and Preston Martin, “it’s alright to fund NASA as long as the company is doing something worthwhile with the money.”
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.
The Space Race began in or around the late-1950s, during the Cold War. The United States and Russia were both anxious to become the country to explore space. Unfortunately for the US, Russia launched the first artificial satellite and man-made object to orbit Earth, Sputnik. The launch of Sputnik surprised the United States, and we rushed to get our own space craft into space, and to beat Russia to anything else space related.
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.
Carl Sagan once said “every planetary civilization will be endangered by impacts from space, every surviving civilization is obliged to become spacefaring--not because of exploratory or romantic zeal, but for the most practical reason imaginable: staying alive... If our long-term survival is at stake, we have a basic responsibility to our species to venture to other worlds.” The National Aeronautics and Space Administration or NASA, is executing Sagan’s words every day. President Dwight D. Eisenhower created NASA in 1958 with the purpose of peaceful rather than military space exploration and research to contribute to society. Just 11 years after the creation, NASA put Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon, the first humans to accomplish this feat. NASA’s research and innovation looked promising but it came at a cost. Money, resources, and spacecraft accidents most famously Apollo 13 all hindered NASA’s research. In the 21st century the debate between funding for NASA is at its peak since the birth of the organization in 1958 especially when there are numerous problems throughout the world. Is the money spent on space exploration worth the advantages and advances it contributes to society?
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.
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.
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.
The 1960's brought new advancements for all of Earth. Machines and men were sent into space, and this sparked a new government agency, called NASA. Space was a new frontier, and virtually everyone was interested in exploring it. Over the years, the interest in space exploration has weakened, and NASA was almost terminated from existence, although there have been many advancements in it over that time. Space exploration should continue because it could help solve many problems on Earth, such as overpopulation and lack of resources. Exploration of the final frontier must continue in order for human life to continue.
The main argument against space travel is that the money used could be better put on other matters. This is, in fact, very untrue. Looking at NASA’s 2015 budget of $17.5 billion, it may seem like a lot, until you realize that the US military budget for 2014 was $581 billion (5). Furthermore, it was estimated that each dollar in NASA’s budget was equivalent to 8 – 10 dollars of economic benefit (6). If an organization can bring about economic value at 10 folds the original budget, it would be logical to continue funding it, if not increasing the funds.
Space has always been a pivotal and utmost important subject for many years. In the past, scientists have made monumental advances in this field such as sending people into orbit and landing a man on the moon. Of course, this has only barely been explored and we still have a lot more to see of the ever-vast outer space. One of the most significant topics of all of science has only been touched and there’s still more to come.
“Sheltered as we are by Earth's atmosphere and magnetic field, which deflect lethal radiation from space, we are like coddled children who have never ventured into a tough neighborhood” (Folger 2). Humans have been fascinated with space since the beginning of our time. Just like children and rough neighborhoods, we have tackled obstacle over obstacle to make it home again. In the end, we have a better knowledge and strength than before. The future of space exploration can assist us in answering the everlasting question of how the universe came to be. The more we explore the infinite galaxies, the more we can scientifically discover and create new technologies as science advances. As we continue to discover, we can create new fields and occupations for aspiring young students like myself.
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.