Space Exploration (nasa= Good/bad)

wua05

Jul 24 2005, 04:10 AM

I wanted to see what people think about space exploration

I believe that it is necessary- heres my views on space exploration

Space exploration is one of the most important program humans ever had. There are some who believe that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) should be put at a halt. Others say that we as humans should spend more money on improving Earth such as using NASA’s budget for getting food to the poor. However, space exploration is important in many ways. Every day technology such as the news on television is made available by satellites. Also, what would life be like without the Internet or cell phones? Where would humans go when the sun explodes? However, the most important reason why space exploration is a must is because of human curiosity. Space exploration is crucial to the human race just as a keyboard is to a computer.
Many people believe that the money that is spent on space exploration is used unwisely. It is also said that the government should use the money for space exploration on feeding the poor. When the money used on NASA projects is totaled, the sum seems like an astounding number. In contrast, the federal government of the United States spends less than one percent of its budget on space exploration. More than thirty percent of its budget goes to helping the poor. If a hypothetical situation was set up where space exploration was completely eliminated and the money went to the poor, the additional money would be almost none. If each poor person were to receive one dollar with space exploration in place, he would receive three cents more if NASA’s budget were moved to
helping the poor. And with the poor receiving three cents, humans would lose the capability to communicate with Internet, not to mention cell phones and weather forecast.
Much of the technology we take for granted comes directly from NASA technology. To some, these technology advancements such as robots are not absolutely essential and serve for luxurious purposes. This statement is incorrect- hundreds or thousands of years ago, colonies of humans were destroyed by natural disasters. Earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, and floods could kill hundreds of thousands of people at a time. Now, the deaths can be eliminated by the same natural disasters with the help of weather forecasting. If an earthquake with a magnitude of twelve were to be occurring, people in the area would be warned and evacuated and by the time the earthquake comes, nobody would be hurt. Space exploration can save many lives.
One important reason why space exploration should not be banned is because colonization is possible. If population increase stays the same in twenty years, the human population will surely reach over eight billion. On the other hand, it is estimated in about five billion years, the sun will use up all of it’s fuel and literally annihilate our solar system. Where would humans go then? In five billion years, it is very likely that humans will have completely mastered space travel and be able to transport the entire population to another solar system. Millions of years ago, dinosaurs dominated the Earth. In a few years a meteor wiped out the entire population of dinosaurs. If humans were placed in this situation, space travel could be a solution. Already, theories are being formed. There are many ideas such as nuclear fission, which could allow travel to another galaxy far away. Another widely accepted theory is terraforming. There are many plants that
can survive in an environment as harsh as Mars. If they were planted there, oxygen could be renewed, other plants such as trees could be grown. It is hypothesized that in a hundred years, if this theory were used, Mars could be inhabitable in the same way as Earth.
I believe that the single most important reason space exploration should be promoted is human curiosity. Since the beginning of time, humans always wanted to explore. At first, what you could see was the limit. Then, the whole Earth was charted and mapped. When the sky was the limit, humans dared to challenge the fact that this was not true. After discovering that the Earth was spherical, planets were becoming named one by one. It was found that we lived in a solar system, and that we rotated the sun, instead of general belief that “Earth is the center of everything”. Technology directly from NASA such as the Hubble Space Telescope allowed us as humans to see other galaxies, then the universe. For centuries and still now, the success of humans is the ability to be curious and explore until the limit. The human mind has helped us develop theories. There are astounding theories that are likely such as the string theory. The big bang could be something that happens regularly, and ideas such as parallel universes and wormholes keep on coming. Perhaps the most intriguing question is if we as an intelligent race that has just barely touched technology are alone in the universe.
Space exploration is something humans cannot afford to lose. It could possible be the one factor that prevents the extinction of the human race. In the short run, the accomplishment of NASA is the satellite. This can serve for communications, such as weather forecast and Internet. By giving up less than one percent of the budget, we
would be giving up all of these. Also, the aspect that drives space exploration is curiosity. Space exploration is definitely one issue humans cannot give up.

Space Exploration (nasa= Good/bad)

Space Exploration (nasa= Good/bad)

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