Funding For NASA Essay

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is perhaps the most well known space agency in the world. Since its formation in 19581, it has pioneered in space science, yet is also renowned for its large budget. NASA has the highest budget of any space agency, $18.6 billion2 in 2015, the equivalent of every American paying $54 towards the agency3, meaning 0.14% of total GDP is spent on NASA3 . This money is spent on the ISS, sending astronauts, probes and satellites into space, astrophysics and planetary science research, maintaining and developing NASA’s space telescopes (the Wide Field Infrared Survey telescope searching for dark energy and exoplanets, the James Webb Space Telescope and the Hubble Space Telescope) and developing spacecraft2. Space exploration is an incredibly expensive process with one shuttle launch costing $450 million4 however NASA’s colossal budget benefits the USA greatly; the agency employs 18,000 people5 as astronauts, engineers, scientists and teachers and G. Scott Hubbard, former director of the NASA Ames Research Center estimates that every dollar spent on NASA returns $8 to the economy6.While this figure is an estimate, it demonstrates NASA’s worth and capacity for money making. NASA works on pioneering research and as its patents and licenses return to the US treasury, it

In the past 50 years, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has sent out many planned space exploration missions which have lead to numerous advantages in society and culture. NASA’s technologies benefit American lives with the innumerable important breakthroughs by creating new markets that have spurred the economy and changed countless lives in many ways. NASA is a federal agency and receives its fundings from the annual federal budget passed by the United States Congress. However, there are conflicting opinions that consider whether or not funding for NASA is a waste of government spending.

Funding manned spaceflight is a great way to advance technology, not just for NASA but us too. Around 2,000 inventions we use today were created by NASA. These inventions are known as space spinoffs. Things you use every day may not have been invented if it wasn’t for space travel. For example, something you probably carry around with you every day, and middle schoolers like us especially love, is the smart phone. Think of your life without a phone. Our communication would be completely different. Another example is memory foam. Memory foam was created by NASA to absorb impact inside spacecrafts, and spacesuits. Today memory foam is in many of our mattresses, pillows, and shoes. NASA also developed scratch resistant glasses that are very cheap, and many people have it in their glasses. More examples of spin-offs are baby food, braces, and thermometers. Without funding NASA, we wouldn't have thousands of inventions that we use on a daily

We have always dreamed about reaching the heavens. From ancient civilizations to the modern day world, our obsession of going into space has grown from studying the stars to actual exploration of space. We have come a long way since primitive charts of constellations. From telescopes to satellites, we as a population have progressed greatly in the world of technology. In a mere forty years, we have had more technological advances than the Industrial Revolution. The Space Race has affected our everyday lives; we use the same technology that the astronauts used during their missions for example digital clocks (Dismukes http://spaceflight.nasa.gov). Many industries have benefited, communication companies, industrial manufacturers, and the

NASA is a key player in our technological growth. It leads in innovating technology development in both public and private industries across the board from aviation to zoology. In add-on, increasing the space program funding may increase our defense. As it will be exceedingly important that America innovates its space program for defense, from telecommunication to aviation. Likewise, what if an asteroid comes in our proximity and threatens our existence?, we ought to have something

There are also many educational benefits to funding NASA. By funding NASA, one can promote future interests in the field of science and engineering by inspiring students to dream about changing the way space is looked at by the world. Students are pushed to pursue knowledge in STEM subjects so that eventually they can help “push the future forward.” People might say that it is better to fund education though sending money to schools, but the problem is that no matter how good the education is at schools, if students are not motivated then the schools will not succeed at teaching

Camera phones, like the smartphones, we use basically every moment, were designed by NASA scientists, according to Business Insider. A camera phone would be useful in space for taking pictures of earth and other planets. NASA also made artificial limbs, which they used for making robots like Robonaut. Robonaut is a humanoid that can perform the same as a human in space. There are four different kinds of Robonauts that have been funded. Two of those Robonauts work at the moment which are R2 and R1. R2 was the first robot in space on the mission STS-133. Baby formula was also founded by NASA. Astronauts used the formula to keep themselves healthy in space. The formula had a lot of algae in it. Cordless tools were also technology that NASA made. Cordless tools are important for space exploration because it allows the astronauts bring the tools out of the spacecraft.

One could argue that NASA is a waste of time, and that Congress's plans a good thing, but there are many benefits to continuing the Constellation program. Although NASA will still continue operation without it, the Constellation program, if continued, would result in major technological advances that would eventually trickle down to the commercial level and benefit humanity as a whole. So far, these "NASA spinoffs" include water purification methods, weather forecasting aids, personal alarm systems, radiation hazard detectors, along with countless others ("Spinoff"). NASA's programs also employ hundreds of engineers to design and test these technologies. Furthermore, NASA's explorations dramatically increase our overall knowledge base, allowing us to make sense of our surroundings. It is human nature to question and explore our environment. Furthermore, another one of Constellation's goals was to establish a permanent human presence on the Moon, and someday on Mars.

Space exploration funding has been drastically reduced since the conclusion of the Space Race. Even though the Space Race is no longer relevant, it has positively affected human civilization, and we should continue to invest in space exploration to continue this trend. The first and primary reason we should continue to work with space is to aid industries on earth. Most notable is the use of satellites for purposes such as commercial communications, the GPS system, and meteorology. The second reason is because humans have an inherent hunger for knowledge, and space funding helps us develop technology for seeing what’s beyond earth. Space probes such as New Horizons and telescopes such as the James Webb Telescope have expanded our knowledge

NASA is one of the largest organizations in the world. Although we see it everywhere, most of us take NASA completely for granted. Yet, we are still obliviant of the fact that NASA is a main reason why we can enjoy things like quick and safe plane rides, the internet, and most science fiction movies and books. Little do we know how hard NASA works for our benefit, constantly struggling to find a different way to help not only America, but the whole world.

Paraphrased from the website list25.com. “In 1958, it is stipulated that NASA should not only specify in space exploration, however should also work on to improve and benefit the lives of the nation, thus NASA have flourished convenient technology and research that benefit public

     NASA also has made fabrics, such as aluminum materials to serve as insulation for satellites, and fire proof clothing. Zeolite soil is another interesting invention attributed to NASA. The study of how to grow plants in the most inhospitable location, like the moon, led to the development of a synthetic soil by JSC researchers that holds promise as a revolutionary fertilizer and soil on Earth. The list of discoveries of NASA is a list that goes on and on and is all due from space exploration. But the NASA discoveries aren’t all so serious and all about saving lives.

A big one is they help us understand our own planet. Like what is happening to our planet such as global warming and we couldn’t even have the same science class in a few years if no one funds NASA. Even

Protection if we studie asteroids we can learn how the move and we can build a machine to pull the asteroids away and avoiding it from hitting earth. It could save a lot of lives and we can build by they resources that we got from the studies and see if we can use some of the money to and also have protection on earth in general. We can use that money in the army and have better protection for united states if we get attacked by someone we can have better troops and guns. If we studie asteroids we can once again have a big effect and we become stronger and we can have stronger government. Protection is one of the most important thing about the government and united states NASA to. We can study asteroids and maybe use against our enemies and we can make in Asteroid hit a serene place where the enemy.

New inventions are a key factor in the growing popularity of NASA. NASA’s inventions always find a way into the american economy, and help to improve daily lives. NASA has been providing economic impact flyers across the U.S. to show their improvements in technology over the recent years. From sending out these flyers, more and more businesses have teamed up with NASA; not only in aerospace but in other departments as well. Some of the technological advancements that have been made from NASA and other businesses are: inflatable antennas, screening devices that detect vision problems, other medical devices, electrolyte formulas, and also whole aircraft parachute recovery systems. Many other advancements made by NASA have helped other industries such as businesses that produce planes. New blended winglets that NASA created were redesigned to be used on modern day airplanes, and saved the airline industry billions of dollars in fuel costs