Human Exploration : The Cost Of Human Space Exploration

Scientific Capability.” (Tennessean) People today are not as excited about going to other places in space. Human space travel has been stunted by recent political changes in America. With that, the people that actually want to go to other places in space mainly want to see humans go somewhere new. Some people want other things to go in place of humans. “Unlike robots, only people have the intelligence and expert knowledge needed to unravel these mysteries.” (Mindell) If humans don’t go to other places in the solar system, this takes away the experience and awe of knowing that people can go to amazing places like the moon and Mars. While I think robots and technology should be used in exploration of space. I think it’s important to keep the human element involved directly. So people can see that nothing is quite impossible.

Where the World Wars and commercialization allowed aviation to develop from the Wrights’ simple aircraft, to large commercial plane, to extremely complex military aircraft. Today, reorganized to form NASA, its main goal is the advancement of space technology and the human exploration of space. Using the private companies to commercialize low-orbit travel and the development of better rocketry, NASA can focus on deep exploration. NASA believes that commercialization is not only a method to be cost effective, but help raise the number of crew aboard the ISS, provide new economic frontiers in space travel, and brings the frontier to civilians. In the near future, with the aid of space commercialization and NASA research, astronauts and spacecraft will become independent of Earth. Meaning, that astronauts and spacecraft will no longer need to reenter Earth’s orbit for resupplies, but are able to self-sustain their systems. This will enable humanity to push further into the depths of space, beyond the asteroid belt or even

In “Let Robots Take to the Stars” by Eiren Caffal, this article proves the claim that society should not send humans to space. One reason why humans should not go to space is because it is very expensive. For example, “Space travel is extremely expensive”. To get humans to Mars, it will take $1 trillion over a 25-year period” (Caffal 287). This quote illustrates that not only will it be very expensive, it will also take a long time.

The claim the author, Claudia Alacrón’s makes in “Humans Need to Explore Outer Space” is that space exploration needs a human touch. In contrast, the claim Eiren Caffall’s makes in “Let Robots Take to the Stars” is that space travel is more suited for robots. Despite both others presenting an argument to support their thesis, “Let Robots Take to the Stars” presents a more convincing argument. In “Let Robots Take to the Stars”, Eiren Caffall’s provides rhetorical devices about how robots are more fit to go into space. For example, in the argument, “Let Robots Take to the Stars” it states, “Without space travel as the default idea for our future, what new ideas might lead to amazing discoveries and inventions?”(Caffall4).

When I was ten, my best friend and I found a twenty dollar bill on the ground. We argued over how to spend it for an hour. I wanted to buy a pizza; my friend thought we should spend it playing Mortal Kombat at the arcade. A similar passionate controversy exists over money spent on exploration. Some propose that government spend its money on exploration of the earth’s oceans, while others think exploration of space is more important. While space exploration is a nice idea and captures the imagination, advocates of ocean exploration are right. Exploring our earth’s oceans will have immediate benefits, it is relatively inexpensive, and it is a matter of survival.

It is not true that human space travel is cheaper in any sense; life support systems, places to sleep and work, manual control systems all take up room, and most importantly, cost fuel. However, when it comes to planetary exploration, humans can get the job done better. They adapt to the situations they’re put into. A robot can only do everything it was told it was supposed to do, but programmer bound to the Earth will only think to program so many things, even if they are very thorough. Robots movements encompass a narrow set of navigable terrains whereas a human with mobility equipment can explore much further to garner samples or collect data (Crawford). A human can also think on their feet, which is essential in many mission scenarios. Far from the earth, where communication is severely limited by the distances involved, robots lag the humans watching. Events that occur for only a few minutes, like storms and novel hazards like rockslides or avalanches, may be completely missed by a rover and can even compromise the mission. When delay inhibits data collection and the safety of crucial components, this is where on-site humans can shine. Specifically, Crawford (2010) outlines five areas where human travel is necessary, which for brevity has been condensed into four. The focus is mainly on why humans are essential for these types of missions.

The American space program as well as the United States economy is facing many challenges at this time but we need to look at what the long term costs of not continuing a robust manned and unmanned space program will be. The solar system holds many mysteries and an untold amount of untapped resources that if not explored and utilized by the United States will be utilized by other Nations. With finite resources on Earth any nation that is able to tap into new resources will be at a tremendous

Three main clusters that are developed under this idea of space exploration is the benefits that are gained, ethical code and what it means with regard to the future of the human race. In this paper I will talk about what major projects are being worked on and who will benefit from these. This will also include what laws of space are and ethical code. This will also identify the differing viewpoints on space exploration and whether the big picture is worth the small steps being taken as to advancements in space technology and sciences.

Since the development of large and efficient rockets, space exploration has become reality. The numbers of reasons behind it are for scientific research, national prestige, developing military and strategic advance against other country. The big cost for space exploration has been a debate between the pros and contras. Some people say that space exploration gives useful advantages for the future life inspite of the big cost. However, other people say that the big amount of money is better used to solve the problems on the earth. I my self think that the problems on the earth is more important than the space exploration. Space exploration still can go on as long as they don’t spend much money.

During long term space flight the human body must fight through some very tough situations. Humans have evolved and were built to live in the environment we live in now and that means humans are built to live with earth’s gravitational pull. Along with this, earth’s atmosphere is a layer of protection that humans evolved with. During human space flight, both of these factors are taken out of the equation and humans begin to be faced with zero gravity and are forced to be without the protection of the earth’s atmosphere. The effects that astronauts endure include bone density loss, muscle loss, sensory motor issues, cardiovascular issues, radiation issues, and even psychological issues (Roberts, 2013).

Writer John Derbyshire notes, “None of the most useful off-planet projects – G.P.S., earth imaging, antimissile technology – has any requirement for human beings in space” (Derbyshire, 1). Not only can machinery do what we need to get done, they also do it at a cheaper cost. “Anything a human being does up there could be done by unmanned machinery for one-thousandth the cost. With the ever-increasing intelligence of our machines, the cost gap will only get wider” (Derbyshire, 1). The costs are a big reason for why there is much hesitation for manned space travel. “No president since John Kennedy has been willing or able to project the necessary vision of a human future in space, or willing to expend the political capital to make future human exploration of the planets a reality – or even a real but distant plan” (Chandler, 3).

As humans, we are born with a natural desire to learn and discover. With space exploration, we are able to do just that. In an online essay called “Is Space Exploration Worth the Cost”, Dr. Joan Vernikos,

Humans have always been interested in space and the wonder in which it may hold. In the past, humans worshiped the stars as if they were gods while also studying their position to give them guidance for their lives. Their interested in space has fathered the desire to know more. Today, space has been seen by many as the new frontier or the home beyond earth. Society have even taken a step forward through the creation of stories in books and movies based of the idea of humans living in space and the present of alliances. Yet there is still controversy on the need to continue space exploration when our own planet has so many detrimental problems. There is an ongoing debate on whether not the money used for space travel could be better beneficially use for other causes. It is true that space exploration costs billions of dollars a year alone according to NASA current budget, which is constantly increasing. However, what many refuses to understand is that without space exploration many of the innovations that we have today would not have existed. While there have been, many failed attempts involving space exploration that has caused a tremendous amount of money to go down the drain. However, many people fail to realize the benefits of space exploration and the possible future it may

Space exploration is always a human’s dream and it is reflected through countless novels and movies. However, most of them are always about human’s bravery and intelligence who outsmart other aliens and rarely the other way around. Solaris is one of the few exceptions as it shows human is at the mercy of an alien. What makes Solaris special is that in Solaris human is able to archive “miracle” only by submit to the alien. In Solaris, Kelvin despite all the odds is able to archive something that beyond human understand: an “eternal love”.

Space exploration refers to the exploration and discovery of outer space’s celestial structures by means of the ever-growing space technology, which is continuously evolving. Space physical exploration is conducted by using unmanned robotic probes. Human spaceflight is also used for space exploration. The history of space exploration dates back to the 20th century when the world’ most powerful states such as Russia and the United states scrambled for superiority. Space exploration therefore became a sense of pride and extreme manpower leading to development of space vehicles, which attempted to reach space. The space exploration programs were conducted by government space agencies mainly of the United States and Soviet Union due to the sensitivity and huge finances involved. With time, private organizations began to purchase and offer space launches, laying ground for private space flight. Satellite radio, communications satellites, astronaut transport, satellite television and sub-orbital space tourism comprise the Earth orbit’s private space lift.