Is Space Exploration Worth the Cost?

For many years humans have been exploring space to discover the unknown and fuel their curious and adventurous nature, but the decision of whether space exploration is worth the cost is strongly debated. Due to various arguments and evidence space exploration is strongly supported is proven to be worth the cost. Some of these reasons include space exploration being able to expand our knowledge and it being able to generate wealth. With these reasons the argument of whether space exploration is worth the risk can be easily decided.

Although it is true that there is no concrete outcome “for using taxpayer money” to fund space programs, it does not mean in any way that the money is not being used to help our society grow (Source H). The bulk of the money funded to space exploration goes towards the incomes of thousands of skilled employees who create such successful space missions. It can be assumed that less than one percent is being used from the federal dollar on manned space programs, as space exploration falls under the “All others” category which spends six percent of every federal tax dollar (Source C). Space exploration programs have the potential to discover new technologies and expand on what we have here on Earth, but in order to succeed, there needs to be slight altercations with how each federal tax dollar is spent. National defense gets nineteen percent of each federal tax dollar – a proportion that is too extraordinary considering the United States has access to a nuclear arsenal which is far less expensive and just as effective as maintaining conventional forces (Source C). The United States is pretty much the military for half the world, so instead of collecting all the money from our tax payers here in America, we should collect from other counties that we protect as

While many people support funding NASA and agree with the organization’s goals, there a good number of people who do not. A common reason for this is that they believe that the space program should focus on discovering things that can benefit us immediately, not in the future. This is a valid argument because there

Our loss of standing as the number one space faring nation will also greatly impact the nation on a psychological level. Americans have always been pioneers, innovators, and technological leaders; if we lose that standing it could cause a national identity crisis. Now we will break down the costs and benefits of the United States space program to help us better understand whether or not we should continue to fund it with taxpayer money.

Along with the technological advances and new theories of the last century, humans have developed a need to explore beyond the known of the final frontier. This resource of knowledge has led to superstitions and concerns about what could happen if people pursue this want of space exploration. Among these concerns are national finances, the world’s health, and ethical standpoints of what really could be waiting on the other side for those who dare venture into the unknown.

The concept of space exploration was first introduced to the American public in 1961 when President John F. Kennedy famously stood before congress and vowed that America would put a man on the moon “within the decade.” With hopes of defeating the Soviet Union in the “Space Race” and gaining a leg-up in the Cold War, NASA funding reached its all-time high in 1965-1966 when about four percent of the federal budget was devoted to exploring space. Since then however, funding dedicated to exploring space has nose-dived to about one-half of a percent of the federal budget (Tyson), with plans to cut that figure by an additional $260 million in 2017 (cite NASA funding cuts). Experts in the space-sciences field argue that increased funding in space exploration would re-ignite the American economy and return America to the scientific prominence it was once known for, while, on the other end of the spectrum, naysayers suggest that exploring space is an economic sink-hole that the United States can no longer afford to deposit to given its own earth-bound troubles.

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.

Space has always been an unknown to the humanity, and therefore humanity has in insatiable desire to know as much as possible about the area beyond the Earth's atmosphere. Exploring space can lead to many new and exciting discoveries such as (see hubble, planets, kepler, moon rocks etc). When the United States first entered the realm of space in the [1960s], NASA had much funding. However, the motivation of this funding was not for science – it was political, as the government was determined to beat Russia in the Cold War Space Race. Today, as there is no political motivator as great as the Cold War, NASA is faced with a lack of funding and must make hard decisions. They must decide between the adventure and excitement of sending manned missions

To start with, space exploration generates great wealth for America. “Economic, scientific, and technological returns of space have far exceeded the investment”, said Dr. Joan Vernikos (“Is Space Exploration Worth the Cost” 29-31). Space exploration does cost quite a bit but, the benefits greatly out number the cost. “In 2007, NASA’s budget of $16.3 billion is a minute fraction of the $13 trillion total G.D.P.”, said Dr. Joan Vernikos. Space explorations budget is so limited, yet so much comes out of it. So in other words, Space exploration is risky and does cost money but the benefits are phenominiall.

Have you ever thought about spending valuable resources on space exploration? In several stories it explains to you you about reasons why we should and should not spend valuable resources on earth. For Example some of the reasons are to spend resources on space and some are not to valuable resources on space, other stores tell you ideas what is happening if we do go deeper into thinking about spending our resources. We should not spend valuable resources on space exploration. For example, there are many reasons why we should spend money on earth before we go outer space and not know what we are doing. Another reasons is not to spend money on space is because if it don’t help us later on in the future what is the point of spending so much money if it not going to be useful in the future.

In conclusion, we should not use money, time, and equipment on space exploration. The government can use their money on more valuable things, going to space is not beneficial, and it is extremely

The amount of accomplishments America has achieved in the area of space research is staggering. We have sent man to the moon, landed rovers, and discovered uncountable celestial bodies just by telescope! There are many benefits of space exploration, making it absolutely worth the cost. Some of these benefits are creating new beneficial jobs, and expanding our knowledge. While some argue there are drawbacks to space exploration, I think that the benefits outweigh these drawbacks. In addition, we desire to explore the unknown. As Georgia Douglass Johnson said the the poem “Your World”, in stanza 1 “Your world is as big as you make it”. This means that we can do whatever we want, as long as we’re determined.

As humans, a necessary part of our psyche is exploration. However, numerous trials are confronted when it comes to space exploration. While it remains vital that humans explore this great expansion, one must consider the issues that occur. After all, what is more important, space exploration, or our continued existence?

The mysterious vastness beyond Earth has allured many scientists to explore and contribute much of their effort to the understanding of space. Although humans have been looking up at space for thousands of years, the physical exploration of this frontier has been only going on for the past few decades. Our current understanding of space is unparalleled to any time before in our history, but we still only know a small fraction of what there is to learn. Governments around the world spend about $40 billion dollars a year (Rockefeller, 2010) hoping to undertake tasks such as “human exploration of the solar system” to discovering the origins of life itself (Tatarewicz, 2009, p. 531). Recently, the private sector has also shown interest in space exploration in order to engage in profitable activities such as harnessing minerals from asteroids. Although it is easy to debate about the benefits and negatives of space exploration in its entirety, it is simpler focus on one aspect of it - the direct effect it has to those down on Earth. Rather than trying to decide whether or not going to other planets is worth it, this paper will argue about the value of the terrestrial benefits of space exploration. It is an important topic to think about as programs such as space exploration change lives and help acquire knowledge. Despite the large costs associated with space exploration, the multitude of discoveries in the past few decades has greatly improved daily life on Earth, the jobs the

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