Letter To The Editor's Letter To The Magazine Editor

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.

To conclude my argument I can definitely say that space exploration is worth the cost. It generates wealth for America and can broaden the knowledge of many people across the country. As Kennedy said in his speech, “...we shall climb this wall with safety and speed and we shall explore the wonders on the other side.” With all the progress that has been made, humans can decide that space is indeed a

Space exploration is an inherently worldwide endeavour that attracts broad international interest and affects people all across the globe producing knowledge, capabilities, and relationships that help society deal with some of the most pressing long-term global challenges. Another popular benefit of space travel is the jobs it creates. The fact that a space agency and its network of contractors and universities help people stay employed is amazing. More than 18000 people currently work for NASA and many more people work for the company as government contractors. They are hired by companies that NASA pays to do work for them. Now we’ve been told by recent study that there is 11,800 jobs to be created per year by space

Nicholas Carr, the author of “All Can be Lost: The Risk of Putting Our Knowledge in the Heads of Machines”, expresses the major concerns towards technology. In this story many crashes and devastating accidents are presented. These accidents could have easily been avoided through the proper knowledge of the air staff members. As a result of technology, pilots are trained less expensively and therefore are unable to react in urgent situations. For example, they now rely on auto-pilot to do more of the directing than they rely on themselves for. This idea is expressed throughout many other stories, demonstrating the lack of knowledge due to the increasing use of technology. One main point that Carr makes is that individuals are constantly starting

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.

Neil Armstrong 's 1969 lunar landing was one of humanity 's greatest accomplishments. Since then, we have found that an infinite supply of knowledge and resources await us just outside our atmosphere. Today, however, critics are beginning to argue more and more that the cost of space exploration is too high, and therefore new technological developments should be left to the private sector. Whether funded privately or by the government, funding of space exploration is imperative because NASA is essentially the only agency with the technological capabilities to support aircraft manufacturing, air safety and air transportation. Space exploration has also resulted in remarkable innovations that has played a key role in aeronautics research, preventative medicine, and allows scientists to study asteroids, along with other space debris and their impacts on Earth.

The Americans and the Soviet Space Program were both involved in man-in-space programs, but unlike the Russians they were not inclined to minimize the scientific merits of the operation. "Scientists of the United States will welcome this technological achievement by Soviet engineers and medical experts and by the Soviet astronaut, because it represents a further step in the exploration of space and will inevitably add to Man's knowledge about himself and the universe in which he lives."

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.

First of all, I would assume the cost to travel to space would not be dirt cheap. Some people argue that the costs are overwhelming and unrealistic, as it says in paragraph 5 of“Civilians In Space”. You would have to own a lot of money and only some people could not afford that. Also, the passage says that people also point to the billions of dollars that would have to be raised through consumer or corporate sponsorship. That might cost as much as building the Great Wall of China! Still not convinced? One more reason up my sleeve.

Society takes such interest in manned missions because there is a risk that the astronauts will not make it back to Earth alive. NASA has had two manned space flight catastrophes to date: the Challenger disaster (cite) and the Columbia disaster (cite) resulting in the loss of 16 total lives. This does not include the failure of Apollo 1 (cite) before its liftoff. If missions to space are fully robotic, there is much less risk for the loss of human life. The vehicles sent into space would not need to be able to support life, or return safely to Earth, all drastically reducing the cost of any missions to space. Probes are just as capable as humans of recording quantitative data and sending it to earth, so that it can be used towards scientific

Nevertheless, If NASA were to cut back on sending humans and instead send robots, they could save bundles of cash, and possibly, in some cases, lives (Etzioni, Amitai). Because of the vast expanses of space and the mystery that it contains, along with the action-packed movies made about space that captivate America even beyond their opening weekends, such as Star Wars, BattleStar Galactica, the humorous Space Balls, etc, and the simple fear of not knowing what, or who, is or is not out there, every person has some amount of curiosity in them in regard to the dark skies surrounding our earth. It is simply human nature to want to discover the unknown (Boucher, Marc p.2).

But American presence in space is not just a power play; the scientific and technological benefits of space exploration remain its most invaluable quality. In the past, space initiatives have yielded countless meteorological benefits, including the prediction and management of hurricanes and other natural disasters. Surveillance, mass banking and communication, military intelligence, and environmental studies are all areas expanded through American space presence (Dubner n.p.). Not to mention the medical advances: Joan Vernikos, a member of the Space Studies Board of the National Academy and former director of NASA’s Life Sciences Division, notes, “Studying humans living in the microgravity of space has expanded our understanding of osteoporosis and balance disorders, and has led to new treatments” (Dubner 13). Space travel has also aided in the invention of medical technology. The beneficiaries of instrumentation such as digital mammography, outpatient breast biopsy procedures, and the application of telemedicine to emergency care can thank manned space missions for their current implementation. For every dollar we spend on the space program, the U.S. economy receives about $8 of economic benefit, according to Hubbard, who also believes space travel “serves as a stimulus for children to enter the fields of science and engineering” (Dubner).

Money can never guarantee one's safety. Sometimes the cheapest of things can be the safest. In this article titled “Revolutionaries unbound: the greatest challenge is to go faster, higher and cheaper than ever before”, about the famous “Space Race”, it tells of how the race was suppose to be the cheapest and the fastest space flight in all of history. The authors purpose was to provide facts about how much money NASA is willing to spend on flights and what they can do to make it cheaper. Within this article, the author does a poor job at explaining their thoughts and connecting to the reader about cheaper and faster space flights.

What the argument fails to consider, is that other things are becoming safer for most people because of space exploration. “ Clothes and vehicle interiors are more fire resistant because of research after the Apollo fire. Weather forecasting is much more accurate because of satellite monitoring. Monitoring from space can detect forest fires, oil spills, aquifer depletion, downed aircraft, etc.” (Fowler) Safety is one thing that space exploration has given people, and that is one of the best things you can have in life. After all, space exploration can help protect us from dangerous situations, prepare us for disasters, and even save lives in the long run. If space exploration is helping people every day, we should put our money where it best

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.