Essay about Space Exploration

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

Stars, mankind has been staring up at them for thousands of years. Over those many years dreams and mythology have been created to explain those lights in the heavens. Mankind grew sick of just staring, and decided to find ways to discover more about it. Eventually over hundreds of years mankind has, been able to send men to the moon, launch satellites into space, and even send rovers to Mars. These feats of science would have been unimaginable hundreds of years ago, and to others that heard of it was only science fiction. With all these accomplishments, it seems humanity has a bright future of further discovery, but a recent development has surfaced regarding Space Exploration. That debate regards the future of space Exploration, and whether or not It should be continued through NASA or private companies. Various opinions have come from all over the scientific and astronomy concerned world. Others side that NASA should continue its lead into the future, because of its contributions to discovery and the scientific world. Others blame that NASA’s lack of progress in previous projects has lead to a disbelief of Nasa, and a turn to Private industries due to their smaller budgets and recent success. Even some see a balanced future of NASA working with private companies, and even healthy competition that will allow a faster progress into the future. Mankind has always had the desire to reach the unreachable, and it cannot go forward

We have dreamt of spaceflight since ancient times. Humans have developed and thought of many ways to acquire this immense feat and it wasn’t till the 20th century mankind were able to build rockets powerful enough to overcome the force of gravity. Since then, we’ve successfully sent mankind to the moon, rovers to mars and space probes deep into the reaches of our solar system. Nations have striven to advance and attain great heights in the field of space exploration. The constant competitiveness between USA and USSR during the cold war led to many major breakthroughs in the history of space exploration beginning with USSR launching the first international space station and USA successfully landing a human on the moon. The international space station (ISS) stands as the basis of how international collaboration can affect space exploration. Even though some nations are unwilling to work together, space exploration provides a platform for nations to form relationships that benefits one another and create beneficial relationships with each other.

How would you like to explore a never-ending frontier filled with endless potential and possible benefits for humankind? When put this way, space exploration sounds like an enticing adventure. However, is it all that it’s chalked up to be? We’re here to answer that question. There’s a specific issue that we need to consider when referring to space exploration; should we continue to fund NASA? We acknowledge that some people may already have strong opinions on this, and we ask you to keep an open mind and try to avoid bias. After all, we’re discussing our future.

The Space Race greatly affected American Politics and left a stellar legacy on Earth along with the discovery of many useful products used in space technology modified for modern day use. Evan Herbert exclaims how The Space Race affected American Politics by stating; “The presidencies of Eisenhower and Kennedy were put under great strain during this intense rivalry between these two world super powers. Eisenhower assertiveness was questioned after the Soviet launching of their Sputnik satellite. President Kennedy had to keep morale and support for the Space Race afloat when the American public question the purpose, necessity and budget for the en- devour”(Herbert 7). Herbert also adds a quote from one of President John F. Kennedy’s speeches after he states, “On September 12th, 1962 at Rice Stadium, President John F. Kennedy gave one of his most famous speeches ever given”. Herbert then states what John F. Kennedy articulates towards the end of his speech, ‘“Well, space is there, and we’re going to climb it, and the moon and the planets are there, and new hopes for knowledge and peace are there”’(Herbert 2). Bill Dietrich remarks about the legacy that The Space Race has given us in present times as he questions, “What has the Space Race accomplished?”, he then continues on his question, “Will future historians someday link the demise of the Soviet Union to its launch of Sputnik?”(Dietrich 1). Dietrich answers these two questions later in his article by

It’s cold up there. Cold and inhospitable. It is not easy, and it will take time. These are things the first humans in Africa must have thought of journeys northward. And yet, people still went. They colonized the globe in all its varied environments. When humans first bred dogs and horses, they did not do so to send them into unexplored land in our steed. We did not build crow’s nests on ships to observe and not go. Why is even a question whether humans should go to space? Space is the final frontier that the universe has to offer, and humanity would be remiss not to explore it with their own hands. It’s important to frame the debate. Succinctly, should

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.

In the early 60s, President John F. Kennedy led America into a space race against the Soviet Union. American men and women across the nation backed this goal, allowing NASA to take great leaps in advancing its space exploration programs. This unified nation fulfilled its goal, and Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon. However, since then, America’s space exploration has only declined. Funding for NASA has been drastically cut, thus greatly limiting the opportunities for exploring the cosmos. Understanding and exploring the universe is detrimental to the advancement of the United States and opens the door for vast possibilities. If the government chooses to limits its own advancement, then that responsibility must fall

Many critics believe that NASA and space exploration should not be the main focus of the government. However, NASA is not just about flying rockets and putting men into space. There is science and engineering that is being developed to push humanity forward in life. This space program is essential to answering philosophical questions, creating new technology for practical everyday use, the international collaboration with other countries, and the long-term survival of the human

Exploration is a key aspect to ensuring the constant and consistent development of the human race, but is it really necessary to branch out into the cosmos rather than focusing on the Earth itself. Expanding is essentially the ability to understand the unknowing and to grasp unworldly ideas, but without the means to reach those goals: justification, funding, and manpower, what is the point of committing funds to an unforeseen mission such as Space Exploration. Space Exploration is an issue that Humanity faces because it targets the what ifs about the future rather than focusing on the dangers of the present. Drought, famine, poverty, and war, will all continue to plague the world, and will remain tackling issues on present day Earth, and by using immense funding and manpower on what is not certain, is detrimental to humanities growth. Although, yes, NASA has created breakthroughs with innovations in relation to technological advancements, it is not certain that exploring space will ensure new innovations, because space itself is still theoretical and far too vast for ideal comprehension. Proper funding is mandatory for growth and expansion, but not important for the funding of Space exploration, rather it is more important to focus on pressing matters ranging from genocides: The Rwandan Genocide, to extreme poverty and famine: humans on Earth who do not have enough to live. If funding is granted to Space exploration by the public, it will remove essential funding to those

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

Carl Sagan once said “every planetary civilization will be endangered by impacts from space, every surviving civilization is obliged to become spacefaring--not because of exploratory or romantic zeal, but for the most practical reason imaginable: staying alive... If our long-term survival is at stake, we have a basic responsibility to our species to venture to other worlds.” The National Aeronautics and Space Administration or NASA, is executing Sagan’s words every day. President Dwight D. Eisenhower created NASA in 1958 with the purpose of peaceful rather than military space exploration and research to contribute to society. Just 11 years after the creation, NASA put Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon, the first humans to

Space travel has become a growing event in the world and has assisted in advancing our knowledge as well as providing information about the solar system. As the human race continues to grow, the need for resources continues to grow as well and finding new places to inhabit as well as being able to find new resources is becoming more important. The issue that needs to be addressed currently is the air quality onboard the space habitats, stations and vehicles. There have been advancements in that section, but new challenges arise that have negative impacts on the crew. Despite these issues, however, there is not an immediate need to stop space exploration as long as these issues are being worked on.

Have you ever wondered about the possibilities of finding a planet like Earth which can sustain life? Through the continuation of space exploration, we can continue to look for earth-like planets and learn much more about the mysteries of the universe. Space programs and exploration have helped mankind to develop useful knowledge in different fields such as digital technology and medicine. According to Mindy Townsend, a writer for the social networking website Care2, we have to give credit to NASA for the development of the cell phone camera, which was developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), one of NASA’s research centers. (par. 2). Likewise, Townsend also gives credit to NASA for the technology used in the development of CAT scanners, microscopy, and radiography (par. 6). However, many people still argue that space exploration is a waste of money because they claim that money can be spent on other priorities such as education and health care. Even though space exploration is expensive, the United States government should continue funding space exploration to promote innovation in technology, find extraterrestrial natural resources in the near future, and protect planet earth from outer space threats like space debris and excessive solar radiation.

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.