I am writing this paper to claim that space exploration is a huge waste of resources and we should focus our efforts on the sustainability of the Earth. I plan to explore the benefits of sustainability and discredit arguments for space exploration. Sustainability is the more realistic and feasible choice. A very popular argument for space exploration is to protect our Earth that we have managed to almost destroy, by finding another planet to retreat to. Many people believe the only option is to spend billions of dollars, that we do not necessarily have, into space exploration. It is said that there are Earth-like planets that would potentially be able to support life. People believe space exploration is necessary for long term survival. It is a popular concept that something drastic will happen to Earth, weather it be caused by man or natural disaster. Basic facts state that if we continue treating Earth the way we do, Earth will not be able to support human life and will be rendered uninhabitable. With the information that I and billions of other believe to be legitimate many people jump to space exploration as the only answer. A popular concept is terraforming. Terraforming is the process of transforming a hostile environment into one suitable for human life. Being that Mars is the most Earth-like planet in our solar system, it is the best candidate for terraforming. It is believed that terraforming any planet would take centuries for just the initial steps, and much
We are discussing space exploration, and looking at it through the lens of social science and the lens of the humanities.
There is no denying that simply reaching Mars, let alone colonizing it, is a very expensive and dangerous mission, with no guarantee of success. Lynda Williams, a Master of science and physics teacher at Santa Rosa Junior College, is one such skeptic. While she acknowledges the fact that man’s time on Earth is finite, Williams (2010), in her article “Irrational Dreams of Space Colonization,” says that “we have five billion years, plus or minus a few hundred million, to plan our extraterrestrial escape” (p. 4). Williams argues that the only real, immediate threats that the Earth is faced with are the destruction of its environment by climate change and warfare and depletion of natural resources. This brings up a question of morals and ethics: “should we put our resources into developing human colonies ... or should we focus all of our energies on solving and mitigating the problems that create these threats on Earth?” (Williams, 2010, p. 5). Ultimately, it is a question of ensuring the future of humanity on another world versus maintaining the planet that humanity currently
It is often debated whether or not the Space Race was necessary. People have viewed it as a waste of time, money, and resources. America spent over $25 billion on the space program, equivalent to $100 billion today. Many believed that there were far more pressing matters on Earth, and that they should not explore space. Those people only saw the disadvantages that it had (Biddle, 2009). However, the Space Race was beneficial to humanity in various ways. Today Americans can use the knowledge obtained during the Space Race for countless purposes including commercial and military applications (Rabinowitch, 1963).The Space Race changed the face of science, international politics, and technology forever (Schefter 2005). The Space Race was not
On the contrary, opponents of NASA may speculate that overpopulation or ruining our planet will not occur, therefore the time, effort, and money spent on exploring Earth-like planets is useless. In actuality, overpopulation and the diminishing of Earth’s resources and health are working hand in
I have gathered you all here to persuade you that space exploration is indeed worth the risk despite what a few people think. Those people think that exploration is a complete waste of time and money, but I would have to completely disagree with them because it has many benefits for the human race. Exploration is worth the risk, because it will give us information and resources that we didn’t have access to before we explored that place.
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 exploration is a force of nature unto itself that no other force in society can rival.” The famous astrophysicist and astronomer, Neil Degrasse Tyson, once said these powerful words. What Neil Degrasse Tyson meant is that space exploration, is unlike anything else as it compels people to explore and discover the unknown. It gathers interest in science and it’s many field, which is the foundation of society and the the future. Space exploration can solve many of the problems caused by humanity and further develop society. Ever since I was a child, I have always admired outer space with all of its stars and comets, and wanted to learn more about space. I have done more than sufficient research on this topic through various websites and articles on the Internet. Firstly, I will discuss the progression of technology from space exploration. Then, I will
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
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.
In 1969, the iconic first steps on the moon drew in 500 million people who watched from their television screens. Since then, two thirds of Americans say they are interested in space exploration. What is stopping NASA and other space programs from feeding into Americans’ interests? Many argue that space exploration is vital to our society and one day the human race in its entirety will have no option but to leave Earth in search of a new planet. Others insist the space programs in America have created some of the world’s most useful inventions, ranging from CT scanners to digital cameras to firefighting equipment; these inventions supposedly prove space exploration’s worth. While these statements may have some truth to them, there are multiple setbacks that make space exploration difficult for American space programs to accomplish, and, in the end, not worth it- at least for now.
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
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.
As the possibility of space colonization and development begins to loom large, more and more people are beginning to question how such development will be pursued and what effect it will have on humans and the environment. Scientists are considering the feasibility of space colonization and its worth of study compared to other fields. Ethicists and environmentalists wonder how ethical it is to change the space environment and what consequences come with doing so. Politicians face the question of governance and law-making in the space frontier. The viewpoints toward space colonization are not simple to categorize as pro and contra, rather they are multi-layered and based on several fields of study, in
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
This article is useful to my research because of the analysis of the relationship between each step in space exploration and the possible benefits in the science field. Although this article is shorter than most of other resources, it clearly explains the whole processes of space exploration as a benign cycle, space resources produce economy, economy provides technologies, technologies creates opportunities to future exploration, future exploration leads to more discoveries and resources, and then back to increase in economy. It is a unique perspective of explaining the reason why we need to explore outer space and mining resources, each step produces considerable benefits.