Why I Am An Astronaut Essay

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

As a young man entering my senior year of high school, my mind races as I try to figure out what it is that I’ll commit my life to. What will be the driving passion, the purpose of my existence, the reason I get out of bed every morning to face another day of this life? Some people would try to encourage me to choose a career simply for its potential to make me wealthy. However, looking at the degenerate lives of the rich and the famous around the world, its apparent to me that the pursuit of earthly riches alone isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. I’d rather spend my days in pursuit of something more fulfilling. As far as I can tell from my

“I feel sorry for the person who can't get genuinely excited about his work. Not only will he never be satisfied, but he will never achieve anything worthwhile” (Walter Chrysler). Deciding on what one wants to be in life can prove to be a demanding task. There are so many, yet limited, different opportunities in the world to have an excellent career and make a decent living while doing something one loves. It is limited because there are only a few specific career paths that someone could take to make good money. It is very difficult to make a fulfilling living being a garbage man. There are many different opportunities because, within these specific careers, there are usually various paths to take. Someone who has dreams to be a

In the first months of college, I wasn’t so sure if I wanted to pursue architecture, finance, or engineering; I was utterly lost, unlike many of my peers. Over the months, I pondered on what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Then, I realized I was never interested in obtaining a job where I would sit at a desk and stare at some numbers on a computer screen for 9 hours every day. Through my daily routine and utilization of time, I realized I found less joy in the courses I applied least outside of the classroom, yet was intrigued that with the many hours I worked in the studio. I could work on a skill in which I could use in the career I wanted; a path in which I could leave a legacy through molding the world the way I wanted to see

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

I was indecisive of my future career path. My mom would tell me the classic “You should be a lawyer” or “You should be a doctor.” I would go along with her idea for a couple weeks until I jumped off the bandwagon. I wasn’t passionate about either of those fields; I was interested in both math and science and as a young girl. As I got older, I became invested in technology due to my love of gaming, but I didn’t know that people devote their lives to technology until I interned.

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

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.

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

"I would like to die on Mars. Just not on impact."- Elon Musk. Space exploration is tough. The slightest problem can turn what seemed a successful mission into a disaster, making it imperative to prepare for every possible situation. As such, there is a great demand for high quality engineers in this field. I plan to be one of those engineers, and Washington Aerospace Scholars is one of the best opportunities to help me accomplish this. There is a lot I can gain from it; however, it does not come without difficulty. WAS requires dedication, strategy, and commitment to succeed. I believe I can offer these through my diligence towards STEM, time proven work ethic, and experience in similar courses.

     Since the beginning of time there have always been those that have opposed exploration of uncharted lands. This statement holds truth also for the NASA program since the beginning when President John F. Kennedy's vision was to ‘land a man on the moon by the end of the decade.' Instead of all the opposition of NASA and questions such as, “Why should we go to space?” I believe people should ask themselves, “Why shouldn’t we go to space?” Christopher Columbus didn’t have to sail over the Atlantic Ocean and discover America, he could have stayed in Europe but then we may not be living in the United States of America. Christopher Columbus and many others human didn’t stop but continued to explore because they are

Looking back on my sophomore and junior years of high school, I had a very difference idea of how my life was going to turn out. I worked three days a week on my school’s radio station, WBMT, and played guitar during my free time. I was going to major in business and minor in communications and hopefully pursue some career in music production and management. From middle school until late high school, that was the way I was going to affect people, through music. While I had worked as a camp counselor, and had experience working with children, it just wasn’t a path that I thought I could turn into a career. As I grew up and had new experiences, I began to reevaluate my plans for myself.

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.

NASA contributed to a number of successes in American history. During the past, the organization has rapidly acquired a number changes that has created an opportunity to expand and improve Knowledge Management (KM). Similar to many other important organizations, NASA has frequently pursued ways to capture knowledge into their information systems assuming that it could be managed best when it 's captured in a system for later retrieval. In the past 10 years, the budgets on their missions have been reduced, missions have multiplied ten-fold, and scientists and engineers have been overwhelmed by the extreme challenges. The most important factors that are addressed includes the importance of learning, (FBC) faster, better, cheaper implications, and knowledge management that supports innovation in the future.

The one question you hear all the time as a little kid is “what do you want to be when you grow up.” Most children give the same three answers: doctor, lawyer, or astronaut. The adult who asked the question usually replies with a little chuckle underneath their breath because they know what achieving one of these prestigious jobs entail. In today’s world only the elite will ever have a chance of receiving such an astounding career opportunity. Now, looking back at the top three answers given by children, the reality of becoming a doctor or a lawyer is much more likely than receiving the job as an astronaut. Today the qualifications you must meet to be eligible for this career include: exceling in an array of required skills, passing