United States Should Continue Space Exploration for

¶ … United States Should Continue Space Exploration For those who believe the United States should forego any further exploration of the universe, even of our own Solar System, whether through manned spacecraft or with un-manned probes, this paper offers a well-thought-out rebuttal to that viewpoint. It would be short-sighted on the part of the U.S. To turn our backs on the potential for new and exciting discoveries, and on the investment in future technologies that is has been a product of our space program.

Are we to tell our children that American is closing the door on learning about the universe? Are we to sit and watch as Russia, China, the European Union and other nations develop new knowledge about our universe, knowledge that can help societies become more sustainable here on Earth? President Barack Obama asserted that it's vital to continue exploring space "…Because broadening our capabilities in space will continue to serve our society in ways that we can scarcely imagine," and also "Because exploration will once more inspire wonder in a new generation" which in turn will spark "passions," the president continued, and will launch new careers as well (Obama, 2010, p.

2). Renowned American astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson reminds readers in Parade Magazine that the Apollo space program "…drove a half-century of unprecedented wealth and prosperity that today we take for granted" (Tyson, 2007, p. 1). As for taxpayers who ask why the U.S. spends billions of dollars on space when there are enormous problems here on Earth, Tyson has an answer based on specific dollar data.

When Tyson does the math, and tallies up the total cost in taxes of all space telescopes, planetary probes, the rovers on Mars, the International Space Station, the Space Shuttle, earth-bound telescopes, and missions that are being developed for future exploration, he finds that "…less than 1% on the tax dollar" has been spent on space" (Tyson, p. 2). That amounts to 7/10ths of a penny on the tax dollar, he asserts.

It is wrong to declare that the only reason America explores space is to find out if there is life somewhere in the universe. Certainly that is of great interest -- and has been for centuries -- to mankind on Earth, because discovering life elsewhere in the cosmos would be the greatest discovery in the history of the planet and could have transformational implications for Earth's populations. However, there are many practical reasons why the U.S. is engaged in space exploration.

For one important reason, engineers and scientists are presently preparing to launch OSIRIS-Rex, a robotic probe that is designed to land on asteroid 1999 RQ36, a chunk of space rock that passes with 280,000 miles of Earth's orbit. Once it lands on the 1,886-foot-wide asteroid, the probe will spend a year taking samples, studying with a "suite of instruments," according to Jaggard in National Geographic News (Jaggard, 2011, p. 1).

What is the purpose of this exploration? First, investigating this "carbon-rich asteroid" will be like studying a "time capsule from the formation of the solar system 4.5 billion years ago," Jaggard explains. Scientists believe our planet was originally sterile, so the organics "had to come from somewhere" and the asteroid may provide important data in that regard.

Secondly, the "Yarkovsky effect" comes into play; that is, scientists know that asteroids get "slight nudges" from the absorption of sunlight, but will those "nudges" at some point push this asteroid into Earth's orbital path? A collision with a space rock of this size could wreak havoc and kill millions of people. Michael D.

Griffin, who served as Administrator for NASA, made a point that is often overlooked in times of recession, layoffs and home foreclosures -- when taxpayers are bitterly questioning the cost of space exploration -- and it bears repeating: America needs to continue to be the kind of country that "…inspires others to want to cooperate as allies and partners rather than to be adversaries… [and] this is NASA's greatest contribution to our nation's future in the world.

We beat swords into plowshares to fulfill one of the oldest, strongest, and most persistent dreams of mankind: To know and experience what lies beyond the horizon" (Griffin, 2006, p. 393). Fifty years ago -- May 25, 1961 -- President John Kennedy told a joint session of Congress that America would land on the moon within a decade. A bit more than eight years later, his vision was realized. It was more than an effort to "outperform" America's "totalitarian rival" (the Soviet Union), according to an article in the Economist (May, 2011).

It cost "18 times" as much as digging the Panama Canal, but indeed it "changed the way people of all nations thought about themselves and the planet they share… Apollo 8's photographs of a little Earth, shining vulnerably in a great black emptiness, made people aware of the planet's fragility and helped to spur the green movement" (Economist, p. 1). Meanwhile the technology that emerged from the space program's innovations should not be forgotten, because future space technologies will most certainly have benefits for society as well.

For example, here is a short list of the many helpful innovations were the direct result.