To Boldly Go

In light of all that NASA has given us, their cut of the 2011 budget will be a debated topic during budget hearings as they ask for a $3 billion increase from 2010 numbers. I cannot believe that this is even a debatable topic. I cannot believe that during every year’s budget hearings this keeps coming up. I know that in “this economy” we keep hearing about, we need to cut back on waste, fraud, and abuse. However, NASA does not qualify under any of that criteria.

I wrote this essay for an English class a few years ago about the benefits of NASA. Hope you enjoy.

To Boldly Go

The enormous field of wreckage that was created in February 1, 2003, by the unfortunate loss of the space shuttle Columbia had barely cooled before NASA officials were saying that they would continue onward with manned space flights. Even the president of the United States, George W. bush, was encouraging them to carry on when asked about NASA’s future, “Mankind is led into the darkness beyond our world by the inspiration of discovery and he longing to understand. Our journey into space will go on." The National Aeronautics and Space Administration did exactly as promised when they first returned to space in July of 2005. However, in light of recent events in and around the space program, several Americans are starting to reconsider maintain NASA’s current government funding.

Since NASA was founded in 1958, by the National Aeronautic and Space Act, it is very clear the we have benefited in several different ways. Cutting their financial support in any way would prove to be a terrible mistake for us to commit. First of all, without the space program, we would all be living in an entirely different world. Much of the modern technology that we all love so much stems from NASA and their research in one way or another. Also, the benefits can be seen by looking at how NASA has made life a lot safer here on Earth. Their countless contributions in overall safety have definitely saved a life or two. Finally, in the interest of self-preservation on mankind, NASA is obtaining a better understanding of our universe. This could prove to be very resourceful if we ever have to find a new rock to live on.

Spock: I am endeavoring, ma'am, to construct a mnemonic circuit using stone knives and bearskins.

Over the past 40 years or so, we have progressed in the technology industries at a much faster pace than ever seen before. NASA has been one of the forces fueling this technological boom. Many of them has made life easier and more convenient for mankind than ever before. For example, the advances that have been made in cellar technologies have redefined the way we communicate with one another. It doesn't matter if it is a PDA, Blackberry, iPhone, or other hand-held device, we now text, tweet, and Facebook the day away, no matter where we are, all right from the comfort of our very own fingertips.

Another influence NASA has had on technology can be seen in, my favorite, the world of console gaming. According to an October 2006 article released by the Federation of American Scientists, "games can now be played with all the precision and sensitivity needed for a safe and soft Space Shuttle touchdown". The joysticks that you find for computes and gaming consoles are mirrored to be like the ones that are used by astronauts in space shuttle flight simulators. With this newly found precision in game control, console games and their respective systems are selling almost as fast as the suppliers can distribute their products.

Finally, thanks to NASA, we are surfing the internet at speeds never even dreamed of a few short years ago. It has always been crucial for NASA's technicians to be able to monitor the shuttle craft from the ground. They needed an environment that would enable them to transfer large amounts of data across long distances in real-time.With their research into broadband technologies, they helped create the high speed internet world of today. Again proving that NASA is a part of all our lives.

That is only a small handful of the advantages in technology that we can thank NASA for. To name them in their entirety would take an eternity.  However, with out the technological spin-off that they create, these examples and many more may never have been possible. All of them may seem a bit trivial, but they have made life more enjoyable for those that use them. no to mention, the revenue that they add to the economy.

Spock: Live Long and Prosper

As I mentioned before, NASA has help make the our lives on this planet a lot safer. In addition, they have also helped to advance medical technologies. Advances in airplanes, air-traffic control, and even motor vehicles can be contributed to them. With NASA's help scientists have been able to create a programmable heart pacemaker. They have also created lighter air tanks that help firemen stay safe. They have even developed an emergency response robot. It helps reduce injuries to the humans that would normally respond to such situations. These examples barely scratch the surface of how NASA has influenced our safety and our health.

In The Columbia, an online encyclopedia, it states that "the need to maintain close watch over the physiological conditions of astronauts has spurred the development of improved means for electronically monitoring essential body functions". As a direct result of these improvements, NASA has helped with the invention of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Computerized Axial Tomography (CAT) machines. Both of these can be used for early detection for life threatening diseases. Both are very similar to the method of taking x-rays. But they do not produce the radiation that x-ray machines do thus we are no exposed. They also give better image and help in diagnostics.

Future events, man-made or not could threaten the preservation of mankind. Stephen Hawking was quoted as saying, "I don't think the human race will survive the next thousand years, unless we spread into space. There are too many accidents that befall life on a single planet." I'm not sure it will reflect Hollywood blockbusters such as those seen in Deep Impact. But, if something of that magnitude were to ever threaten Earth, I believe NASA would help in reaching some sort course of action to preserve the human race.I think Gene Roddenberry put it best when he said, "Unless we turn human growth and energy towards the challenges of space, our only other choice may be the awful risk of stumbling into a cycle of regression which could end all chances of our evolving further or even surviving."

Spock: The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.


The biggest argument that people voice against our continued ventures into space is the cost of maintaining it all, and the saftey of the astronauts. Some people say that we spend entirely way too much money on the space program.  They say that the money allocated should be spent on more deserving programs such as health care and education. Then, there are other people say that with the lost of the Space Shuttle Columbia, and the Challenger disaster in 1986, space travel has proven to be too risky and unsafe to continue. Some people feel that those risks outweigh any gain that we could ever make. I feel that both of these arguments can be proven wrong.


First, the issue of funding. NASA's budget is only around $20 billion a year. I know that may sound like a lot but consider this, the Department of Defense (DOD) budget for 2005 was just over $400 billion. That's right $400 billion. NASA's budget is just a mere 3.4% of what we spend on defense. Then think of all the pork that is added to bills that pass through the house and senate. We are talking mere drops in the bucket. Our government spends that amount, on a daily basis, on other less-significant programs.


Now, the issue of saftey. Since NASA started using their current design of space shuttles in 1981, their have been a total of 144 manned flights into space. On those flights their have been a total of 773 passengers. Nonetheless, here have only been 2 tragic accidents with the loss of 14 of those passengers. In other words, only 1.7% of space flights have ended prematurely without success. And, only 1.8% of those passengers did not return to Earth safely. I see this as pretty safe. The odds of a tragic accident in a vehicle far outweigh those in manned space flights.


Spock: I would accept that as an axiom.