Impact Of Money Spent On NASA For Mankind

Overall, the public remains largely supportive of both manned and unmanned space exploration. According to an Associated Press Poll conducted in July 2003, 71% of U.S. citizens agreed with the statement that the space program is "a good investment", compared to 21% who did not.

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MID TERM CRITICAL LOGICAL THINKING

ASSIGNMENT

BY: BABAR JAFARI UMAIR SALEEM SAAD HASHMI IJAZ BASHIR GHULAM MUSTAFA (9348) (9353) (9350) (9386) (9333)

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Contents

INTRODUCTION: ................................................................................................. 4 POINTS IN FAVOUR: ............................................................................................ 5 IMAPCT OF MONEY SPENT ON NASA FOR MANKIND ....................................... 5 POINTS IN AGAINST: ........................................................................................... 8 SOLUTIONS: ...................................................................................................... 10 CONCLUSION: ................................................................................................... 11

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INTRODUCTION:
Space exploration is the use of astronomy and space technology to explore outer space. Physical exploration of space is conducted both by human spaceflights and by robotic spacecraft. While the observation of objects in space, known as astronomy, predates reliable recorded history, it was the development of large and relatively efficient rockets during the early 20th century that allowed physical space exploration to become a reality. Common rationales for exploring space include advancing scientific research, uniting different nations, ensuring the future survival of humanity and developing military and strategic advantages against other countries. Various criticisms of space exploration are sometimes made. Space exploration has often been used as a proxy competition for geopolitical rivalries such as the Cold War. The early era of space exploration was driven by a "Space Race" between the Soviet Union and the United States; the launch of the first man-made object to orbit the Earth, the USSR's Sputnik 1, on October 4, 1957, and the first Moon landing by the American Apollo 11 craft on July 20, 1969 are often taken as the boundaries for this initial period. Seen in the year-by-year breakdown listed below, the total amounts (in nominal dollars) that NASA has been budgeted from 1958 to 2008 amounts to $471.23 billion dollarsan average of $9.06 billion per year. By way of comparison, total spending over this period by the National Science Foundation was roughly one-fourth of NASA's expenditures: $101.5 billion, or $2 billion a year. The NSF did get a 6.7 percent increase in their budget in 2009 for a total of $6.926 billion dollars. According to the Office of Management and Budget and the Air Force Almanac, when measured in real terms (adjusted for inflation), the figure is $790.0 billion, or an average of $15.818 billion dollars per year over its fifty year history (NASA's 2011 budget is on a continuing resolution of the 2010 budget at $18.724 billion) NASA's FY 2008 budget of $17.318 billion represents about 0.6% of the $2.9 trillion United States federal budget, 35% of total spending on academic scientific research in the United States. The NASA budget is larger than the National Science Foundation budget, but only 61% of the National Institutes of Health budget.

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POINTS IN FAVOUR: Stephen Hawking, renowned British theoretical physicist, said that "I don't think the human race will survive the next thousand years, unless we spread into space. There are too many accidents that can befall life on a single planet. But I'm an optimist. We will reach out to the stars."

IMPACT OF MONEY SPENT ON NASA FOR MANKIND

1. Scientific knowledge has value beyond the measurements of cost 2. It is in man's nature to explore his environment. 3. Many discoveries have been made as a result of Space Exploration 4. Advancement in Technology. 5. Exploration of other Planets. 6. Exploration/investment is Necessary for Progress 7. Man's uncontainable curiosity 8. New products are created as a by-product 9. Safety of Colonization 10.NASA's Inventions and innovations that help the world 11.What if we lose our world

Space exploration is a necessity to mankind and that staying on Earth will lead to extinction. Some of the reasons are lack of natural resources, comets, nuclear war, and worldwide epidemic. NASA has produced a series of public service announcement videos supporting the concept of space exploration. Overall, the public remains largely supportive of both manned and unmanned space exploration. According to an Associated Press Poll conducted in July 2003,

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71% of U.S. citizens agreed with the statement that the space program is "a good investment", compared to 21% who did not. Arthur C. Clarke (1950) presented a summary of motivations for the human exploration of space in his non-fiction semi-technical monograph Interplanetary Flight. He argued that humanity's choice is essentially between expansion off the Earth into space, versus cultural (and eventually biological) stagnation and death. Space Exploration epitimizes the spirit of humanities insatiable appetite to explore that which is beyond our reach. Exploration of the unknown has lead to new civilizations, new ways of life, and world unity. We cannot help but to explore new worlds regardless of how far away they are. Now, the reason why money is not wasted in the space program is because all the development that comes out of NASA leads to a direct benefit in our everyday lives. They have become quite proficient. Most of the public has little concern over NASA's achievements, which do not command much media coverage until something goes wrong. However, every day we use products that were developed for space programs, such at CAT scan machines, hi-res digital photography, mylar survival blankets, GPS, internet access, ect. The list can go on and on. NASA spends the time and money to develop these products for use in space, but usually there are many civilian applications for the same products. Production of these product leads to redevelopment, sales and distribution - all of which leads to more jobs; somebody has to build, sell, and repair.

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The Largest Benefits: 1. Space Exploration has given us many technologies that are essential. 2. Satellites were some of the first ventures into space and are another critical part of our society. 3. Weather Forecasting (Very important for hurricanes and dangerous storm systems, have saved lives and help us prepare for the worst.) 4. GPS 5. Long range television (Satellites.) 6. Long Range Communication (Phones, Cell phones, etc.) 7. Internet. (Satellites and power lines of course.)

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POINTS IN AGAINST: 1. Space exploration gives us no direct benefit 2. The Earth itself is not fully explored yet 3. A commercial space industry is taking over the new crisis on planet earth: finish your priorities before starting new ones 4. Money is better used to help human lives in their own country 5. NASA is very Hazardous 6. The resources and efforts focused on space exploration could better humanity. 7. space exploration is a waste of money

There have been no direct benefits from space travel; the only 'good things' to come from it are indirect, and not the end aims. NASA weren't aiming for velcro, but the moon. We got velcro, the moon gave us nothing except some pretty pictures of the planet below. Scientists and inventors could give us the same byproducts for a lot less cost if the associated space exploration was removed from the equation. All the by-products of the space race could have been developed by commercial companies aiming to make a profit by developing good products and selling them, at a fraction of the cost: the Post-it note is possibly as useful as velcro, but was developed by 3M at a fraction of the cost. The money spent could be used to improve the conditions of earth, like the roads and bridges and generally the infrastructures that are falling apart in so many cities. Why explore space when most people will not be able to take advantage of traveling there anyway and the taxes of the subjects are spent on NASA. Why have the astronauts risk their lives going to set up a space station when they could be experimenting on earth. Everyday people will never see that station. So why do it. It doesn't make anyone's life any better here on earth.

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All the exploration creates debris in space and some of that debris (discarded garbage) will eventually fall into our atmosphere and could endanger civilians. The effects of radiation and effects of high altitude flying on the astronauts are immense. They have higher incidences of osteoporosis. Science may well give us good things. We all know Velcro came from NASA. But why bother spending all this money exploring space and finding out there was water on Mars at some point in the last few thousand years (we have water in Earth) when these same great minds could be applied to finding better ways to power humanity's insatiable desire for energy, to feeding the starving millions around the globe, and generally making life down here better before looking up into the heavens. It seems the authoritative powers have their heads way, way up in the clouds. Furthermore, a lot of the 'advances' space exploration bring us is irrelevant to daily life: why bother spending money developing a pen that works in zero-gravity when a) a pencil will do and b) the vast majority of the world's 6 billion people will never experience zero gravity?

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SOLUTIONS:

The needs of humanity should always come first. While there are people on Earth who need help, they should be helped, rather than seeing money spent on sending robots onto other planets. Humanity is the number one priority; keeping the human race alive is a necessity. Alternatively, space exploration is a desire. If we put our desires before our needs, then everyone loses out on a better standard of living. Sure, it's great that NASA can elevate technology to the next level time and time again, so why not make technology that directly benefits us? Also, why take so much time and money to learn about Mars or any other planet, when we know so little about our own? We should learn more about Earth and the ocean before wasting time and money on Space exploration. For building a space elevator (a space-platform constructed with the intent of lifting substances into Earth's orbit) it cost about $40 billion with 100% contingency, and half that for the baseline construction cost. There are endless possibilities, ranging from solar energy farms to revolutionary and cheap intercontinental transportation. Imagine a solar farm, capable of harvesting the solar winds; this translates to an unlimited supply of energy to the entire world.

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CONCLUSION:

NASA is now a huge bureaucratic government department whose main aim is to maintain income and status rather than explore space, very few if any of its astronauts have been outside earth's gravity and what they are learning while interesting to some scientists has no real worth, it is impossible to tell if they are telling the truth about what they accomplish as we can't check, their hugely expensive projects to other planets has not revealed anything other than mildly interesting facts NASA has produced a series of public service announcement videos supporting the concept of space exploration and for that public remains largely supportive of there space exploration. According to an Associated Press Poll conducted in July 2003, 71% of U.S. citizens agreed with the statement that the space program is "a good investment", compared to 21% who did not.

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