In 1961, the world was changed forever, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin entered the spacecraft Vostok 1 and traveled into space. Following him in the same year, was the American astronaut Alan Shepard in Freedom 7. Then in 1969 the crew of the Apollo 11 mission landed on the Moon. This space race in the 1960s helped to light the fire of man’s interest in outer space and has lead mankind to wonder if we could live away from the comfort and safety of planet Earth.
Many scientist and explorers have wondered if it would be possible to colonize the Moon or Mars for the purpose of research, resources, and hopefully a secondary home for the human race. However, many people have also doubted the idea of leaving the safety of planet Earth to explore other options of habitable places. Many argue that space exploration is dangerous and some critics argue that it is using too much money that could be used for expenses here on Earth such as medical treatments, medical practices, or finding ways to protect the environment.
Space exploration is a very controversial topic that will be discussed for many years to comes, some will be against it and others will be for space exploration. Space exploration is a practice that has been set in place since about 1957 with the launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik 1. This is when man finally realized that space travel was possible and the space race began. Many trips were then made by the Soviet Union and the United States that involved orbiting around the Earth until the United States landed on the moon in 1969.
Once man realized that we could successfully travel to space, we began to wonder if we could possibly live in space. This theory was then made possible with the International Space Station, or ISS. This is a space station that orbits the planet that contains 4-6 crew members at a time that are there strictly for science and maintenance of the station (space. com). These advancements in space exploration have allowed scientists to make the argument of one day trying to colonize the Moon or Mars for research, exploration, and possibly a permanent home.
This has become a much discussed topic because of a need to replace the depleting resources on Earth caused by the growing population. It is widely known that the population of earth has grown dramatically since the beginning of the 20th century and is expected to meet the predicted amount of 9 billion humans by 2050. This calls for a need to find a new way to gather resources since the resources on Earth are quickly being depleted because of overuse. Human nature has a great need to satisfy our will for adventure.
By traveling into space, mankind would be able to discover new information about our solar system and about our galaxy while also working to provide for the growing population on Earth (aspec. org). This need allows us to be adventurous as well as productive because as space exploration increased so has the advancement of technology used on Earth (occupytheory. com) When mankind made the goal to travel to space, new technology had to be developed to meet this goal. Traveling into space has a variety of factors that must be brought to attention.
Including the lack of gravity, the issue with leaving the Earth’s atmosphere, and returning home after the expedition. These factors required a great advancement in technology that has then in return aided the technology used for a variety of practices here on Earth (occupytheory. org). Many of these advancements have taken place in the medical field in a variety of applications but many have brought advancements into others fields as well. In 1994, a Santa Barbara based company developed a mechanical arm for surgeons to use during surgeries so that three tools could be operated simultaneously during a surgery.
In 1995, Dr. Michael Debakey of Baylor worked with NASA scientist to create an artificial heart pump that was based on the design of the space shuttle’s fuel pumps (nasa. gov). Not all of these technological advancements only just been in the medical field but also in a variety of other fields as well. Along with the advancements in the medical field, space technology has allowed equipment to be develop new equipment in the transportation field, energy production, and even helping firefighters breathe.
In 1986, research and work was done by NASA scientists at the Johnson Space Center that allowed for the creation of a lightweight breathing system that reduced the amount inhalation errors in times of dense smoke. In 1991, three separate NASA developed technologies were used to develop a safer and more reliable school bus chassis that is still in use today. In the year 2000, NASA scientists won the award “Software of the Year” with the development of the Global Positioning System (GPS).
Also in the year 2000, three small businesses worked with NASA at the Langley Research Center to develop a lightweight and low cost parachute system that is used to land aircraft safely in the case of engine failure or any other possible incident. This parachute design is credited with saving over 200 lives (nasa. gov). All of these inventions, along with many others, have benefited society greatly in most major fields of work, however many individuals outside of the space programs believe that the programs are a waste of money and we should be using this money for projects on planet Earth.
Space exploration is a useful form of research about areas around the planet that mankind inhabits, but it is a dangerous form of exploration. It allows humans to acquire different forms of data such as solar waves, meteor showers, and even for us to see stars die. Space is like a massive vacuum that has no oxygen so if a person gets caught in space without a spacesuit and supporting equipment they will die. Astronauts can also have complications adjusting to the harsh environments that are experienced on the moon and other planets, which is unhealthy and can be life threatening (apecsec. org).
Often times, an astronaut will also experience sickness such as nausea while traveling through the atmosphere to reach orbit. Another health risk is caused by easier exposure to UV rays from the sun which can cause a variety of cancers to the human body. There is also risk of an unknown diseases being attracted while traveling through the atmosphere (occupytheory. org). Along with the great dangers of space exploration, it also comes at a very high financial price. Traveling into space is a very expensive practice that can require precious metals and practices to build the equipment for traveling in space.
The space program uses a lot of money because of all of the materials and procedures that are needed to build spacecrafts, satellites, and the equipment needed to launch these crafts (occupytheory. org). Many people believe that this is a waste of money and that the money spent on the space programs should be saved and used here on Earth. Some of the things that the money would be used for in this case would be agriculture, energy research, and healthcare research to help feed and care for the growing population.
The precious metals could also be used to develop new equipment for these research and production areas so that advancements can be made (apecsec. org). There is also a lot of capital that goes into becoming an astronaut which becomes very time consuming. In today’s space travel, an individual is required to be trained as an astronaut captain or specialist. An individual that is in the the program is required to have a bachelor’s degree in an area such as mathematics, biological science, engineering, or many other topics from an ccredited university that is recognized by NASA, which can be difficult to achieve. In most cases, you may even be asked to have a masters or doctorate in one of these areas. However, an individual must also meet the health requirements to begin training which is limited on height, blood pressure, and eyesight (nasa. gov). If the individual is able to meet the requirements of becoming an astronaut, then years and years of training are required to become either a special mission astronaut or a captain and shuttle operator.
It is not an easy task to become an astronaut and it is extremely time consuming and rather large set of requirements that not everyone meets. Space exploration is an extremely dangerous form of traveling that many people believe is the next proper action that needs to be taken. These people argue that it will be impossible to avoid this do to the loss of resources on the planet that is needed for the human population. The population on Earth is expected to meet a minimum of 9 billion people by the year 2050, and many scientists believe that the population is growing much quicker than that.
These factors raise great concerns for the population and it makes individuals wonder if space exploration is what the United States should invest money into. Through space programs, mankind can gain a variety of new advancements in technology as we have in the past years with expeditions to the moon and the building of the International Space Station. Exploration in space could possibly even offer a new home through explorations on the Moon and on Mars. However, there are still individuals that believe that space exploration is a poor choice and that money and resources need to be focused on the pressing issues on Earth.
Astronauts also run the risk of complications during flight which could possibly lead to their death. These explorers also run the risk of attracting a disease during space travel that may not be curable on our home planet. It is a long and sometimes difficult process to go through in becoming an an astronaut. All of these reasons are valid arguments that support each opinion. This largely proves that this is an extremely controversial topic that will probably be debated until a decision has to be made.