Are government agencies such as NASA and the Air Force wasting money on space exploration and research? In dealing with my instructors and peers in the sciences, the debate concerning the benefit of space exploration is very popular. After discussing this topic recently, I must offer my opinion on the matter.
First of all, the exploration of space was originally justified as being for the simple purpose of scientific research….ok so government isn’t the greatest judge of what to spend money on but we’ll leave that one alone. Most of the US’s growth in space funding occurred during the cold war space race. Most people would agree that this was a simple case of competition spending with the Soviets. You could say this helped our image and credibility with other nations because our triumphs showed that our system worked better than the USSR’s. When the Soviet Union collapsed, NASA did recieve a significant decline in funding, so this argument is at least fairly credible.
What about now? Thanks to the mandates of the Bush Administration, NASA is establishing a long-range space exploration mission. I’m sure you’ve heard details of the program…the ISS finished by 2010, a moon base, and eventually astronauts on Mars. As of yet the initial estimates are that the space agancy will spend approximately $180 billion dollars. Wow.
NASA administrators are proud to admit it’s actually only 55% of the Apollo budget when adjusting for inflation. But still, we’re talking about $180 billion. So what will $180 billion buy us? Honestly, nothing for sure. It is impossible to predict what discoveries may come, and what technological advancements may follow. The first 4 major NASA programs can be credited for inventing a number of modern materials and devices, but could these have come cheaper? I think so.
Yet as a physicist it is natural for me to support scientific research if it is progressive and original. While I am sure that there will be significant discoveries to come from this new program, I am skeptical as to the timing and management of the operation (I say this because NASA has a long history of mistakes and screw-ups). To make a long story short, I support the scientific exploration of space, but am convinced that for-profit entities could do better.
~Bluesman51
Let me also add this as a conclusion: I feel that it would be appropriate for the Federal Government to allow more freedoms to private space-travel corporations like Virgin Galactic. These businesses have conducted quite a bit of research and spending on their own, and tax breaks can only help the market.
-Bluesman 51