Essay: Should space exploration be our priority?

The Pandora’s Box that is space holds vast mysteries that mankind has yet to yield. The start of space exploration in the 50’s marked a turning point in American history, and as a result of the new scientific innovations in space, human’s knowledge of earth, the atmosphere, and beyond has increased astronomically (Kalam). However, in 2010, President Barack Obama released a budget bill which revealed a dramatic decrease in space exploration funding.  Congressman Pete Olson, who helped introduce the “Space Leadership Act” which restricted the cutting of space exploration projects, viewed this as a  “crippling blow” to space exploration and showed America’s interest and dominance towards space was “no longer desired” (Malik). While some may argue that society should be focusing more on the sustainability of this planet, there is irrefutable evidence that society should be integrating space exploration more forcefully into everyday proceedings. Due to the prior success, technological advancements made available to the public, and future technological advancements space exploration should continue to become a more predominant aspect of human life.
Prior Support
With the past success and support on the future of space exploration, it is astounding how far humans have gone and how much mankind has yet to explore within the vast unknown. The prospect of space exploration has been pondered upon since the space era beginning in 1957, which brought upon mankind’s first step on the moon in 1969. The prior support of space exploration also brought many advantageous effects for America to flourish. By traveling to the moon the Americans were able to beat the Russians which in turn asserted dominance over the United States (Central Intelligence Agency). Through this, the true space age of exploration began and brought many new ideas as to how today’s society should be conducting space exploration. As a result of this, on July 19, 1994, a symposium was given at the National Geographic Society in Washington D.C. All of the speakers provided were vetted by several administrations and all have previous expertise in the field of space. One speaker, Paul Gray who is the Director of Environment for the European commission elaborated that recognising the need to explore the void “is undoubtedly the priority task for space exploration for the next 25 years” (Grosvenor). Ever since the start of the space age, scholars have been advocating for the future of space exploration. As a result, today’s society has begun to step up to the challenge. But, the way in which society conducts itself today, whether it be in space or on Earth, could not have been possible had those before us not been adamant about the future. For these instances of prior support and success, the future of space travel is an integral part of society that must be held as high a standard as other areas.
Making Spaces Travel Accessible to the Public
The future innovations in space travel become more applicable to the public making everyday life easier. People spend copious amounts of time from point A to point B. But, what if the daily commute took less time than to watch a television show? Elon Musk, is a renowned scholar of physics and economics, and has founded several companies that continue to flourish today such as, PayPal, Tesla, and SpaceX. SpaceX provides interplanetary travel and deep space exploration at efficient cost by reducing reusing materials. Through Musk’s efforts, an interplanetary rocket from Earth to Mars is in the works. In his speech given at the International Astronautical Congress in Australia during September of 2017, Musk iterated that “if you build a ship that’s capable of going to Mars, what if you take that same ship and go from one place to another on Earth?” (Musk). The proposed rocket provides human travel from London to Hong Kong in a meer 34 minutes as opposed to the 11.5 hour commercial flight (“Mars”). This technological advancement was geared towards space, but it is becoming more accessible to the public and improving the people’s lives.
New Technology Emerging from Space Exploration Research
The innovations of space travel are not only affecting space, but have a profound impact to life on Earth such as on the aspects of international relations, medical advancements, and human health. In 1986 the nuclear plant in Russia, Chernobyl, exploded. Russia’s government denied allegations of the plant exploding; but, countries with satellites in orbit photographed the aftermath of the incident. Paul Gray noted that the Soviet government denied the Chernobyl nuclear accident until other nations produced satellite imagery of the damaged reactor. This incident was a final contributor to “lack of confidence in a system which couldn’t exist in the modern world with space technology and the diffusion of information” (Grosvenor). Because other governments were able to divulge proof of an incident, a proper cleanup was initiated which in turn made the affected area safer for generations to come. The space innovation that was created as a mere competition for space dominance, ultimately resulted in a more substantial and prosperous Earth. Many rural areas around the world do not have access to clean water. However, technology created for the original purpose of recycling water aboard the ISS has been adapted to providing clean, safe, water for those in 3rd world countries (Benefits for Humanity). This affects not only the astronauts in space for whom water recycling was invented for, but also affects the people on Earth and the Earth itself. More sterilized water means a larger life expectancy due to the decreased bacteria flow within unsterilized water. “The space station has the potential to improve and change lives on Earth with each investigation and technology test that takes place in orbit” a statement made by many spokesmen that shines a light upon the medical advancements stemming from the future of space technology (Benefits For Humanity). Human life expectancy is continuing to grow through the decades with new advancements in the field of medicine; but a rather unknown factor has also caused the life expectancy to arise, innovations in space technology. Tumors that were deemed inoperable by human hands, suddenly became operable due to a robotic arm. The arm was not originally created for this purpose, it was created to lift heavy items aboard the International Space Station (ISS) but after observing the success, humans modified it for their own personal advantages (Rainey)(Chapman). Dr. Garnette Sutherland, a neurosurgeon and professor at Calgary university in Canada as well as winner of the Manning Award of Distinction, a cutthroat medical award, made the connection that “[i]f they [space engineers] could build complex robots, perhaps in collaboration with medicine, we could build a robot that could operate inside an MRI machine” (NASA). Had this piece of technology, that was built for space, not been revamped for human gain, a crucial part of the success towards human life today would not exist. These innovations, and many more, which were sparked by the innovations in the field of space exploration, greatly impacted the lives of humans today and the future generations to come. Because the future innovation in the field of space affect the people’s everyday lives, the future innovations of space exploration and sustainability is a crucial part towards the development of the human race.
Conclusion
Space exploration has had many implications on today’s society such as being more readily available to the public and adapting technological advantages in space that further improve life on Earth. Because the innovations geared towards space travel have reaped many benefits for Earth, the future continuation of space exploration is a vital necessity for mankind to expand and thrive rather than just survive. This is brought upon by devising new inventions for space exploration that are later able to be repurposed for Earth, and recognizing that space exploration is a critical aspect of life for people to shape the future to their needs.