Case for Investment: Space in USA

Case for Investment Space in USASun YudongEver since the dawn of man, mankind has been gazing at the turn everyplace in wonder. Space, has always been a mysterious place, a place where the frontier of science and innovation are put to the test, a place where 99% of what we countenance yet to disc over exists.In the present era, the home(a) Aeronautics and Space Administration (better known as NASA) and the NSF1 are the forefronts of musculus quadriceps femoris exploration and scientific enquiry in the USA and they have no doubt played a key role in galore(postnominal) of publics greatest achievements. NASA could change surface take credit for mundane items such as quartz timing crystals and bar-code scanners.The Sad SituationSpace is a difficult, dangerous but exciting $ccc billion industry worldwide. However, despite position being the final frontier, with many against space exploration, NASA has only received 0.48% of the US Federal budget, only half a cent for every tax d ollar. NASA is getting a pathetic amount of funding.In two hundred8, $700 billion2 was worn out(p) by the US government to revive the providence, which was way more than than the 50-year running budget of NASA. In 2013, US spent more than $3.45 trillion, with more than $600 billion going to defence, but with only $17.7 billion going to NASA, a niggling portion of worldwide spending on space.The whollyocation of funds is warped and on that point is just simply not enough funding going towards space exploration and scientific innovation, the seedling of hope, the future of the US economy.Over the past four decades, instead of NASA, we could have had at least six additional MITs. Consider any of the research that our single MIT has produced during that period, all of the students taught and leadership provided. For all the gains that NASA has made, its opportunity costs are far greater.Keith Yost, The Tech (MIT) Staff Columnist argument against NASA fundingWhat is evening more infuriating is that, even though the budget for NASA has been decreasing, the money saved were not put to good use. For example, US plans on spending more than $200 billion in the next decade to maintain nuclear weapons when they are almost useless.The one thing I convinced myself of after all these historic period of exposure to the use of nuclear weapons is that they were useless. They could not be used.Colin Powell, Former Secretary of StateFigure 2 NASA Budget over the years. Retrieved August 31, 2014, from http//www.penny4nasa.org/However, NASA did get a substantial amount of funding and this increased steadily in its infancy and peaked in 1966 at slightly more than 4.4% of the Federal Budget, before plummeting to the authoritative meagre 0.48%.Because of this, the campaign penny4nasa was launched in 2012 to fight for an increase in the budget for NASA, through advocating the economic, scientific and cultural value of NASA. With this as a trigger, the paper exit look at the different factors that led to the establishment of NASA, the decline in the budget, and ultimately explore why we should invest in space, and space exploration.Why NASA was puzzle upThe roots of NASA could be traced covering to October 4, 1957. On that day, the worlds first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, was launched. This surprise success of the Soviets in the midst of the Cold contend horrified the US and triggered the Sputnik Crisis that became part of the bigger Space Race. US was afraid, afraid that the Soviets would become more technologically advanced, that the Soviets would fire a missile at US, that US will lose its place on the global arena.Out of the fear factor of Sputnik, many policies were put in place. The National Defense Education transaction (NDEA) was passed by congress to increase educational standards to allow more people to become scientists and engineers. And on July 29 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space propel was signed, establishing NASA. It t ook over the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) and receivedly is the United States government agency that is responsible for civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research. With motivation from Sputnik 1, and elephantine funding, many space programs were quickly developed and put into action.The Decline in BudgetThroughout the Apollo Missions that ultimately aim to go to the Moon, NASA was very well funded, and all developments were extremely rapid. US was still in fierce competition with the Soviets.In 1969, the historic Apollo 11 mission put the first man on the Moon, and puts US in the lead ahead of the Soviets significantly. However, when US realised that the Soviets were not ready to go to the moon, the rate of progress in Space Exploration slowed.This was because, with the Soviets unable to haul up with US technological abilities and the Cold War becoming increasingly less intense, people were no longer as fearful of the Soviets as before , cypher was really wagered in the STEM3 fields anymore and those congressmen without NASA facilities in their state felt absolutely no reason why NASA should get so frequently funding as an increasing proportion of people want more welfare instead. As discussions went on the copulation, NASA naturally got increasingly less budget, resulting in the current situation. After all, congressmen work for the people, or they will lose their position in the next elections. However, I believe that they have failed to realise and consider the significance of NASA and space exploration on the culture and economics of the society.Significance of NASA and Space ExplorationSocial and CulturalSpace is not a special interest, unlike what many people may think.Space exploration inspired a whole generation to dream around tomorrow, a tomorrow made possible by scientific innovations, in a time of turmoil. It provided a different kind of hope, a hope that our lives will change for the better. The homes of tomorrow, the transportation of tomorrow, all these ingrained in the many issues of magazines. Space frontiers, engineering frontiers were being breached almost weekly. Space influenced our culture, our zeitgeist. It galvanized the whole nation to want to work towards Tomorrow, influencing our creative minds, our culture. For example, almost every science illustration cartoon made in and after the 1960s had rockets with fins, fins of the V2 Rocket used in NASA missions. (Figure 34) We saw space influences everywhere, even in Hollywood.Space exploration alike inspired a whole generation of Scientists and Engineers as Innovation made the headlines. No special programmes were needed to attract them. There is a cultural mien of these activities. From 1968 to 1972, there has been a sharp significant increase in the number of students pursuing education and career in these fields. (Figure 45) With the Space program, heroes were made. Space exploration is a force acting on the education pipeline and inspired a whole generation to join the scientific community.Space exploration also had a direct impact on the cultural asset of the human race. When we looked back from the moon, we rediscovered nation with a whole new perspective, without borders, without conflicts. We saw earth as disposition intended it, we saw earth as a whole.It is possible to see that Earthrise (Figure 56) marked the tipping point, the moment when the sense of the space age flipped from what it meant for space to what it means for EarthRobert Poole, Earthrise How Man First Saw the EarthIt inspired us to take time pip amidst the war to start thinking about Earth and nature. This is what sparked off a series of eventsFigure 6 Timeline of Space Missions with happening eventsAll these would not have happened so quickly without space exploration, without us looking back at earth to realise that earth is a home that is worth protecting.EconomicBeyond culture, space exploration has also bro ught about economic benefits. Satellites, GPS, intercontinental communication, the Internet. All of these has been directly or indirectly influenced by space exploration, and has had a huge impact on our lives as man. By breaching space and engineering frontiers, there were innovations, spin-offs. Space exploration and engineering drives innovation, the fuel for our capitalist economies.In fact, the satellites that we use to transmit TV signals, to transmit Internet packets, to communicate globally, could only have been brought about by government-initiated space exploration. This is because space is expensive and has incalculable risks, and it is a venture only a government could have successfully led.In fact, innovation drives the economy so much so that one of the main messages of Robert Solows7 work has been that a large proportion of the economy is driven by technological advancement.ConclusionAs goes the health of space faring ambition, so too goes the emotional, spiritual int ellectual, creative, economic ambitions of a nationNeil deGrasse Tyson, 2012In conclusion, space exploration is not a special interest group, and its significance is far and outreaching. With NASA being the frontier of space exploration, more funding should to be given to the agency, not as a handout, but as an investment that is able to penetrate our culture and transcend generations to reach greater heights.ReferencesBelleflamme, P. (2012, phratry 25). How to make innovation drive economic growth? Retrieved September 6, 2014, from http//www.ipdigit.eu/2012/09/how-to-make-innovation-drive-economic-growth/Bilstein, R. E. (1996). From NACA to NASA. In NASA SP-4206, Stages to Saturn A Technological History of the Apollo/Saturn Launch Vehicles (pp. 3233). NASA. Retrieved from http//history.nasa.gov/SP-4206/ch2.htm32Burrows, W. E. (1998). This overbold Ocean The Story of the First Space Age. New York Random House. Retrieved from http//www.amazon.ca/This-New-Ocean-Story-First/dp/06794 45218/ref=sr_1_1?s=booksie=UTF8qid=1280690435sr=1-1reader_0679445218Demographic Trends Undergraduate and Graduate Education. (n.d.). Retrieved from https//www.princeton.edu/ota/disk2/1985/8507/850705.PDFDr. Neil deGrasse Tyson Launch Keynote 28th National Space Symposium. (2012). Retrieved from http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLzKjxglNyEfeature=youtube_gdata_playerHunt, T. C. (2013, December 16). National Defense Education Act (NDEA). In Encyclopdia Britannica. Retrieved from http//global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/404717/National-Defense-Education-Act-NDEALast Week Tonight with John Oliver Nuclear Weapons (HBO). (2014). Retrieved from http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Y1ya-yF35gfeature=youtube_gdata_playerNASA. (2005). The National Aeronautics and Space Act. Retrieved September 3, 2014, from http//www.nasa.gov/offices/ogc/about/space_act1.htmlNational Science Foundation. (n.d.). Retrieved September 5, 2014, from http//www.allgov.com/departments/independent-agencies/national-science- foundation?agencyid=7341Neil deGrasse Tyson We Stopped Dreaming (Episode 1). (2012). Retrieved from http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbIZU8cQWXcfeature=youtube_gdata_playerOffice of Management and Budget. (n.d.-a). Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2013. U.S. Government Printing Office, capital letter 2010. Retrieved from http//www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2013/assets/budget.pdfOffice of Management and Budget. (n.d.-b). Retrieved September 4, 2014, from http//www.whitehouse.gov/ombOMB-President Obamas 2013 Budget-Summary Table. (n.d.). Retrieved from http//www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2013/assets/tables.pdfPenny4NASA Penny4NASA is a nonprofit striving to increase NASAs funding to 1% by encouraging popular support for NASA through education and outreach. (n.d.). Retrieved September 8, 2014, from http//www.penny4nasa.org/Photo 17 of 58, Apollo 11. (2009, June 4). Retrieved September 3, 2014, from http//imageevent.com/afap /spaceandscience/apollo11jsessionid=hmk1oipnb3.camel_s?p=16c=4n=1m=-1w=2s=0z=1y=2Rosenberg, J. (n.d.). President John F. Kennedy Gives Man on the Moon Speech. Retrieved September 19, 2014, from http//history1900s.about.com/od/1960s/a/jfkmoon.htmSpace Race. (2014, September 17). In Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved from http//en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Space_Raceoldid=625983337Special Message to Congress on Urgent National Needs. (1961). Washington, D.C. Retrieved from http//www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/xzw1gaeeTES6khED14P1Iw.aspxSputnik crisis. (2014, September 14). In Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved from http//en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sputnik_crisisoldid=622755710Temple-Raston, D. (2008, October 3). Bush Signs $700 Billion Financial Bailout Bill. National Public Radio. Retrieved from http//www-cdn.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95336601V-2 rocket. (2014, September 19). In Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved from https//e n.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=V-2_rocketoldid=626151508We Stopped Dreaming (Episode 2) A New Perspective. (2012). Retrieved from http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFO2usVjfQcfeature=youtube_gdata_playerWilford, J. N. (2009, July 14). On Hand for Space History, as Superpowers Spar. The New York Times. Retrieved from http//www.nytimes.com/2009/07/14/science/space/14mission.htmlYost, K. (2010, April 9). Should we cut NASA funding? The Tech, p. 6.11 The National Science Foundation (NSF) is a United States government agency set up to support fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. The National Institutes of Health is the medical counterpart of NSP.2 Amount of money spent on Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, to bailout the U.S. financial system3 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics4 (Clockwise) MundodelPene, Start einer V2 Photograph (1943), Retrieved September 3, 2014, from https//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FileBun desarchiv_Bild_141-1880,_Peenemnde,_Start_einer_V2.jpg, Rocket Cartoon Image, Retrieved September 3, 2014, from http//www.clipartbest.com/clipart-aiqenRx6T, 1956 GM redbird II Photograph (n.d.), Retrieved September 3, 2014, from http//www.carbodydesign.com/archive/2010/06/top-ten-concept-cars-of-the-fifties/5 Doctorate Degrees in Science and Engineering by Field and by Year, 1958-83. Retrieved September 15, 2014, from https//www.princeton.edu/ota/disk2/1985/8507/850705.PDF6 Figure 5 NASA / Bill Anders (1968) Earthrise over the moon Photograph, Retrieved September 03, 2014, from http//www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/a410/AS8-14-2383HR.jpg7 Nobel Prize Laureate in Economics in 1987