NASA, the government funded space program responsible for many of America’s great historical achievements is asking for $17.7 billion of government funds this year. NASA needs this money because they not only give the whole world a better understanding of the universe, but NASA also helps the US stand out as a nation.
“I don’t think the public knows how much NASA does,” Robert Moore, chemistry teacher, said. “Their funding is so slim as it is, and [$17.7] billion is just a drop in the bucket. It’s nothing.”
For people uninterested in space exploration, $17.7 billion can seem like a large amount of tax money. However, NASA does more than just land men on the moon and discover new solar systems. Many everyday activities such as checking weather forecasts are made possible by technology developed by NASA.
Current successes, such as Curiosity, the Mars Science Laboratory, could not have been possible without government funds. Curiosity has been in development since 2004 and costs over $2.5 billion to be operational, according to the sciencenews website.
“Curiosity will carry the most advanced payload of scientific gear ever used on Mars’ surface, a payload more than ten times as massive as those of earlier Mars rovers. Its assignment: investigate whether conditions have been favorable for microbial life and for preserving clues in the rocks about possible past life,” according to the official NASA website.
A major argument against funding NASA is that some people don’t care about science. These people think NASA funds should only be spent on things they benefit from.
“I think everybody does benefit from scientific discovery. Not that [all discovery] will pay off [for] us day to day, but [scientific discovery] gives us better background and better understanding of what position humans have in this vast universe,” Moore said.
NASA not only makes monumental discoveries. NASA employs more than 18,000 American citizens directly, with an additional 30,000 contracted partners.
“While reaching for new heights in space, we’re creating new jobs right here on Earth, especially for the next generation of American scientists and engineers, by supporting cutting-edge aeronautics and space technology innovations, and research and development that will fuel the nation’s economy for years to come,” Charles F. Bolden, Jr, NASA Administrator, said in the 2013 NASA budget plan.
Years ago, when President Kennedy decided to start the Apollo project through NASA, he understood the project was a national effort for which every American citizen must contribute.
“But in a very real sense, it will not be one man going to the moon. If we make this judgment affirmatively, it will be an entire nation,” Kennedy said in his Special Message to the Congress on Urgent National Needs. “For all of us must work to put him there.”
As long as Americans continue to use GPS systems or cell phones, they need to pay tax dollars to support NASA. With adequate funding, NASA will be free to explore the mysteries of the edgeless universe while also continuing to make American lives a bit easier every day.