According to experts the universe is full of resources. The human race is consuming its resources and soon our resources will become depleted. This comes as a result of the earth over population with approximately 7 billion inhabitants and pollution. NASA’s pursuit of life on other places in the universe in part is motivated by the idea of tapping into these resources and transporting them to earth. Other NASA scientists biggest dream is to be able to colonize another planet, specifically the planet Mars. Currently NASA scientists are developing the first manned spacecraft that will travel to Mars. This is very important because of all the planets in our solar system; Mars is the closest to earth. Experts argue that Mars at one point in its …show more content…
A sand storm caught up to their camp and the entire crew was forced to leave the botanist stranded. Next he became aware of his surrounding and began to plant potatoes seeds through an indoor green house. The green house had water and it was exposed to the sun light. What was most interesting is that the dirt used to plant the potato was from Mars’s soil. Although it’s just a movie, we can visualize this concept of being able to sustain life, such that food with the proper equipment can be produced outside of the planet. The earth’s inhabitants need an escape plan before it is too late, and become plagued with natural disasters or self-inflicted through wars; that threaten our existence. If we do not plan; “what happens, then, to all of the accomplishments of the last thousand generations of humans? All of our art, our music, our literature, our science, even our very genes could be wiped out. Unless, of course, there are a few humans living elsewhere in the solar system. Space exploration and colonization of the Moon and Mars are an insurance policy for humanity and all of our achievements” (The Martin Chronicles, …show more content…
In 2012, NASA received $18.7 billion from the federal government to continue research and exploration; this is less than one percent of the whole U.S budget. Of the $18.7 billion, $3.8 billion will go to space exploration. “By comparison, the Department of Defense got $670 billion and another $69.8 billion went to education. To put that in perspective, that’s 1.2% of a taxpayer’s total income going to science, space and technology programs while national defense and education receives 26.3% and 4.8% of taxpayers’ dollars, respectively” (Adamu, 2015).
Americans are supportive of the space exploration program. In a 2011 Pew Research survey 58% of Americans stated that space exploration is essential. In addition 38% stated that the space program contributes a lot to scientific advances, 36% stated that the space program contributes a fraction to advancement. Also, 34% stated it contributed a lot to patriotism and another 34% stated it contributed some to American patriotism. Overall 74% of Americans stated that the space program does more good than bad, versus 17% who stated it does more bad than good (Kennedy, & Kennedy,