NASA and its Work

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               By writing this blog I am trying to answer one question, "Is space travel worth it?". There is a large debate on this issue with good points on both sides. Last week I took a look at both of those arguments, the pros and cons of space travel. However, this week I am focusing more on the pros of space travel, specifically a viewpoint from NASA. I understand this source may be biased, but throughout this blog I will be examining a number of different sources that may all have a bias one way or another. Anyways, on the NASA website they have a page dedicated to explaining to viewers "Why we Explore". The article specifically talks about what we are exploring right now, such as mars, asteroids, and pluto, and what we as a species gain from it. Now I understand that it may be in NASA's best interest to make us believe what they are doing is important, but considering all they have accomplished in the past decade I think they are reliable. 

              The article specifically touches on why the International Space Station is one of the most valuable things we as humans have. NASA explains that the space station "serves as a national laboratory for human health, biological, and materials research, as a technology test-bed, and as a stepping stone for going further into the solar system". In other words, the station serves as a bridge for us to learn more about living in space as well as revealing challenges we may face in long distance travel. I personally find this an extremely valuable commodity because in the face of extinction the space station may be a reliable outpost. 

            Now unless you have been living under a rock for the past couple of years then you would know that there has been an interest in Mars in the past decade. NASA highlights this in their article saying, "Humans can build upon this knowledge and look for signs of life and investigate Mars' geological evolution, resulting in research and methods that could be applied here on Earth". NASA clearly believes that exploring Mars will give humans a better understanding of how the universe and other worlds work, and then we can apply that knowledge to Earth. It may even tip us off on how to find life. Now I do know that since we have started exploring Mars that we have learned a good bit, but it all seems irrelevant to what NASA says it could be worth. I'm not so sure Mars is doing much for us but I do think it brings hope, and hope is a good thing in an industry full of doubt. 

FUTURE RESEARCH: Next week I plan on looking at the other side of the argument. As I mentioned in my first post, some people believe space travel is not worth its benefits and I would like to take a deeper look into why.