So is Space Worth it?

ECONOMIC PRINCIPLE: Because of scarcity, people choose. All choices have an opportunity cost.

THESIS Because of scarcity, the world has a limited of time and resources. These resources must be used in an efficient manner to ensure our survival, and to use them in outer space rather than our own planet has the best opportunity cost.

SYNTHESIS PARAGRAPH: At a first glance it may be hard to understand why investing in a place like outer space, where nothing happens, would be more beneficial from an economic standpoint than our own Earth. The Asia-Pacific Economics Blog does a good job at highlighting what research in space does for us on Earth. Most of our everyday technology has come from the research that NASA has done in outer space. The most relevant example being the stove. Without funding for NASA it would be impossible for them to focus on ground breaking technology that would not only help us in space, but also on Earth. We have a limited number of resources on Earth and this blog shows that those materials are best spent on creating new technology rather than old tech.  “Why We Explore”, a NASA written article, reveals that we as humans cannot stay on Earth forever. There are millions of threats that we face everyday that have the capability of wiping out the entire planet. Because of this, NASA has invested billions of dollars into space travel because Earth is running out of time and NASA would rather have an escape plan that not. They have funded experiments to go to Mars and even Pluto. What NASA is not doing, however, is helping out our own planet. In a CNN article the author talks about how space travel might be important, but it is more important to preserve what we already have, specifically oceans. From an environmental standpoint I would completely agree. Oceans are crucial for thousands of animals on Earth, but economically it doesn’t make sense. There is not much that we can do or will do with the ocean when it comes to making a better society or money. The author does make a good point about preserving our own land, but we just get more out of investing in outer space. The cosmos is infinitely large and there is a lot we can learn from it that will benefit us at home and in the future. From advanced technology to saving the planet NASA is a valuable asset to invest in and I believe sooner would be better than later.