Hawking on Space Travel

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               The economics of outer space can be a blurry area. As we have seen there are many factors that must be taken into account when determining if space travel is economically a good idea. In my last article we explored the alternatives to space travel and what we could be using that funding on here on Earth. It all certainly caused questions to arise about the topic. However, Stephen Hawking, a world famous physicist and cosmetologist, has put doubts to rest in a lecture he gave to a group at George Washington University. He brings up the points that we are in a golden age for exploration and funding for space travel, as well as how we can do all of this while increasing funding and research in other problems on Earth. 

               Hawking starts his lecture by disproving a common misconception that space travel is extremely expensive. He notes that though from a numbers point of view it may seem like they are spending drastic amounts of money, but when you compare how much NASA spends compared to the national GDP it comes out to roughly 0.1%. Hawking also notes that the world has access to more resources that ever at this moment in time and it is important to allocate some of those resources to NASA now so that down the road we will not be forced to blow off space travel when faced with a scarcity of resources. Hawking believes that if we could increase spending on NASA by doubling it then we could be exploring possible host planets in two-hundred years, and he says all of this is possible while protecting our homeland. 

             Hawking brings up a curious point where he explains that it doesn't matter how much we spend on things as long as they are worth their cost. From his point of view, defense is a commonly over budgeted program by governments and that money should be going towards space exploration as well as a number of other things, specifically the environment. I would agree with this statement in that we do not have much need for large defensive budgeting at this point in time. Most of our warfare is technological and the cost far exceeds what it should at this point in time. Hawking brought up data suggesting that the U.S. cutting back on defensive spending could double spending in environment conservation as well as NASA, all while still spending more on defense than any other country in the world. This all helps explain a solution to everyones interests concerning this debate and I believe that all sides benefit from Hawking's argument. It is uncertain if cutting back on defense and increasing in NASA is practical, but it is an idea that may spark hundreds more.

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.

Save Space for Later

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                Earth's surface is seventy percent ocean and to this day humans have only explored less than five percent of it. As a species that has inhabited the world for thousands of years we know little to nothing about the oceans that cover our world. Recently there has been new research to understand the effect the ocean has on our planet and how polluting it has effected our environment and the creatures that inhabit it. But more recently there has been an interest in other worldly things such as the ninth planet in the solar system as well as our neighboring planet Mars, and with that interest there has been speculation on why we spend so much exploring beyond our planet when we know so little about our own. In CNN's article "Mars Can Wait. Oceans Can't" the author, Amitai Etzioni, talks about how the oceans play a crucial role in both science and medical advancements. 

              Etzioni begins with the technological argument. She highlights how "Ninety percent of the ocean floor has not even been charted, and while we have been to the moon, the technology to explore the ocean's floors is still being developed". I must admit that it is a bit absurd how we have the means to travel beyond our planet, but not into our own. With that being said though, humans have always fought through adversity when there is an incentive, and only recently have humans had any incentive to explore the oceans, a place just as inhabitable as outer space. Had there been an ocean counter part to the space race I bet there may be technology today for humans to explore the depths with. A large portion of the serge for advancements in ocean tech has been related to climate and advancements in medicine.

            Etzioni brings up that the importance of new technology comes with our little understanding of the ocean and its role on our climate as well as organism use to help cure disease. In the article the author states, "The oceans play a major role in controlling our climate. But we have not learned yet how to use them to cool us off rather than contribute to our overheating. Ocean organisms are said to hold the promise of cures for an array of diseases". Climate change has been a major issue as of late and scientists searching for evidence are looking to the oceans. This years El Nino could have played a crucial role in this years hectic Winter, with weather ranging from normal lows to all time highs. Medicine as well has shown need of enhancement as new viruses and diseases find their way to the U.S. With all of these issues revolving around the ocean it may be time to set aside the space program and explore more of our home. Though I am one to advocate for space exploration, there is not much use in the search if we cannot survive long enough on Earth to make it practical. All in all I believe there is a sufficient argument against space exploration, however, I do not think that means exploration should be shut down, just slowed while funds go towards more urgent issues. 

Future Research: Expert opinions on the issue as well as economics. 

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. 

Pros and Cons of Space Travel

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               For the last thousand years humans have understood that Earth is a part of a much larger system of life and matter. Scientists have dedicated their life to understanding this vast space that encompasses our world, and in the past hundred years we made immense leaps in the cause for space exploration. We send humans to the moon where they could be one of a handful to see the Earth in its full glory. They also were able to understand that space is much more vast than anyone ever thought before. The Cold War had ended and now humans understood that there was not much opportunity for humans in space. NASA lost funding and further exploration programs had come to a halt. It is only in these past couple of years that technology has allowed us to go further in space. We have rovers on Mars, and a satellite just past Pluto to get the first ever pictures of the icy dwarf. However, even with all of this achievement and the benefits space exploration can hold, NASA is still underfunded and there seems to be less and less interest in the program with some of the problems we have here on Earth. In the Asia-Pacific Economics blog, the many writers overview the numerous pros and cons of space exploration. I want to find out if space exploration is worth it and I believe these men hold the answer. 

            The pros of space exploration may prove to be less obvious than expected. In the article, the authors state,"Space exploration will also bring a dramatic change to the life of every individual on Earth." In context, the authors talk about how research for space travel has lead to numerous advancements in engineering and science that have helped create everyday products. The stove being one example. They go on to state "Space exploration is associated with adventure and most people really love adventure, accepting challenges and making impossibilities possible." Most people don't realize that humans were made for adventure and they love nothing more than to find new things. From Columbus to Lewis and Clark, exploration is in human blood and the space program satisfies that crave to always go further, in everything we do.

The cons, however, may be more obvious to the everyday consumer. This is highlighted in the article when the authors point out that " The main disadvantages that you will encounter with space exploration are the amount of money that you need to spend during the research process." NASA receives .04% of the national budget which comes out to a little under ten billion. Many people believe that this money should be going towards other things that could benefit underprivileged people in Africa or even the U.S. Whether the cost is worth the benefit of space exploration is something I will be looking for with this blog.

Outer Space

PASSION PROJECT PLANNING & BLOG POSTS DRAFTS

BLOG POST #1

1. This was already written in Google Classroom under “Selecting a Passion Project Topic”
2. Add the resources (databases, books, etc) that were suggested as a comment to your post on Google Classroom
3. Review the sample blog post below)

4. Use the template below to organize your blog post:

• TITLE: The Cosmos
• KEY ECONOMIC PRINCIPLES I’M ADDRESSING:
• Scarcity, people choose.
• All choices have an opportunity cost.
• OVERALL RESEARCH QUESTION: Why don’t we focus more on outer space?
• SUB QUESTIONS
• What are we doing in space right now?
• What are the pros and cons of space exploration?
• How does the government regulate it?
• What future plans do we have for outer space?
• RESOURCES FOR RESEARCH:
• DATABASES:
• ProQuest
• Gale Resources in Context
• WEBSITES:
• www.nasa.gov
• www.debate.org
• www.forbes.com