If one turns on the news at the moment it is more than likely that one will see reports on Obama's new health-care plan or what our government is doing about the swine flu. With all these worrying issues floating around the issue of space exploration has faded into the background. Space exploration and an eventual manned trip to Mars however should be one of the government's number one concerns.
Remember back to a time when you were about seven years old. If you were anything like me then you were infatuated with space. I remember reading about anything to do with space and how these books filled me with wonder of the great mysteries and beauties of our expansive galaxy. The point of all this you might ask? What might the government do better than to capture all of us with that wonder again? I believe that by landing a man on Mars we could fill the nation not only with wonder for our universe but with pride in our nation. Landing a man on Mars would remove all of humanity from the chaos of the present and unite us in the common knowledge that we are just one small planet in the great expanse of the universe. In many ways putting a man on Mars would be to the same effect as putting a man on the moon was in the 60's.
Besides the ability to distract Americans from the chaos of the present, a manned mission to Mars would also serve to provide many tangible benefits. First off a mission to Mars would spur science as we tried to solve the many challenges that would come with putting a man on Mars such as extended space travel. Imagine what could be the solutions to these challenges such as the ability to create a gravitational field on a space ship or near-light-speed traveling vehicles. Look at just a few of the innovations we have already gained from our pursuit of space exploration such as cordless tools, the ear thermometer, and even the smoke detector. Secondly a mission to Mars could also stimulate the economy by providing a mass amount of jobs. Imagine the amount of technical jobs that would open up for the development of new space-age technologies or just the amount of unskilled jobs needed to build new NASA buildings and space shuttles.
Finally imagine the unity of the human race that can be brought about by a mission to Mars. Space exploration has recently become a big front for the cooperation of nations. Just look at the cooperation brought about by the International Space Station which has brought together numerous nations, all to study the wonders of space. A mission to Mars could have an even greater effect on global unity as humans expand from being a species concentrated on a single lone plant to beings that now have a domain that expands beyond earth's immediate surroundings. Traveling to Mars might make humans start to see the Earth as their home-planet as a whole, not just one single country or state.
-Reaper
3 comments:
It would be cool to put a man on the moon. There are obvious benefits,but I don't know if we are up to that right now. I do agree that we should work towards it though.
Maybe this could benefit us, but what will we do when we get there? Take a few pictures, spend some money. What's the point? Exploration doesn't help the economy at all. I don't see the point of it. You could use all the money that is spent and all the years of studying towards something more benefitial to us all. This might gain us hope, but why would we need distracting? For when our minds come back to reality, the problems will still be there. I'm a negative nancy, I know.
I don't really see the point of this space exploration. Yes it would be cool but why should we put forth the millions of dollars to a space program that honestly doesn't benefit the lives of Americans except for the excitement of landing. We have endless problems that we could put that money to first before we even think about putting money into this project.
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