Should People Continue With Space Exploration?

Space exploration has been a dream for many people growing up but as the chance gets closer more factors have to come into play. Some people argue that humans should not explore space because they will just turn it into a capitalist exploitation and destroy the other planets like they did earth. But the fact is that space exploration is inevitable, and the question should change from whether people should do it to what issues should be considered most important in making this decision.

If this is the case, then humans should consider the cost of space exploration, should corporations be allowed to bring back resources, and would private industries be able to leave these planets better than they left earth.

The funding for space exploration has always been a hot topic because many people believe that they should not go to space because the human race still has many issues that they need to solve before even considering this a possibility.

Many people like to point out that the funding for these expensive lunar landings should be redirected to issues that deserve to be addressed like the Flint water case issue, police brutality, and gentrification. Though the national government did not have anything to do with it, the protesters believe that the the government should take full responsibility and resolve it because it is a basic necessity to have access to clean water.

In source C, however, it is evident that the national government could take money from somewhere else that does not require that much funding like the national defence, which takes 19 cents from every tax dollar that is earned.

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In the pie chart, NASA does not even get its own section because they do not receive as much funding as other programs.

Once NASA does send astronauts to explore the atmosphere, the government need to establish protocols to ensure that the astronauts did not bring any alien lifeform into earth’s solar system. The most common worry is bringing back invasive species into earth, but it should be bringing back raw material from other planets. This is an even bigger issue because it could lead to the destruction of the economy; the recession, which was caused by greedy businessmen, should be used to emphasize the idea that humans do not care for the greater good. According to source A “the manned space exploration program is absolutely worth the cost” and “our investment will be returned many times over”. But if a country discovers a planet filled with gold, the abundance of this material will make them instantly wealthy and inflate the price of gold.

The discovery of these types of materials will not only ensure the destruction of the economy but also the environment. Current environmentalist will argue that humans are not responsible enough to preserve these planets. But if the government is able to regulate their destruction then maybe commercializing space travel may be beneficial to everyone. Source E suggests that space travelers should live by a principle: extraterrestrial resources ought not to be exploited to benefit the few. The principle, if they stay as a principle, will not be followed, and they will have to be enforced by the government to preserve the solar system.

Space exploration should not be done without a global regulation because it will result in the destruction of many natural environments as countries fight to become the wealthiest. Though some people believe that humans have learned from their mistakes and will be able to preserve natural environments on other planets, they have not managed to preserve their own planet and will leave them like they left earth.