The Pros And Cons Of NASA

“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” These words, perhaps some of the most famous ever spoken, were spoken by Neil Armstrong after he became the first person to successfully set foot on the moon. It was a proud day not only for Armstrong, but also for NASA, the United States, and the entire planet Earth. Mankind had surpassed its own limits and stepped onto another world. None of that could have been possible, however, without NASA and its political and public support. What do we do now that NASA has lost much of its support? Do we give up on it? The answer is no. NASA has been the source of social and economic, as well as technological, advancement since its inception in 1958. It has been forwarding science and civilization …show more content…
Why not save the $17 billion every year and allow private organizations to explore the heavens? Of course, privatizing space is one of the most prominent arguments against NASA. It is generally assumed that the private sector can do the same things NASA does, only more quickly and more cheaply. SpaceShipOne and the Ansari X Prize might be able to explain why privatization is a bad idea. The Ansari X Prize was a $10 million reward given to the first private company that could build a reusable space shuttle, and SpaceShipOne was the vehicle that succeeded in 2004. While both organizations successfully reached their primary goals, they failed to demonstrate the profitability of private space exploration. SpaceShipOne cost between $20 million and $30 million to complete, while other spacecraft cost many millions more. The company that built SpaceShipOne lost $10-20 million on the endeavor …show more content…
That is inspiration. How many young children say that they want to be astronauts when they grow up? This is what is arguably the most important thing NASA has given us. In the three years after the famous “Earth Rise” photograph was released, dozens of world-wide ecological organizations were formed (McBrien). NASA has not always inspired people, though. The 1986 Challenger explosion and the 2003 Columbia disintegration have certainly been terrifying events for NASA and the world. As well as many brave astronauts, NASA lost much political and economic support after each of these events. We cannot let these disasters scare us, however. As Charles Krauthammer writes, “What will we have told [the future settlers of Mars]? That after millennia of gazing at the heavens, we took one step into the void, then turned and, for the longest time, retreated to home and hearth? Or that we retained our nerve and hunger for the horizons, and embraced our destiny?” We cannot be discouraged by failure. On top of the economic benefits NASA has provided, we have also been given inspiration to keep innovating and keep discovering. We cannot keep doing those things, however, without the support of the economy, the government, and the American

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