Science Opinions Should America continue spending money on NASA? -
Yes Overpopulation is definitely a growing problem and we will need a new place to put people in sometime in the future. Also, NASA helps create everyday products from the technology that they create. We might even find new ways to make energy or other places where life could exist in the universe to study. Posted By: Anonymous -
Yes Were slowly degrading the earth and if we dont find a substitute soon we'll have no place to go and if we have no place to go then life will end, i don't think we want that. if it was a waste of money then i guess its not worth spending money to save our lives haha. And spending all that money on useless military equipment that usually just sits around for a while isnt a waste? sure our safety is important but we don't need THAT much weapons. either find another planet or start taking care of the earth but i doubt us ignorant humans will take the time to do so. Posted By: Anonymous -
Expenditure is relative In the US military spending outweighs that of NASA by nearly 50 times. Therefore, just a two percent reduction of military spending (which is five times higher than any other country's) would be equivalent to the complete eradication of NASA except that it would rob our society of the aforementioned technological advancements and inspiration NASA brings. -
Of Course! NASA does many more things than space exploration, it starts businesses! They created memory foam, better sunglasses, freeze drying technology, baby food and artificial limbs! Also they explore space, imagine the gain America would have if we found out how to make space colonies! We would have two economies! The lunar people would have to rely on solar energy but once a colony gets set up all they would have to do is get some sort of amazing rocket vehicle to drop off the supplies to the great lakes or something and we get free stuff from the sky! The only problem is if some freaky alien crap happens but that's never going to happen. Yeah, lunar colony! Think about it. -
SUPPORT THE CONTINUATION OF SPACE EXPLORATION! When Earth is too crowded, where are we going to go? Space exploration is the only way to find out. The research for human space exploration often results in the invention of innovative new technologies that could be helpful to us. Space exploration is necessary to ensure that humanity can grow and expand, even beyond what Earth can provide. Posted By: Anonymous -
NASA creates industries, jobs and the money goes back in to the economy of every single state For every NASA mission, NASA invents new technologies that we Americans use EVERY SINGLE DAY. The technology is patented and licensed out to American companies. They have done this tens of thousands of times, in every state. The money is returned into the economy and creates industries and jobs. Posted By: Anonymous -
NASA inspired our greatest technical advances! Since it's creation, NASA has been responisble for many of our greatest technical advances. The need for smaller lighter components for space flight has given us the personal computer, smart phones and much more. New materials were created to withstand the heat of reentry. The internet was the result of the need for researchers to communicate securely and quickly. Posted By: Anonymous -
Are we alone? Have you ever looked at the sky and wondered; are we the only thing out there? I have, and it makes me want to fly out there right then and there. NASA has given us a way to explore the universe, to bravely go where no man has gone before. The sun will burn out, and we will die if we don't start right now on it we could be to late. When Neil Armstrong first stepped onto the moon, America was hopeful.(most of America, anyway) Wouldn't we feel that same kind of hope if we found another speices, even a spieces that cant speak? NASA also isn't just stuck on space. They are exploring more things than space. They helped build the ISS, which by the way, is helping to find cures for cancer, things stronger than steel, and so many other things! NASA is a crucial piece of America and every one in it Posted By: Anonymous -
Yes we should! We're an awfully short-sighted species. We KNOW for a fact that the sun will die out. We KNOW for a fact that we will outgrow the Earth. So why wait until we have no more time left? Science isn't easy--we have to start now! Expand! Grow! Secure our future millenia! Image the worlds we could explore and colonize if we just act now and not later! Posted By: Anonymous -
Everyone saying no is COMPLETELY wrong... First of all, $9.928 billion is not spent on NASA, it is roughly $16-17 billion per year which is still half of 1% of the budget. Second, the money spent on NASA, is returned 2 to 3 times over (on the most conservative scale). Some say as much as 10 to 14 times return. So if we stop funding NASA, the economy will actually go down. All of the problems that are "more important" would still not get taken care of because the nation as a whole would have less money. TO those saying we could spend it on saving the Earth, do some research, NASA does that. TO the people saying we could spend it on education. AGAIN, research, NASA does that. NASA has a $100 million dollar education budget, they give scholarships, teach educators, and help get children interested in STEM related fields. TO those saying it should be just the private sector. Negative. It should be both the government and private sector. Why leave it to just one? NASA already helps the private sector by providing millions of dollars in funding to companies all over the US. TO the person about the oceans and Earth not being discovered, NASA does those things, too. There seems to be a misconception about NASA on the "NO" side. NASA is not just for finding another planet to live on, or about space travel. It helps make our airports more efficient, it has benefits to medicine, engineering, EVERYTHING. YOUR job, YOUR lifestyle, all benefits from NASA. Posted By: Anonymous -
YES Inventions created by NASA: Invisible Braces, Scratch Resistant lenses, Memory foam, Ear Thermometer, Shoe insoles, Adjustable Smoke Detector, Safety Grooving, Cordless Tools, and most importantly Water filters. We Americans use most of those things every day. The things that NASA creates benefits us. NASA created all things while underfunded as well. Just think if NASA was actually given more money! KEEP NASA!!!!! -
Absolutely. NASA's funding is 1 100th of a percent on the tax dollar. Think about that. What if we were to make it to 1 penny on the tax dollar? Think about that. During the space race, the future became the biggest craze. Heroes were made. Little kids WANTED to grow up to be engineers. They thought it was cool. It spurred innovation, and at one point, we were way ahead of the rest of the world technologically. When the first pictures of Earth were taken, all of a sudden, we began thinking of Earth as a whole. Earth day was founded soon afterward, the EPA was soon created, we began thinking about global warming and pollution. Doctors without borders (I think that was what it was called) was founded. All of this through Space. The more investment we put into NASA, the more we learn about Earth, and the more we help our economy. Space exploration spurs innovation. Innovation is something we desperately need in America at this point. It creates jobs. It creates heroes. It makes kids WANT to become engineers, something we are sorely lacking among youth today. The more we learn about Venus (a green house problem gone wrong), the more we learn about our own green house problem, and the more we can learn on how to stop it. The more we explore Mars, the closer we come to being able to colonize it, and give more room for our rapidly expanding population. Increasing Funding for NASA is a MUST! -
1 dollar spent equals about 10 dollars recieved By putting money into NASA you make a beacon for young minds to become scientists and engineers. They would be able to make the technologies to be used not only for the non space related fields but to explore the solar system. In 1958 the government spent 25 billion dollars to get into space, by the mid 1980's that initial investment became 181 billion in countless patents and spin off technologies and inspired countless people into the aerospace industry. GORGIAS I would like to point out that A. the space shuttle was lifted by the combination of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, to create steam so I doubt NASA is doing nearly the damage you think they cause. B. Terraforming Mars not only is within our technological capabilities but helps us learn how to fix Earth. By putting a colony on Mars, you will inspire so many more kids to do well in school to become scientists and engineers and help this world out as well. In response to a majority of the No people, by going to space and funding NASA we use botanist biologist chemists everywhere in the STEM fields and they help bring technologies and research to END diseases and cancers, they give people a reason to go get a job to try and be a part of the figurative tomorrow. Build NASA up and they will be the savior of our economy -
Absolutely Not only do I believe that America should spend more money on NASA, but I believe that space exploration should be a global effort. When we do make contact with another species, we will want to represent oursleves as a united planet, not as divided selfish beings who are constantly at war with each other. I realize i may have ranted a bit here xD I apologize for that -
Space exploration is the key to understanding the universe. That being said, less than 1% of the national budget is spent on the space program, while millions, if not billions of dollars are spent and lost on the military each day. Until the private sector begins to have success, the united states government must complete the task. Also, so much of today's modern technology has roots in America's space program, and by continuing to fund this research, new technology will be produced. -
Nasa yay Until corn subsidies stop, Nasa will not be the worst thing taxpayers spend money on. -
Yes Until the private sector catches up, space travel and research will have to be done by the government. When the private sector does catch up though, then we can scale back a bit -
It's an investment. The technology that has come out of NASA (or more realistically, NASA's discoveries) has depth on every level of our economy and personal lives. If we want to continue to have the most powerful economy in the world, we need to focus on a race to the top (highest quality goods), rather than a race to the bottom (cheapest goods) and in order to have those high quality goods, we need the most advanced technology available. NASA is one investment towards that advanced technology. -
Meh. Although I don't like spending money on anything, a lot of common technology today has its roots in NASA. -
NASA is worth it. They don't actually use that much money, and they contribute many useful inventions to society. -
We should get people to Mars. I wish they didn't get rid of the Space Shuttle though. -
NASA has proven itself efficient. People said that the money was a waste and we shouldn't have tried to get a rover on Mars. Guess what? We got it done. It has proven that it can get things done and it has proven that it could get that space rover (Curiosity) on Mars. -
Soon Once we have our economy back on track. Humanity has lots to discover why not? -
Definitely Creates money, creates technology, creates jobs. It's worthwhile. -
Yes. I think that while NASA's budget should be lowered as far as interplanetary travel, its exoatmospheric research is extremely important when considering dangers to humanity like asteroids... -
More funding! I think that more money should be spent on NASA. Many of us don't really care about politics and international conflicts. Let the money flow in the way of discovery, and not in the way of wars and destruction. Let NASA be that gateway for those of us who dare to dream. Let there be more knowledge in this world ! -
Should lower funding, but not completely drop. NASA has made several great discoveries. NASA has discovered important things, and we must continue it to discover more. @the guy -> who says we should spend more money on cancer research, you do realize that it was NASA that found a treatment for cancer? -
To learn about our universe! If we dont learn about space we will not continue innovating our products. also many of our greatest products came from space exploration! Keep Nasa! -
Yes Science not only advances our country, but also the entire world. There are so many other useless things we can get rid of to compensate for huge NASA spending. Did you know the government spent $300 million dollars on cheese in 2004 for military MRE's when most soldiers are completely repulsed by it. That kind of spending should be cut. -
Yes. I believe that the United States should fund the space program and keep America in the race to the stars. N.A.S.A has been a big part of the American way of life for more than 40 years. And that has brought many new technologies to the American public in their quest for space travel. Our continued support of the space program is a strong commitment to the American public and the suffering economy of America. It allows jobs in the space program, which help the suffering economy of those states involved with the production of needed equipment for N.A.S.A. Posted By: LimpingChauncey64 -
I would totally support America's continued spending on NASA, because we need to maintain the lead, when it comes to science. NASA and other scientific organizations should have money poured into it. It is so strange to me that we would just give it all up and let other countries get further and faster in this specific realm of science. I don't like the idea of it being privatized, as it will be pushing the investors' agenda, not just science for the sake of science. It saddens me to think of America not funding NASA. Posted By: PointlessElbert47 -
Nasa research has helped push us ahead on scientific ideas and developments. We have a President who says we should invest in sciences to help move America forward to win the future, but then under-funds one the best scientific programs that has helped us do that. That makes no sense. Nasa has made major contributions to materials that have made our lives easier; water and air purification, propulsion fuels and Teflon are just a few. Posted By: ScrawnyNormand46 -
America should continue spending money on NASA, because space exploration has led to many useful discoveries. Space exploration has led to the discovery of many important things, including many facts about the way that the universe runs. And, many important technological advances have been made through NASA, while conducting space exploration. Getting rid of NASA would mean the end of many useful discoveries and many innovations. Posted By: 5h4yGust -
No nasa no technology If we get rid of nasa our technology advances would decrease a great deal. Without the advances that nasa has made in science and technology we would not have a lot of the things that we have today including all your precious smart phones and computers. We also cannot not tactically afford to stop sending satellites into space or we will get behind in the space race and that would be very bad for us if we were to go to war with, say, china Posted By: Anonymous -
Yes! It only accounts for less than 1% of the budget and is still making worthwhile achievements. Opportunity, the mars exploration rover that discovered water on mars with spirit less than a decade ago is still working and sending info to scientists. Msl, a robot with even greater testing ability is on course to mars now. Kepler, a sensitive program for detecting and evaluating possible earth-like planets should likewise should be continued. There are too many great things that would end and money wasted if we don't complete these programs. I concur that nasa should take a break from manned flights for a few years. But there should always be a nasa. Right now the private sector's stuff is majorly prototypes. And people and most organizations don't have the money or resources to research and test new designs. Until technology is developed that can feasibly be used by entrepreneurs to realistically start their own space enterprise, and those flights are excepted by the public and being used with a understandable amount of reliability and frequency, we need a government organization to head the operations. Nasa inspires. Without nasa, who would inspire the next generation of people to try to find their own way into space? I'm a teenage girl, call me whatever, but nasa is what got me into science. Following its continuing missions kept me into science. Nasa is so much more than a shallow contest for bragging rights. Thank you for reading. Posted By: Anonymous -
No It's a waste of money. I mean, really, what else do we need to know about space? We're just sending our rockets and machines into space. The failures end up junk in space. We already know that there are planets, a sun, and the other stars. If/when America sends another rocket, we're just wasting money. Posted By: Anonymous -
With the debt America already has, NASA is not our priority. It costs 60 million dollars per seat to get to the International Space Station. One space mission costs about 450 million dollars. The Space Shuttle Program was 209 billion dollars in total. The Hubble Space Telescope cost us 1 and a half billion dollars, The James Webb Telescope will cost us 8 billion. The Columbia disaster cost us a half a billion. The Challenger disaster cost us over 2 billion. The Curiosity Mars Rover was 2 and a half billion. In 2011, NASA spent over 18 billion. And the U.S. is already trillions of dollars in debt. Exploring space is not as important as fixing what is down here. NASA is not our priority. -
Nasa hasn't done anything breathtaking in YEARS. The government has spent billions of dollar in order to fund them. Their, or our, goal is to make it to the moon by 2020. Have people forgotten what is happening on OUR planet? Have we forgotten the problems on OUR own hands? America is reaching too far, all the government would like is more to have, even though they can barely control a country where there are many things to discover on our own soil. Posted By: Anonymous -
ElleKitten I think we shouldn't entirely stop funding NASA, but for now I think we should. I've noticed that us humans seem to mess things up before making it better, which basically what is happening to earth at this moment. I think we should use the money being funded to NASA and us it to save what we have now. EX). We can find an antidote for snake/spider bites, we can build a wall so the animals of the Everglades will stop coming into the Florida and being killed, Ice Capsule. Posted By: Anonymous -
No. I absolutely agree with the above posts. Why spend money on finding another planet to live on when we can save the one we're living on? Moreover, there ARE more important things at hand. $9.928 billion is spent on NASA per year, and $9.928 billion can mean saving the earth itself, saving homeless or poor, and much more. Think about that. @slydessertfox how is it that the more we learn about earth helps our economy? -
No, Correct me if I'm wrong... I think we've only explored 5% of the ocean. Lets start by replenishing what we have ruined and exploring whats within our reach, before going to uninhabitable planets and messing up our atmosphere in the process. I bet you if money was given to people in return for not having kids educating themselves and cleaning up the planet we could resolve many of Gaia's issues. -
No, Instead of finding another planet to live on when we destry this one, why don't we try to save this one. It's a shame to spend all this money on NASA while our people are starving. Instead of spending all that money, why don't we try to limit the national dept? -
we got more important things to do..... OK, seriously? We don't immediately need another planet to live on another 5 billion years, and come on, what about our ever-escalating national debt? How about education, poverty, world poverty, cancer research, hospitals etc.... With so much to worry about do we really need to worry about space right now? Posted By: Anonymous -
I do not think that America should continue spending money on NASA, because there are more important issues at hand. While the advantage that NASA has had in the United States, by further developing technology, has been supreme and exciting, there are larger, more important factors at hand. America should, right now, be focused on getting on a better economical level before worrying about any further advances in technology. Once this issue has been handled, then further exploring with space and technology will be an adventurous and wise choice. Posted By: MycaDemon -
This is not something that we, as a country, can afford anymore. While we have achieved great things with NASA, I think the time for a government monopoly on space travel has come to an end. There is no USSR to compete with anymore, and the country is quickly heading towards bankruptcy. Therefore, the best solution is to turn NASA over to the private sector. Posted By: ErvinAnime -
In regards to government funding, I don't think America needs to continue funding NASA, because commercially-funded space programs are the next big step. I am very excited about the future of space travel. That being said, I'm not worried about the American government continuing to fund NASA. I think that, as the wanderlust of the average citizen extends into space, space travel will be funded privately. There is a future need to further understand our solar system and the galaxy. I don't think this need will be a lost opportunity for private investors to send more machines, creatures, and people into space. Posted By: ColdEmmanuel92 |