Facts of the Matter
Facts of the Matter
Exploring space
is normal quest
of human raceScience fiction is becoming reality at a fast pace. The orbiting Hubble telescope is seeing further into the past, ground based telescopes are getting clearer views through earth's twinkling atmosphere, space shuttle missions are so common that they barely make the news, the International Space Station is permanently occupied and being built in place, and the Mars Odyssey is finding surprising indications of water just under the surface of the red dirt of Mars.
Mars has caused quite a bit of excitement since the discovery of features thought to have been caused by running water in the fairly recent geological past. To follow up, NASA has at least five more Mars expeditions planned this decade.
Despite the advances in technology that the space program has fostered, there are still those who feel the program is a waste of money. Why throw all that money into space when it could be used on earth for the hungry and impoverished?
In a National Science Foundation study, more than half those surveyed said the space program was "exciting and worthwhile," and nearly half said it will make life on Earth better because of technological advances.
Since 1962, NASA has spent nearly half a trillion dollars on space missions, including the Apollo moon and photographic missions to all the planets, earth orbiters, Mars landers, and the International Space Station.
Four hundred billion dollars is a lot of money. But distributed over every man, woman and child in America over 40 years, it amounts to only about $40 per person per year, or 11 cents per day.
According to the American Express Retail Index, a survey conducted among 805 adults with a major credit card last month, Americans will spend about $9,312 this year on discretionary items such as fast food, birthday gifts, and health and beauty aids. On that scale, the tax dollars spent by NASA on space programs is paltry.
These discretionary items give immediate gratification while benefits from the space program are indirect and delayed. One example, the miniaturization of electronic components has led to cell phones, electronic calculators, personal computers and the myriad microchips that reside in personal electronic devices and appliances, including automobiles. None of these devices was part of the planning when we sent men and machines to the moon and beyond.
It is in the heart of humankind to explore and to search for new resources that will improve the quality of life.
All life that we know of is here on earth, and some of it is in places that our theories said could not be. All life on earth shares the same genetic code, the four-letter alphabet that spells out the DNA of every lifeform. If there is or has been life on Mars it will either be "like" us, or it won't. In either case, it would be one of the major discoveries in human history and would help us define ourselves and our role in the cosmos.
Space exploration has the potential to tell us more about ourselves and where we came from. It also has practical potential to develop new resources and new products that will benefit us greatly.
Why do we study space? Because it is there and because we are human, and that is reason enough. Anything else is icing on the cake.
We could all be a little smarter, no? Richard Brill picks up
where your high school science teacher left off. He is a professor of science
at Honolulu Community College, where he teaches earth and physical
science and investigates life and the universe.
He can be contacted by e-mail at rickb@hcc.hawaii.edu