According to 2005 statistics from the United Nations World Development Report and the CIA World Factbook, nearly 81% of India's population and 35% of people living in China manage to survive (though perhaps not with clean water or sanitation) on less than US $2/day. Even in the United States, 12% of Americans live under the poverty line...and yet, every year governments spend billions of taxpayers' dollars on risky space missions. Those funds could be allocated to schools or other much-needed infrastructure needed on Earth rather than aimed in the direction of dangerous and currently-uninhabitable space. It should come as no surprise, especially in the midst of a financial crisis, that plenty of people are criticizing "outlandish" spending on space programs, particularly in those countries where an enormous portion of the population is living in dire conditions.

How do officials justify taking tax money and making a run for the moon?
Despite the seeming incongruity between human destitution and adventures in space, there is an ethical case for throwing money towards the skies.

The US, Russia, China, and India have experienced well-publicized successes with their space programs. So while most people know what their money does for space programs, few realize what the space programs do for the inhabitants of Earth. Indeed, when human beings consider space exploration, they usually think about a full or crescent moon, shining stars, the milky way, astronauts floating around and catching M&M's; all things and places that are beyond the reach of those millions of earth-bound taxpayers,who are financing these cosmic missions. Sure, a successful mission to space fills a nation's people with a sense of pride, but is it also practical? Yes. Many of the technologies that first-world nations rely on for fast and accurate communication, medical tools, and crime prevention and detection were borne from our willingness to fund space programs. From these technologies, many other global markets have emerged, creating jobs around the world. Any government that overlooks the cost benefits of literally shooting towards the stars is seriously short-sighted when it comes to maintaining an existence on this planet.

Let's take NASA as an example. Unfortunately, some people have died working on the various space missions but millions more have been saved thanks to their space satellite technology. The images from NASA's Earth Observatory are used to predict drought, flooding, volcanic activities, and other natural disasters all over the world. Ant it's a free on-line resource that anyone can access. This type of technology also keeps tabs on criminal activities on an international level. As a case in point, the Amazon plays a huge role in regulating Earth's climate, and when loggers illegally cut down trees, it affects us all. Satellite technologies allow officials to pinpoint when and where deforestation is occurring so that they can try to put a stop to it. On a smaller scale, Video Image Stabilization and Registration (VISAR) was created by NASA scientists at the request of the FBI after the 1996 Olympic bombing in Atlanta. The scientists, David Hathaway and Paul Meyer, employed the skills they learned while studying the Sun and Earth's weather and used some of NASA's technologies to create a software program that "washes" videos of static and blurry movement. This technology provides FBI officials with the information to determine who did what at the scene of the crime.

Space technologies are not only used to fight crime and natural disasters; on a daily basis, most of us tap into devices created by virtue of NASA’s research. A few examples include Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio, the GPS systems we use to help us figure out how to get from one place to the next, and a host of technologies behind modern Internet services and cell phone capabilities. Few people would be willing to give these items up, even for a tax break.

Perhaps most importantly, space technologies have been priceless in the development of numerous medical tools and techniques, including digital mammography, orthodontic springs, and nanomaterials. Among other advances, the study of astronauts in microgravity unearthed new understandings about osteoporosis, which then resulted in new (and better) treatments.

Space research is expensive. However, in  the US we still spend less on life-saving space programs than we do on alcohol. In fact, according to the USDA, Americans spent US $154 billion on alcohol in 2006. Any current space program is comparatively cheaper, certainly safer, and absolutely more profitable for economies around the world. In short, the technologies that spring from space exploration have resulted in numerous emerging markets in a variety of fields. These markets save lives, predict disasters, and allow us to communicate with one another. In so doing, they provide millions of jobs for people who, in turn, will pay their governments the billions needed in tax revenue to keep space exploration going, even in the hard times.

    Subscribe via RSS