Why do we bother? I mean, we spend billions upon billions of dollars building a giant telescope, ship it to the virtual junkyard that was once known as low Earth orbit, then send a near constant stream of highly trained astronauts to fix it every five minutes. And for what? Some fuzzy pictures of things you claim to be distant galaxies? Is that really how we should be spending our tax dollars?
These are valid concerns, and they are concerns that I am constantly barraged with. From students to regular folk, I am constantly addressing the question of "is it worth it?" The short answer, yes It is. Very much so.
Those of us on either side can argue the financials all day until we all drop to the floor in exhaustion. And we probably won't be any closer to convincing either side of the divide. The cost is considerable yes, but the technology developed during such endeavors pays dividends down the road. How much you ask? Good question. I've seen estimates as high as $10 to every dollar invested. This seems almost unbelievably high in my estimation. Then again, these things are difficult to quantify.
I think at the very least we break even on our capital investment in the space program. Just look at all of the technology that wouldn't exist, at least not yet, if it were not for the space program. Like that cell phone/laptop/internet/other fancy electronic device? Most of it wouldn't exist if not for the technological leap forward created as a result of the space race. As all this technology trickles down into your home, your office, your car and everything else you experience the government receives a return on its investment, either directly or indirectly, from the economic boon.
In spite of such analyses, those set against this noble pursuit argue that those dollars could be better spent on programs that serve humanity. Like I said, we could debate the validity of these numbers ad nauseum. But I have little interest in that. Instead I would like to justify the existence of fantastic achievements like the Hubble Space Telescope and the Space Shuttle Fleet from the perspective of science.
It is in our nature that we explore the Universe around us. We seek to understand every aspect of our existence. How did we get here, where did we come from? Whether you are religious or not, scientifically gifted or not, opinionated or indifferent, these are basic questions that we believe will satiate our desire for meaning.
Stephen Hawking once wrote, speaking about the elusive "theory of everything", that to discover it would "be to know the mind of God." The point of his statement was not to evoke a religious debate, but rather to put on display the power of science. That as we seek to understand, we draw nearer to the answers of life's eternal questions.
So despite the financial costs, despite the intellectual commitment, despite the other things we could do with the money/resources/time and despite every thing else, the pursuit of science, even those disciplines that have little real world impact, are worth it. For no other reason, because it brings us closer to finding out where we came from and, perhaps, even why we're here.
Sombrero Galaxy; Image Credit: NASA
Comments
John, my reply to those who question exploration of Space, (and few realize that NASA does more than that, MUCH MORE), whether it be rockets, telescopes, human or robotic space craft, what did we gain in taking the Billions cut when the Apollo project was cancelled in the name of saving money, in the 70’s; is the world any better off politically, socially, economically?? the short answer is NO, in fact it is worse off; The US of A spends approximately 1/2 of 1 percent of it’s budget on NASA; 19 Billion in the FY2010 year. that wouldn’t cover the defence departments expenditures in the middle east for one week; lets be real, what ever the ROI for ever $ spent by NASA, it is doing more good in creating jobs (inside and outside NASA), keeping lives safe (Airline Transportation, Health Care), and improving the lot of the citizens in ways we will probably never hear about; lets make sure that NASA is adequately funded and directed; that’s all we can ever hope for as citizens;
Give me a break, guys. I am a PhD Physicist, grew up in the 60’s, and even worked at NASA for a semester. I am tired of hearing that line we would not have orange Tang and TI calculators, were it not for the space program. I even have friends and relatives who work at NASA, and they think the manned programs are a joke.
Any electronics that goes into a mission is at least 5-7 years behind what’s currently state-of-the-art.
If there are so many benefits that affect your life, can you honestly name the top 5 experiments on the space station that have made your life better?
And don’t tell me that knowing spiders can weave webs or ants can dig tunnel in outer space, is on your list.
UPDDATE
Last Shuttle mission just took off. Astronauts have iPhones so they can do a very critical experiment, “Run apps in outer space”. Fantastic, just what we need to help mankind! My tax dollars well spent.
Space exploration is a manifestation of humanity’s hunger for knowledge, and the power of science. Pursuit of all forms of knowledge should be the paramount priority of any functioning, altruistic civilization. If we took the entirety of the defense budget from 1955 (start of the space race) to present day, and invested it all in space exploration, our society would be centuries ahead technologically and humanity would most certainly be a space-faring society by now. Instead, our nation continues to focus it’s interests on blowing up brown people all in the name of corporate interests and a god that doesn’t exist.
Well considering NASA has generated over 1600 technologies transfer over the last 40 years.
http://www.nasa.gov/open/plan/technology-transfer.html
even NASCAR use technology from NASA. The brake pads are made of carbon-carbon which was developed for reentry. Tons of medical, computers, robotics, gps and more.
Plus don’t forget all the other related groups generating their own stuff-Boeing, lockheed, companies that design satellites and far more