The world was forever changed after Sputnik 1, the first successful artificial satellite, was launched by the Soviet Union in 1957 (“Milestones”). Although there are many dangers to space exploration, it provides many possible solutions to the world’s current dilemmas, such as more space for overpopulated areas, possible new sources of energy, and it could provide cures for diseases.
It is difficult to imagine over six billion of anything. However, one hundred fifty people are born worldwide every minute (“Global Population”). That equals to nine thousand babies every hour, and two hundred sixteen thousand in one day. The University of Maryland has approximately 26, 493 total undergrads, which means that there are eight times as many babies born daily as there are students in the university (collegeboard). The Earth’s population is increasing, and even though food production is also on the rise, the natural resources are not as abundant as they once were. One resolution could be to build an aircraft of some sort to sustain human life for an extended period of time. Students have been taught that one must have six basic building blocks to form a living organism: carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur, but according to NASA-funded researchers conducting tests at Mono Lake, “California found out that arsenic can replace the DNA backbone phosphorus in its cell components” (Hanul). This is one step closer to being able to have humans fully function and live normal lives in outer space.
Although overpopulation is a problem that each new generation will have to face, others may argue that going into outer space is not worth the lives that are being put in jeopardy while traveling in outer space. An example of this would be the Challenger, flight STS 51-L Shuttle accident. This particular mission was very controversial because it was the first time a civilian was allowed to travel in space, along with seven other astronauts (“Space Shuttle”). The launch had been rescheduled numerous times due to structural failures, but was finally initiated after NASA officials overruled concerns of the engineers on the cold morning of January 28, 1986. (“Space Shuttle”). This seemingly small decision that the officials made cost them the lives of seven astronauts and one school teacher, but impacted the lives of millions of people. As if the orbiter built to replace the Challenger, the Space Shuttle Endeavour cost approximately $1.7billion (NASA) was not already a hefty sum, the engineers and officials who finalized the decision for the launch are forced to live every day knowing that they were part of the reason why the shuttle disintegrated. These individuals are lucky if they had the opportunity to keep their jobs after this tragedy occurred.
Another reason why going into outer space is beneficial is because it gives the world the chance to search for new sources of energy. According to planetary scientist Dr. Mendell, from the Johnson Space Center, it is promising that the world will have new sources of energy from solar-electric power satellites, deuterium and helium 3 fusion, more commonly known as moon-based solar-panel arrays (Husain). Vice President, Energy and Aerospace of the St. Louis Science Center and Director of the James S. McDonnell Planetarium Gregg Maryniak believes that SPSs, or solar-power satellites are going to be the best bet for a brighter future because they can be built entirely from lunar material, do not need fusion, and are not electric. He stated that, “they generate the least amount of greenhouse gases and are much better than nuclear power because they are the most benign source of energy”. It was already clear that SPSs could produce such massive amounts of energy that it is able to fuel entire cities (Husain).
The opposition for space exploration claims that while going out could provide the world with more energy sources, and with NASA’s budget at 17.2 billion dollars (Whittington), the cost of space exploration is quite hefty. Alternatives for energy sources that can be found in other planets would be solar powered machines, along with water and electric-mandated apparatus. The cost of petroleum per barrel is increasing, with each barrel costing $89.44 (Vanderbruck), in relation to how many barrels the United States consumes daily: 68,672 bbl/day per 1,000 people as of 2007 (“Oil Consumption”). It is evident that the substitutes for petroleum are successful: not only is there an increase on electric cars being made, their highway speeds range anywhere from 50-150 miles between recharging (citation). Not only are electric cars much more fuel efficient than their petroleum counterparts, they also have almost zero emissions, and are much quieter and healthier to have around crops (Hyneman).
There are countless new things being discovered daily, on the Earth and in outer space. This proves that there is still a great deal to learn about the world that people inhabit and what surrounds it. There have been many drugs were discovered from NASA missions. There are drugs being designed that could treat T-cell lymphoma, which is an aggressive form of cancer, along with a treatment for psoriasis, and rheumatoid arthritis (“Space-based Fight”). Drugs in the 21st century are being designed more than they are discovered, and now scientists can target a specific protein of a pathogen, which maximizes a drug’s effectiveness and minimizing any possible side effect. This method is known as rational drug design, and the major downside is the exact structure of the target protein must be determined down to the last molecule (“Space-based Fight”). Scientists use x-ray crystallography, and growing the correct crystals is rather difficult because of the gravity on Earth. Gravity causes the crystals to settle on top of one another, and results in structural flaws (“Space-based Fight”). The 3-dimensional structures of crystals can form flawlessly and achieve larger sizes, which in turn provide scientists with up to 40% more information than crystals grown on Earth (“Space-based Fight”). Many of these vital protein structures would not have been possible without the help of crystals grown in space.
There have been several protein structures that have assisted scientists in the treatment of several diseases, thanks to minerals and crystals grown in space. However, being in outer space can dramatically change an astronaut physically and mentally. Nearly all astronauts are conflicted with a condition called space motion sickness, similar to car or sea sickness. While on Earth, the brain has grown accustomed to processing combined signals from the eyes, ears, and the nerves in the skin that tells the body where one is in relation to the world around a person. In space, the sight, hearing, and touch signals do not match like they do on Earth, and the confusing signals to the brain causes many astronauts to feel sick (“How Human Body Changes”).
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