Is U.S. Exploration of Space a Justified use of Taxpayer Funds?

Lyric Hildner
Con Argument
Man has gone out to explore other worlds and other civilizations without having
explored his own labyrinth of dark passages and secret chambers, and without finding
what lies behind doorways that he himself has sealed. - Stanisaw Lem
The United States shouldnt increase outer space exploration using taxpayer funds. The
risks that come with outer space are too high a price to pay just because there may be
the slight chance of something out there. Most of space exploration is based on theories
and possibilities. There is no sure fact that says there is life outside of Earth or that
there is even a truly habitable planet. There are only guesses. Besides there being only
a slight chance of space coming through for humans, it costs a lot of money, it risks
human lives (if we were to do manned missions), there is high risk of space trash
getting in the way, and before humans even leave Earth, they should know what they
have on Earth, mainly in the ocean.
Earths ocean floors are only about ten percent explored. That means that there
is around ninety percent of the ocean floor that is unexplored. Author Amitai Etzioni, a
special to CNN, wrote in article on CNN in which he stated:
The oceans play a major role in controlling our climate. But we have not learned
yet how to use them to cool us off rather than contribute to our overheating.
Ocean organisms are said to hold the promise of cures for an array of diseases.
An examination of the unique eyes of skate (ray fish) led to advances in
combating blindness, the horseshoe crab was crucial in developing a test for
bacterial contamination, and sea urchins helped in the development of test-tube
fertilization.
Already there are creatures in the ocean that have helped lead to breakthroughs in the
science and medical world. If these creatures were only found in ten percent of the
ocean floor, imagine what else could be out there. Granted, there might be some of the
same creatures in the unexplored areas. Besides the fact that many marine creatures
have abilities humans could use, there are other benefits that the ocean offer. Water
scarcity is becoming more and more relevant as the population increases. If humans
were to come up with a way to desalinate ocean water, the problem wouldnt be a
problem any more, with Etzioni adding By 2025, 1.8 billion people are expected to
suffer from severe water scarcity, with that number jumping to 3.9 billion by 2050well
over a third of the entire global population. The ocean is a huge resource to life on
Earth. If someone found a way to harness it, many problems would be solved that
space exploration may not solve.
Being in outer space has shown its fair share of problems and one of the biggest
problems would be the risks it posed to human lives. The first step to space travel is
getting out of Earths atmosphere, and thats not easy. Anything that is involved with a

human being in outer space is dangerous. The most widely known side effect of being in
outer space is bone density loss. Its been known that being away from Earths gravity
can cause bones to lose density, but what researchers are finding out is that the
immune system weakens with it. In an article in Cosmos Magazine, author Viviane
Richter explains,
The effect of spaceflight on the human immune system became apparent during
the Apollo missions. Fifteen of the 29 Apollo astronauts caught bacterial or viral
infections during their space mission or within a few days of returning to Earth.
Previous studies have shown the number of immune cells called T cells, which
kill invading cells, can drop during spaceflight conditions.
Even with the astronauts exercising twenty-five percent of their time, it doesnt help that
they almost always lose ten percent of their bone density in six months. Astronauts
already take osteoporosis and vitamin-D to slow the aging of their bones, maybe this
could also be used to slow the aging of the immune system. This issue hasnt been
fixed yet, so if there was even a chance of sending humans into space for extended
periods of time anytime soon, these issues would have to be worked out before then.
Even if the issues that space exploration causes for humans were to be fixed,
and the oceans were to be fully explored and utilized, the cost of sending anything into
space is way too high. While unmanned objects, like satellites and rovers do cost less,
they still cost hundreds of millions of dollars to build and operate. In fact, the
Congressional Budget Office estimates that if human space explorations were to be
eliminated, then the United States would save up to seventy-three billion dollars from
last year, twenty-fifteen, and twenty-twenty three. On the Congressional Budget Office
website, an article in which there are discussions on ways to reduce the deficit, the
authors bring up space exploration as a way to save money. They explain,
Eliminating humans from space flights would avoid risk to human life and would
decrease the cost of space exploration by reducing the weight and complexity of
the vehicles needed for the missions. (Unlike instruments, humans need water,
air, food, space to move around in, and rest.) In addition, by replacing people
with instruments, the missions could be made one wayreturn would be
necessary only when the mission required it, such as to collect samples for
further analysisthus eliminating the cost, weight, and complexity of return and
reentry into the Earths atmosphere.
In this day and age, everyone is thinking about money and any way to help save money
is accepted. American society has other problems that it needs to deal with first, and
issues that arent helping the American people now arent priority.
Space exploration is a luxury. Once we get past the issues that plague the world
now, then we can explore space and everything involved with that. At the time being, it
costs way too much. The money could be spent on more practical uses, like welfare or
military. And finally, the Earth should be fully explored before humans decide to explore
other worlds. The oceans should be used to their fullest potential before we exit our

atmosphere. Fixing the planet and exploring it will provide for a better future for the
human race on Earth. This will be leaving a cleaner planet for the children that will
inherit the Earth, making a better life for them.

https://www.cbo.gov/budget-options/2013/44774
"Eliminate Human Space Exploration Programs." Congressional Budget Office. CBO,
13 Nov. 2013. Web. 31 Oct. 2016. <https://www.cbo.gov/budget-options/2013/44774>.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/09/opinion/etzioni-space-oceans/

Etzioni, Amitai. "Mars Can Wait. Oceans Can't." CNN. Cable News Network, 17 Aug.
2012. Web. 25 Oct. 2016. <http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/09/opinion/etzioni-spaceoceans/>.
https://cosmosmagazine.com/space/space-travel-bad-your-health
Richter, Viviane. "Space Travel Is Bad for Your Health." Cosmos Magazine. Cosmos, 23
Feb. 2015. Web. 31 Oct. 2016. <https://cosmosmagazine.com/space/space-travel-badyour-health>.