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Brandy Bolton

Ms. Hunter

English II

23 February 2020

NASA

What is the purpose of NASA and going to the moon/space now? The last time an

astronaut was on the moon was in 1972, because the thrill of human exploration in the public eye

dying down, and the many budget cuts NASA has encountered since then. Back then it was also

more for a political standpoint(Evans). Now, NASA is looking to send astronauts in 2024 back to

the moon(Dunbar). It has been argued that robots can do the same thing on the moon that

humans can so why would we send them(Been there, Done That). There are also many health

complications involved in human space travel.

NASA was created by Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1958. NASA is controlled by civilians.

It was created to work with other country’s peacefully. It was created after the satellite Sputnik,

by the Soviet Union was sent to space in 1957. The launch of the satellite ignited the space

race(Evans).
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In the 1960’s President J.F.K and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson wanted to put the

first man on the moon(Evans), but before that could happen many tests had to be ran; starting

with the “Project Mercury”(Evans). The project wanted to test if it was possible to put humans in

space, what would happen if humans went to space, and can humans make it back in a safe

manor(Evans).

The next project before we could go to the moon was “Project Gemini”(Evans). The

projected time it took to get to, and from the moon was 14 days. NASA had to test and make sure

an astronaut could endure space for that long(Evans). 10 missions were done and they were

successful(Evans).

Next on the agenda before a man could go on the moon was to make sure the Surveyor

spacecrafts could safely land on the moon(Evans). “NASA [launched] seven Surveyor

spacecrafts to the moon”(Evans). 5 spacecrafts were successful and 2 were not(Evans).

Now NASA was ready to put astronauts on the moon with the next phase “The Apollo

Program”(Evans). Unfortunately, the first Apollo launch ended in tragedy. The spacecraft caught

on fire and killed 3 astronauts(Evans). The 7th Apollo was the first to successfully fly into space

with astronauts aboard(Evans).

In 1969 NASA launched Apollo 11 and successfully put three men on the moon, Edwin

(Buzz) Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, and Michael Collins(Evans). This also created NASA’s “can-do

culture”(Evans).

After Apollo 11 NASA sent more spacecrafts and astronauts to the moon. Six more were

sent after Apollo 11(Evans). In the 1970s NASA suffered from budget cuts and had to abandon

the rest of the Apollo missions they had planned. NASA began to focus more on the science

aspects of space exploration rather than human exploration (Evan’s).

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After the Apollo missions the first space station was created. It was known as Skylab. It

was used between 1973 and 1974(Evans). NASA used pieces from the Apollo program to create

it. It was used to see the effects of weightlessness in space(Evans).

In 1972 NASA developed the space shuttle. They were used to transport satellites to

space. In 1986 the space shuttle Challenger blew up right after liftoff. That tragedy put a halt to

the shuttle program for a couple years(Evans).

In the 2005 article President George W. Bush talked of developing a new spacecraft by

2008 and doing a manned mission by 2014(1,2). He talked of finishing the International Space

Station and going back to the moon by 2020(2). The Space Station is currently used for

research(Evans).

The Space Station is still being used to this day. The Obama Administration had plans to

keep it going through 2020(Evans). Many astronauts travel to the space station, and by the looks

of it the research being done there is still thriving. There is no reason to stop its progress anytime

soon. The astronauts on the space station study health, technology, and the solar system(Wiles).

In 2011 The Obama Administration shut down the space shuttle program (Evans). Since

2011 the U.S. has been riding on Russian spacecrafts, for about $80 million each to get U.S.

astronauts to the International Space Station(Chang).

NASA has had budget issues ever since the Apollo program was shut down. NASA’s

budget in the 1960s was around $5,000,000(Evans). That budget was lessened to about

$3,700,000 Billion after the last Apollo mission(Evans). In 2004 NASA’s five year budget was

$86 Billion(Bush). In 2015 it was said that NASA needs about $1,500,000 and the round about

budget was $1.28 Billion(Wallace).

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A question being asked is, why would we send humans to space when robots can do the

same thing that humans can(Been There, Done That)? It is cheaper to send robots than humans.

Water was discovered on Mars by a robot and not humans. Robots can be sent to take pictures

and still do all the necessary research needed and NASA wouldn’t need such a big budget(Been

There, Done That). There are also many health problems associated with going to space. Gravity,

Isolation, Hostile Environments, and Radiation(Abadie et al.). Gravity Fields can cause problems

with your coordination, balance, and could possibly cause sickness(Abadie et al.).

Isolation/confinement can cause depression, behavioral issues, and sleep issues. Hostile

environments can cause allergies, illnesses, and disease. Space radiation can heighten your

chances of getting cancer. Distance from earth may cause communication errors, equipment

errors, and uncertainty of what type of foods and medicine to bring(Abadie et al.). There has also

been many failed rocket and shuttle launches that have resulted in many astronauts’ deaths that

could have been prevented by just sending robots.

With the health issues being said, the issues are being worked out by NASA to help

prevent them.

“NASA uses… actigraphy to help… improve your sleep…, and journals… to vent

frustrations”(Abadie et al.). NASA will measure air to make sure it is safe to breathe, different

parts of the body will be swabbed and they will test the radiation levels(Abadie et al.).

Distance from earth can cause communication errors, equipment errors, and uncertainty

of what type of foods and medicine to bring(Abadie et al.). NASA has ways to try and prevent all

of these things but these are some downfalls of going to space(Abadie et al.)

The problems with going to the moon and inhabiting there are great. The dust on the

moons surface has been known to scratch the visors of the astronauts space suits as well as stick
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to them. It has also caused breathing problems. The dust has also damaged the “seals on the

boxes”(Hall) that are used to transport moon rocks back to earth. The terrain on the moon can be

dangerous because the light and shadows on its surface make it hard to determine how deep the

moon craters are. The moon has moon quakes that can be dangerous if moon bases were

established. With little light on the moon it could mess up astronaut’s sleep patterns and make it

risky to be on the moon. There are also meteoroids that hit the moon very hard because it doesn’t

have the atmosphere to slow them down(Hall).

The purpose of going to space is for “scientific discovery, economic benefits and national

security”(Wallace). Going to space has helped create new technology’s, some of which are used

in CT and MRI machines now(Bush). “It has also helped with weather forecasting,

communication, computing, and search and rescue”(Bush).

NASA was working and building a new rocket under the program started by President

bush and was working on a rocket named Ares 1. The rocket was supposed to transport

astronauts back and forth to the space station. The price for building the rocket and capsule that

was supposed to go along with; kept going up. This delayed the schedule. This is when The

Obama Administration decided to cut the program all together(Chang).

To reignite the space program NASA signed contracts with Boeing and SpaceX to make

more affordable rockets. In 2019 SpaceX sent their spacecraft to the space station unmanned and

it was successful. In January of 2020 NASA and SpaceX launched the Crew Dragon spacecraft

with two dummies inside to measure the safety features of the capsule(Chang). The test was

deemed successful. The Falcon 9 will be attached to the Crew Dragon capsule and is planned to

take two astronauts to the space station later this year(Chang). The moon will hopefully have

astronauts back on it by 2024 and steady exploring by 2028(Dunbar). NASA also plans to send a
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Mars rover up in July of 2020 along with a helicopter, to be the first one to ever fly on another

planet(Dunbar). This small helicopter will show the air density on Mars(Dunbar).

The big question is why do we explore space? Humans want to explore what they have

never explored before. Its like when people wanted to find new worlds. Part of it is the

excitement of discovering somewhere new and learning about it. When robots were sent to mars,

they discovered water on the planet. Exploration helps humans learn more about the solar system

and the possibility’s of living on another planet(Wiles).

Companies are also working on taking people from The United States to space in

commercial space crafts. These will be short trips to the edge of space(Chang). NASA plans to

take tourists to the moon at some point(Dunbar).

The purpose of going to space is for scientific and discovery reasons. It may have been a

competition to go to the moon at first, but now it is about more than that. There are more

technological advances to be made. There are more discoveries to be made. While there are
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many risks by going back to the moon and possibly going to mars NASA is taking the necessary

precautions to help prevent them.

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Works Cited

Abadie, Laurie J, et al. “The Human Body in Space.” Edited by Jason Perez, NASA, NASA, 30

Mar. 2016, www.nasa.gov/hrp/bodyinspace. Accessed 6 February 2020.

“Been There, Done That.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 10 Dec. 2006,

www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-dec-10-ed-moon10-story.html.

Accessed 8 February 2020.

Bush, George W. "The United States Must Make Space Exploration a Priority." Space

Exploration, edited by Daniel A. Leone, Greenhaven Press, 2005. At Issue. Gale In

Context: Opposing Viewpoints,

https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/EJ3010356202/OVIC?u=dayt30401&sid=OVIC&xid=a6a15a98.

Accessed 4 Feb. 2020. Originally published as "speech at NASA Headquarters," 2004.

Chang, Kenneth. “SpaceX’s Explosive Test May Launch Year of Renewed Human Spaceflight”

The New York Times, 19 January 2020,

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/19/science/spacex-launch.html Accessed 4 February

2020

Dunbar, Brian. “What's Next For NASA?” NASA, NASA, 26 Jan. 2015,

www.nasa.gov/about/whats_next.html. Accessed 31 January 2020

Evans, Kim Masters. "Space Organizations Part 1: The National Aeronautics and Space

Administration." Space Exploration: Triumphs and Tragedies, 2012 ed., Gale, 2013.

Information Plus Reference Series. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints,

https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/EJ2065100102/OVIC?u=dayt30401&sid=OVIC&xid=a8081f2f.

Accessed 4 Feb. 2020.

Hall, Shannon. “The Moon Is a Hazardous Place to Live.” The New York Times, The New York
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Times, 8 July 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/07/08/science/apollo-moon- colony-

dangers.html. Accessed 9 February 2020

Wallace, Erin. "The United States Should Reignite the Space Race." Space Exploration, edited

by Michael Ruth, Greenhaven Press, 2016. Opposing Viewpoints. Gale In Context:

Opposing Viewpoints, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/EJ3010989217/OVIC?

u=dayt30401&sid=OVIC&xid=8b963fe9. Accessed 4 Feb, 2020. Originally published

as "Opinion—Wallace: US Must Reinvigorate Space Exploration,

" Dailytoreador.com, 11 Nov. 2014.

Wiles, Jennifer. “Why We Explore.” NASA, NASA, 13 June 2013,

www.nasa.gov/exploration/whyweexplore/why_we_explore_main. html#.Xj8CGy

9OmhB. Accessed 6 February 2020.

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