Argumentative Essay~ Space Exploration

Space Exploration Should Be More Science Than Fiction

Argument by Claudia Alarcón

What is out there? Are we alone in the universe? Are there inhabitable planets in our galaxy and beyond? For decades, science-fiction novels, movies, and TV shows fired our curiosity. After the real-life Apollo 11’s moon mission in 1969, enthusiasm for new discoveries soared. Now, well into the twenty-first century, we must face the fact that these same questions are still unanswered. With so much human investment made, we must go forward, fully embracing space exploration as an important priority. Our future in space depends on science.

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Space exploration in the 1960s was fueled by the Cold War space race between the United States and Russia. The twenty-first century has brought a universal spirit of collaboration among scientists from around the globe. An excellent example is the International Space Station. This orbiting laboratory and construction site combines the scientific expertise of 16 nations. It allows for a permanent human outpost in space. The hope is that the station can serve as a launching platform for further space exploration.

But space travel is not without risk. NASA’s Space Shuttle Program, which was the main connection to the International Space Station, suffered two terrible losses. After the explosions of the Challenger in 1986 and Columbia in 2003, the program was shut down in 2011. Recent presidential administrations supported putting priority on the commercial space flight industry. A program was put into place to help private companies pursue work on human space flight. There are dozens of private companies in the industry known informally as “New Space.” These companies have set their sights on what seem to be impossible goals. These range from tourist trips to the moon to the colonization of Mars. Space travel has its documented dangers; however, direct human involvement, aided by technological innovation, could likely boost the potential for discovery.

Technological innovations are developing to allow us to venture even farther into space. Such advances are opening windows into worlds we previously could not have imagined. Robotic spacecraft have conducted some of NASA’s most exciting and productive missions. A prominent example is the Hubble Space Telescope, which has made more than 1.3 million observations since its mission began in 1990. It has traveled more than 4 billion miles, sending back stunning photos of faraway stars and galaxies.

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NASA has also conducted robotic missions within our solar system. The Cassini’s mission to Saturn was one of the most ambitious efforts in planetary space exploration. This robotic spacecraft carried the Huygens probe, which parachuted to the surface of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon. The Juno spacecraft orbited around Jupiter, sending observations that can help scientists understand the beginnings of the solar system. The New Horizons spacecraft flew by Pluto in 2015 after an almost ten-year flight. According to the National Academy of Sciences, the exploration of Pluto and the Kuiper belt is the highest priority for solar system exploration. The asteroids in the Kuiper belt offer a great opportunity for mining. Space mining presents an important step for finding resources necessary for interstellar travel and exploration. In addition, icy asteroids may provide a cost-effective solution to space travel. Space entrepreneurs are looking into using hydrogen and oxygen from asteroid ice to manufacture rocket fuel. This space-made fuel can be used to launch expeditions farther out into space at considerably less cost.

Our moon contains helium-3, an element that could be useful on Earth for energy developments such as nuclear fusion research. Mining there can also yield rare-earth metals (REMs) that are used in electronics and in the construction of solar panels. This form of mining, therefore, would be incredibly beneficial for our survival and advancement. In recent years, geological surveys have indicated the presence of water on the moon, which can serve to sustain a human-inhabited lunar base.

Scientists are also looking toward Mars as a potential new home for humankind. New discoveries keep emerging that raise more questions. It is imperative that we use all our available resources to continue research on Mars.

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Early missions to Mars such as Mars Odyssey were designed to make discoveries under the theme of “Follow the Water.” These missions showed the possibility of liquid water below the surface of Mars. With the Curiosity rover, the Mars Exploration Program is following a next-step strategy known as “Seek Signs of Life.” This exploration phase aims to discover the possibilities for past or present life on the Red Planet. Curiosity is seeking evidence of organic materials, the chemical building blocks of life. Future Mars missions would likely be designed to search for life itself in places identified as potential past or present habitats.

With all these advances and technologies in place and in development, will we see a human colony on the moon or on Mars in our lifetime? The best-case scenario will involve a partnership between NASA and international space travel companies.

Some New Space pioneers have tested supersonic retropropulsion technology, landing rocket boosters on floating platforms and on land. This technique could be important for future Mars landings. NASA’s rovers, weighing up to a ton, have successfully landed on Mars. However, they have dropped to the planet’s surface in air bags, using rockets, and with the assistance of cables extended from a “sky crane.” A human mission would weigh much more, making landing more problematic. The previous solutions would not work for spacecraft carrying humans.

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On the other hand, the future of the human race and Earth itself is at stake. We are close to surpassing our planet’s carrying capacity and exhausting our natural resources. Yet scientists and space entrepreneurs remain hopeful. Private companies seeking to colonize Mars believe the risk of space flight is similar to that of climbing Mount Everest. As we all know, this is a risky, but not impossible, proposition.

The final frontier is a vast and dangerous place, difficult and expensive to explore. But it offers infinite possibilities for expanding our scientific knowledge of our planet and its origins. Exploring outer space can yield new sources for precious natural resources and perhaps even find a home for future generations. We live in times where space travel and exploration should be more science than fiction. Let’s keep pursuing the compelling questions that have driven us to these times. Space exploration may very well hold the key to humanity’s future.

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HUMANS SHOULD STAY HOME AND LET ROBOTS TAKE TO THE STARS

Argument by Eiren Caffall

The lure of human space travel is undeniable. We’ve all grown up on endless types of entertainment set in the future that portray adventures on distant planets. Imagine yourself as an astronaut, a part of the first manned mission to Mars. Beyond that, there are generations of people who have been working to make space and space travel look cool, even inevitable. But high aspirations and romance aside, we need to face the harsh realities. Our notions about the inevitability and wonder of human space travel need to be checked, and any plans need to be reconsidered. Some of the best reasons to curtail space exploration come down to economics, human cost, and technology.

Space Travel Is Expensive

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Space travel is extremely expensive. To get humans to Mars, it would take $1 trillion over a 25-year period. Obviously, no single government would want to take on that kind of funding. A Mars mission would require international cooperation at a significant cost to each partner nation. A Mars mission might foster international cooperation, but it would consume funds that could be used for other things.

Some people suggest that the only way to get to Mars would be with the help of private companies. Because of this, the space exploration industry is made up not only of government agencies but also private companies headed by dreamers and people interested in profits over practicality. But these organizations are often badly managed. They don’t work for the government, so accountability could be a problem. Even well-run companies are unlikely to have enough money to launch a Mars mission on their own. There are some experts who say that it wouldn’t be possible to launch a mission to Mars without funding from commercials that would run during coverage of the project. That would turn a scientific mission into a reality television show. Would you want to trust a scientific mission to the people who run reality TV?

Space Travel Could Harm Our Polluted World

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The risks of space exploration could be grave for a planet already plagued by pollution. There is an extra result of space travel: black carbon from rocket exhaust that’s deposited in the outer atmosphere. The launch of a suborbital tourist craft is said to produce less carbon emissions than a standard flight from New York to London. However, once the rocket is above the atmosphere, the black carbon it releases can be pretty damaging. Try to imagine the black smoke from a diesel truck sitting above the sky. With no weather to wash it into the oceans, black carbon can stay put for up to ten years.

Many space boosters are suggesting that being able to leave our planet once it’s exhausted of resources is a priority. They seem to be proposing that we have some sort of Planet B. Somehow they think that a colony on Mars or the moon could take the pressure off our world. Many of these people planning to profit from two things at once are also fans of the dubious technology of geoengineering.

As covered earlier, the essential ingredients for space exploration are international cooperation, vast investments of money, technological advances, global regulations, and the buyin of the general population. Yet those ingredients may well be what’s needed to tackle the problem of Earth’s pollution.

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Space Travel Is More Suited to Robots

NASA recently collected data from the Mars Curiosity rover. The data were used to estimate the radiation impact on an astronaut traveling to and from Mars for 365 days and spending 500 days on the surface. It was determined that during that trip an astronaut would get a radiation dose that was about five percent of what he or she would get over a lifetime on Earth. That significantly increases the risk of cancer.

There is also the danger of running low on supplies. Once on the Red Planet, humans would eventually run out of food and materials. A Massachusetts Institute of Technology study guessed that agriculture would make too much oxygen for the small colony to support inside its dome. Without enough carbon dioxide, the colony would not be able to grow what it needed. Earth would constantly be sending supplies to the colonists. It’s obvious that without that resupply, there would be no hope of agriculture supporting a manned station on Mars.

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Considering the extreme risks for humans, some scientists assert space exploration should be strictly robotic. Think about the achievements of the Hubble Space T elescope and the Mars Pathfinder and Opportunity. Their exploratory missions have captured the public imagination, and all of us love to see images from those robot explorers. When Opportunity landed safely on the surface of Mars, NASA’s Mission Control Center erupted in as loud a cheer as greeted any human mission.

There are scientists who say that robots can’t accomplish space travel as cheaply or efficiently as humans. But, as is often the case, those ideas are based on data from the distant history of space travel. As you might guess, the future of space exploration presents a very different picture, one where robots will replace humans as the better pilots and researchers.

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Space Travel Isn’t Inevitable or Even Necessary

There are many solid arguments against spending money, time, and energy on manned space exploration. There is no solid reason to think of space as the only hope of our bright technological future. There are as many ways to innovate as there are human ideas. Just because the idea of space travel has been with us for decades doesn’t mean that it’s the best way to direct our dreams. Let’s plot a course that doesn’t involve humans. Without space travel as the default idea for our future, what new ideas might lead to amazing discoveries and inventions?