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Protecting and Understanding our World –
NASA’s Earth Science division helps us understand the fantastically complex world that we live on.
Studying other worlds like Venus and Mars teaches us how special our planet is, and provides sobering examples of how the climates of planets can change.
NASA-funded research scans the skies for dangerous asteroids, and missions to asteroids teach us how we might be able to divert them from a collision course, should the need arise.
Inspiration – The Apollo missions inspired an entire generation of students to pursue math and science careers. As our society becomes more technology-dependent, the populace needs to become scientifically literate to keep up. Telling students that “You could be the first astronaut on Mars!” or “You could be the one driving the next Mars rovers!” is a pretty effective way of inspiring them to study science and math.
The Economy – NASA does not launch buckets of cash into space. The majority of the money spent on space exploration goes toward the salaries of thousands of skilled American workers who make NASA’s missions so successful. For more on this, and its connection to the recent Mars rover budget scare, check this post.
Exploration – To be human is to be an explorer. It is part of who we are: since the first tribes left the African savanna and spread into Europe and Asia, we have had the need to explore the unknown. Now humans have visited or settled every corner of the globe. The instinct to explore is still active, but there are very few outlets. Some people seek out extreme or exotic places to satisfy this need, risking their lives to do so. Others look to the skies. It may be an old cliche, but Star Trek had it right: Space is the final frontier, and it calls to the explorer in all of us.
New Technology – Space exploration brings together a lot of smart people from many different fields and puts them to work on some very difficult problems. The result is not only fantastic scientific discoveries, but also many useful inventions. From healthier baby food to technology to better diagnose breast cancer, to farther flying golf balls, NASA technology is all around you. Check here for an extensive list.
Answering The Big Questions – How did life begin? How did the universe begin? How was our world created? Are we alone? These questions and others have been asked by every generation since the dawn of time. That we can even ask them is a testament to the power of the human brain. Now, because we are smart enough and bold enough to explore the universe, we are finding the answers. In the words of Carl Sagan, “We are star stuff contemplating the
i hope this helps a lil bit
