David Karim

Government IV
Mr. Rogers 3
October 25, 2015
NASA Funding Act of 2015
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA) has been receiving
reduction in its amount of funding from the government for the past few years which is
limiting its opportunities and hindering its potential. The first budget cut was in 2011
and the funding kept decreasing by the year. Due to budget cuts certain projects and
missions do not receive the proper funding required to complete them, so some may be
cancelled. When important administrations like NASA get funding reductions, then it
may put Earth at risk because certain programs that monitor our planet and its
temperature will not have the correct funds to support the issue. There are many things
NASA could work on with increased funds such as helping our troops and figuring out
global warming. NASA should receive increased funding because decreased funding
may be the cause of the cancelation of the Mars Opportunity Rover, cuts the Earth
Science program by $300 million, and space exploration is vital to the human race for
progression.
Due to the budget cuts NASA received from the government, the Mars
Opportunity Rover is most likely being canceled in 2016. Even though the planetary
science program has a stable budget, it is not enough to support the Mars Opportunity
Rover, which has recently discovered some interesting and possibly important
information. Orbital data show that clay minerals are highly concentrated in the area. A
rover could prove if habitable environments are present, but the prospects of exploring
beyond Marathon Valley is now very slim (Depra). If NASA had more funds then the

Opportunity Rover could explore and examine this area of Mars to see if it is possible
for humans to live there but unfortunately, that is not the case. New findings from
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) provide the strongest evidence yet that
liquid water flows intermittently on present-day Mars (Brown). Very recent discoveries
also provide proof that there was possibly life on Mars and more reason to believe Mars
is possibly habitable. Not only does the NASA budget cut cause NASA to miss out on
important information that could drastically change our future, it also greatly reduces the
funds for NASAs Earth Science program.
The house spending bill cuts the Earth science program by over $300 million
which threatens climate change studies. The Republican-controlled U.S. House of
Representatives NASA budget proposal greatly effects Earths studies of its own
temperatures. Proponents of NASAs Earth-studies programs said the space agency
has contributed a great deal to scientists understanding of global weather patterns and
trends, including the effects of climate change on the environment (Ross). A lot of our
understanding for climate change and global warming was acquired from NASAs
studies on climate change. Charles Bolden, a former astronaut who is the administrator
of NASA, said the House bill threatens to set back generations worth of progress in
better understanding our changing climate and our ability to prepare for and respond to
earthquakes, droughts, and storm events (Ross). The House bill is also possibly
dangerous because if our Earth Science program is not checking climate as much, we
could be unprepared for some natural disaster. Although exploring our own Earth is very
important, exploring space is vital to progression into the future.

Space exploration is needed in NASA to help humans progress forward, discover

new opportunities, and understand ourselves better. If there was never any studying of
space, we would not know about the moon, sun, gravity, and many other things. That
argument is exploration, and that we should undertake it for the most basic of reasons -our self-preservation as a creative, as opposed to a stagnating, society (Dick). The
human race needs to explore space simply because we are creative creatures that
enjoy to learn about their reality and how things work. In our search to learn more
about ourselves and our world, it makes sense to go beyond our planet. After all, most
of whats around us is space. It is important to learn about space if we want to know
more about ourselves because we live in space and are always being affected by it.
NASA needs an increase in funding as soon as possible, but some disagree.
Although it is clearly evident that NASA needs an increase in funding, some
people think that NASAs funding should continue to decrease. These people think it is
ridiculous to spend millions in tax money NASA and think its a waste. It must support
NASA because... the science and engineering being developed at Goddard, JPL,
Dryden... pushes humanity forward in a dramatic way (Diaz). Humanity would be at a
standstill if it were not for innovators and explorers looking to advance society further
into the future, and that is exactly what NASA does. There are also extremely important
undertakings like global climate change monitoring... Or studying the Sun to prevent
fundamental satellite network knockdowns (Diaz). The Human race needs NASA to
monitor relevant things going on with our planet and will help us in case of emergencies
that put us in serious risk. NASA needs to be funded because of the important role of
keeping our planet in check.

NASA needs increased funding to prevent the cancellation of the Mars

Opportunity Rover, restore the $300 million lost in the Earth science program to the
house spending bill, and because space exploration progresses humanity into the future.
The reason I chose to try and raise funding for NASA is because I believe exploration of
space and this planet is the most important thing for humans to move forward into more
advance and efficient ways of living. Please help raise awareness about the importance
of NASA and its funding issues by informing your friends and family about the
dilemma.

Works Cited

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McBrien,Michael."NUWriting."NUWriting.Web.2Nov.2015.
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