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Davey Renoid

Professor Alexandra Soya

COM1101

4 April 2017

How to Revolutionize Space Exploration

The aviation era began when the Wright Brothers successfully flew an

airplane in December 1903. From there began humankinds efforts to leave

the earth and begin their journey into the sky, and eventually into the space.

Humankind has been fascinated with the wonders of space from the

beginning of time. Humans have always longed to explore it as if it is part of

our DNA to push our physical, intellectual and creative boundaries. Before we

could only gaze up at the stars and marvel at the wonders of space, but with

the passage of time we have been able to make technological leaps in space

travel. However, there is still much more to be done before we can make

interplanetary travel a reality. It has been humankinds long-standing wish to

freely traverse space, but have we ever thought about would be needed to

make this wish a reality?

The main problem which hinders space exploration is the cost. It is far

too expensive to launch a rocket into space, and to continue research on

space exploration. One way to solve this problem is to get more government

funding for space related projects and programs. By getting more

government funding, NASA would be able to fund more trips into space to
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gather data. In the past when NASA was given a budget of more than four

percent of the total U.S. budget, it launched the Apollo Moon missions, and

made it to the moon. This was a very historic moment for all of humankind.

Their budget is currently only .5 percent of the total U.S. budget. Just

imagine what they would be able to accomplish with a budget increase.

NASA would be able to hire more scientists and engineers to make

groundbreaking new inventions if their budget were to be increased. One of

these groundbreaking new inventions which would lower the costs of space

exploration would be fuel free space travel. This idea for a new propulsion

system was proposed by Adam Hadhazy. This new propulsion system would

use electromagnetism instead of propellants to launch space shuttles. On

average, it costs a whopping $500 million to launch a rocket. This new

propulsion system would enable us to launch more rockets into space at a

lower cost. The rocket propulsion system makes up the bulk of the rocket,

because it is filled with propellants to launch it into space. This does not

leave much space for carrying anything else on the rocket, and it also weighs

it down. It would be possible to cut down on the size of the rocket and have

more space for personnel and necessities to build in outer space with this

new propulsion system.

Another invention the increased government funding can be used on is

a space elevator and space hub. A space elevator as the name implies would

be a lift which would carry humans from the surface into the outermost

region of our atmosphere. This invention along with a space hub would save
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any space company millions of dollars in the long run, because they would

no longer need to spend millions of dollars to launch a shuttle from land.

They wouldnt even need to make a new shuttle or repair it, because it can

just stay docked in outer space. This means that the shuttle would no longer

be subject to the wear and tear from the pressure of entering and leaving

earths atmosphere. This invention would also save money when it comes to

propellants, because they would no longer be needed to launch the shuttle

into space. These inventions also make it much easier to conduct research

on space exploration. It is much easier to send a rocket to another planet

from outer space than it is from land. The space hub will also open the

possibility for space tourism.

Another way to revolutionize space travel and cut expenses would be

to allow more private companies like Boeing and SpaceX to come into

existence. Friendly competition between companies will always push them to

be at their best. The companies and humankind will also benefit from the

friendly competition between different private companies, because creative

solutions are almost certainly guaranteed to be created. If private companies

were to work out some of the problems when it comes to space exploration

before NASA can, the agency will be able to spend its budget and efforts on

other problems. For example, SpaceX used its resources and tested using

reusable rocket boosters. Since this private company researched and tested

this concept of cutting costs for shuttle launches, other companies would

benefit from their data and be able to improve it. This would ultimately
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speed up the process of humankind exploring all the regions of space. In the

end, the goal of revolutionizing space exploration will be achieved and

humankind will be able to explore all the regions of space regardless of which

company contributes the most.

It is a great idea to explore space, but have humans ever thought of

what problems this could possibly lead to? According to Patrick Lin, Should

we really be encouraging space exploration, given what we have done to our

own planet? For example, there are many instances in which humankind

have had wars due to an over-developed sense of nationalism. Do we really

want to go into space with these same problems to have wars against other

humans because we are not united? There are also little problems such as

space pollution and over-commercialization of space. The real question is

whether humankind has learned enough from its mistakes and history to

prevent these mistakes from happening in space as well? Other problems we

may face are accidents in space from the technologies we might use, such as

nuclear energy. It is also important to take into consideration the risk of

sending in astronauts to other planets. Is it more efficient to send in people

to other planets when robots might do the job just as well, but more safely

and less expensively?

The exploration of space can also lead to a new industry which would

be space tourism. This new industry would contribute to employment,

economic growth, education, culture, and world peace. It would also solve

one of the earths long-standing problems which is over population, through

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the colonization of other planets. For the new industry of space tourism to

take flight, it would need a key player which would be the pilot. For

commercial space travel to be possible advanced pilots would need to be

trained and have certain skills to make the industry successful. Their training

is truly important because one mistake can result in the cost of all the lives

of the passenger aboard. This would eventually lead into a decline of the

industry and its downfall. One of the skills these new age of pilots would

require is the skill to entertain. The industry is tourism, if the passengers are

not entertained the industry will go in decline.

Despite the negative effects space exploration might have on

humankind in the future, it is still very beneficial to continue research on how

to revolutionize it. Space exploration would solve the problem of

overcrowding and diminishing resources here on our home planet. By

exploring space, humankind would one day come to reside in it. There are

also resource-rich planets such as Mars, which is another incentive to explore

space. The carbon dioxide in Mars atmosphere can be cooled and collected

to provide a supply of oxygen and carbon dioxide. There is also water nearly

everywhere in Mars. It is also possible to grow food on Mars in greenhouses

which will help us provide for future generations. Lastly, humankind will gain

endless knowledge about outer space and the answers to many of the

questions scientists have been asking.

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Works Cited

Bushnell, Dennis M. "Fresh Thinking About Mars." LexisNexis Academic &

Library Solutions. Aerospace America, 1 Mar. 2016. Web. 26 Apr. 2017.

Council, National Research. "Reusable Booster System: Review and

Assessment." National Academic Press, 1 June 2012. Web. 26 April

2016.
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Hadhazy, Adam. "Fuel Free Space Travel." CAS Central Authentication

Service. Aerospace America, 1 Feb. 2017. Web. 26 Apr. 2017.

Lin, Patrick. "Viewpoint: Look before Taking another Leap for Mankind-Ethical

and Social Considerations in Rebuilding Society in Space." Astropolitics,

vol. 4, no. 3, 2006, pp. 281-294,

Mervis, Jeffrey, and David Malakoff. "Science Agencies Make Gains despite

Tight U.S. Budget." Science. American Association for the

Advancement of Science, 19 Dec. 2014. Web. 26 Apr. 2017.

Swan, Cathy W., and Peter A. Swan. "Why We Need a Space Elevator."

Science DIrect. Elsevier, 24 Apr. 2006. Web. 26 Apr. 2017.