Space: The Essential Frontier

Space: The Essential Frontier

You get into your car, and program your destination in the GPS. From there, the satellite in space sends the directions to your car. This could not have been possible without space exploration. Space exploration began on October 4, 1957 when Russia launched the satellite Sputnik into outer space. The United States of America formed NACA, now known as NASA, on July 29, 1958. The continuation of this program has received both accolades, and critiques. Many people believe space exploration is a waste of resources and money. However, space provides us with knowledge, technologies (satellite/ non-satellite), and future assurance for survival.

In 2010, President Obama temporarily ended space exploration in the U.S. Obama hopes that by doing this, we will improve our technology, and continue to explore space in the near future. On the contrary, he should have never canceled it in the first place. Space is a unique and interesting place. By exploring space, we have confirmed our presence in the universe, and could also find an answer to the age-old question: Is there life beyond earth? Evidence of life has been seen on Mars and other planets. I'm not insinuating that there are aliens, but maybe some other cells living outside of Earth. By exploring space, we have also created accurate maps of our world, which allow us to navigate. Many of us check the weather in the morning to see if we need a coat before we leave for school. Without space exploration (specifically satellites), this could not be possible It is not only for smaller ideas like this, but if there is a hurricane nearing U.S shores, satellites can give us images of the storm so we can prepare for its arrival. Not only has space given us knowledge, but it has also provided motivation to thousands of people/ inventors to improve lives through technology. Without this human desire to ameliorate, we could not be successful.

The inventors and their inventions have had a significant impact on our everyday lives. Without their technologies, we would not be able to do the things we do today. Satellite technologies have also provided us with television. Companies like Dish Network, rely on satellites to provide customers with the best entertainment possible. Satellites have also allowed for long distance communication. It used to take weeks or even months to send letters over seas, but it can now be done in a few seconds. These are just two examples of what satellites do. Many say that space exploration wastes billions of dollars through research and development, but once a satellite is projected into space, they do all the work themselves. The cost to send up and maintain a satellite is irrelevant compared to the amount of research, knowledge, and money that we can gain back. Through space exploration, we have seen the development of the satellite, which is cost friendly, and provides many revolutionary concepts.