Is space exploration really worth it?

The question, while perfectly valid, portrays the space exploration industry as reckless, and uneconomical. However, space exploration, especially today, is a lucrative and exciting industry with a myriad of possibilities, each more thrilling than the other. Despite this, the public opinion on agencies like NASA represents a general distrust, and a majority of people believe that their money goes to waste. But how much money does NASA actually receive as funding? According to a general poll in America, most citizens believe that 20% of the budget of The States goes to NASA. Well, if the budget of the U.S has visualised as a hundred dollars, NASA gets less than half…of one dollar. To compare, the military gets 16, social programs like education, Social Security and healthcare get about 60 dollars, and so on.

However, that ‘less-than-half-of-a-dollar’ budget has enabled NASA to pull off some incredible feats. NASA equates to spaceships and astronauts for most but actually has contributed a majority of their already meagre budget to improving life on earth. For example, an earth-orbiting satellite called SMAP (Soil Moisture Active Passive) was designed and launched to measure soil moisture levels of the earth. This helped predict droughts, crop yield and fertility. This project cost 900 million dollars. With this investment, NASA empowered farmers for perhaps decades in the future.

‘Is it really worth it?’ For us, the answer is simple. Yes, because reaching for new heights

inspires more solutions and opportunities for the people back on the ground, which then paves the path to progress.

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Writer: Aditya Rajan

Image courtesy: Getty Images