Wednesday, December 5, 2012

The Goods, The Bads, and Where We're Headed

Pros of Space Exploration:

  •  By exploring space, scientists can get closer to understanding the origins of our universe and how it came to be.
  • We could discover new elements, compounds, minerals, etc that could possibly be beneficial to us on earth.  Maybe we will be able to cure diseases on earth based on what we discover in outer space.
  • Space Exploration could help save the human race.  If for whatever reason the earth becomes unfit for human life, (maybe because of natural disasters, or the threat of asteroids) space will be our only resort.  We need to start thinking more about space exploration soon in order to be ready for a disaster on earth in the future.
  •  The private sector can help fund future space missions, which may bring more progress to space exploration than if the government funds the missions/research.  

Cons of Space Exploration:

  • A big problem relating to space exploration is the cost.  It costs huge sums of money in order to get us in to space.
  • The safety of astronauts and space travelers is another big problem.  There have been several space missions that resulted in the death of astronauts.  One of these incidents occurred in 1986 when the famous shuttle known as the Challenger disintegrated and plummeted into the Atlantic.  The crash resulted in the death of all seven astronauts who were in the shuttle.  However as time goes on, and our technology and knowledge of space travel get better, exploring our solar system should become safer.
  • There is also a chance that we will find something in space that could be harmful to humans.  Maybe we could find deadly viruses, or toxic gases.  If these materials were brought back to earth, they could wreak havoc on our society.
  • With NASA's space program being diminished, there is talk of future space missions being funded by the private sector.  This would definitely have some pros and cons of its own.  Although the private sector could help in funding space travel, which would be a positive, it may also present some problems.  Some people fear that the private sector will not be able to handle controlling space missions, and will diminish space exploration even further.  Who knows for sure?  Only the future will tell.


                                                       The Future:

Many scientists believe that the human race will not survive if plans for colonizing other planets are not developed in the near future.  Many believe that us humans are destroying our planet more rapidly by the day.  But where would we be able to go?  No other planets that we know of support life, right?  Recent studies show that in theory, humans could live on Mars.  Unfortunately, this would be a very complicated task.  First off, Mars has a very thin atmosphere, and the oxygen that we breath drifts off in to space.  Luckily, there's a lot of CO2 on Mars.  Plants can take in the CO2 and change it in to oxygen.  So if you ever get the chance to go to Mars, bring some tulips with you!  Since the Martian atmosphere is so thin, cosmic radiation, and meteorites would present a problem as well.  Humans would need to wear protective clothing and have radioactive protected homes.  Many meteorites strike Mars' surface compared to the earths surface.  This could be dangerous for humans.  Also, the weather on Mars is quite unpleasant.  The temperature is rarely above freezing, storms last much longer than earth storms, and dust storms are very corrosive, which could ruin our machines and buildings.  Even though some scientists predict that humans can be sent to Mars by the 2020s, I believe that it will take longer for a lot of people to be able to live on Mars.  I don't know about you, but Mars doesn't sound like a very cozy place to me!







 Works cited:

 Oak, Manali. "Pros and Cons of Space Exploration." buzzle.com. Buzzle.com, n.d.
     Web. 5 Dec. 2012. <http://www.buzzle.com/articles/
     pros-and-cons-of-space-exploration.html>. 

View live Web page"Can we live on Mars." spacecentre.no. Norwegian Space Centre, n.d. Web. 3 Dec. 2012. <http://www.spacecentre.no/English/The_Universe/Mars/
     Can_we_live_on_Mars+/>. 




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5 comments:

  1. Mr. TurtonDecember 10, 2012 at 7:19 PM

    Life in a space suit does seem very appealing to me. However, I guess it might be the alternatives some day.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ryan JDecember 20, 2012 at 10:41 AM

    I think the idea of moving to space is an interesting idea but needed at the same time. I believe that if not in our lifetime in the near future after that we will eventually have to travel to a new planet if new environmental regulations are not implemented to help prevent the destruction of our planet. Sweet topic

    ReplyDelete
  3. garrettsDecember 20, 2012 at 11:10 AM

    this really interest me. Just imagine living in space and being unable to go outside. this kind of freaks me out because i would get claustrophobic and i am an outdoors person.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AaronDecember 20, 2012 at 11:12 AM

    This seems very interesting and is entreating to me. Space exploration could be very helpful in future technological advancements.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Fox RacingDecember 23, 2012 at 4:35 PM

    Wow, very interesting and informative. I really liked all t=of the interesting information, especially about possibly being able to live on different planets in the future. The video was also a nice touch. Keep up the good work!

    ReplyDelete

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