The benefits of NASA funding and American investment in space
More than five decades after the Apollo 17 Moon landing in 1972, the American Space Program once again thrust itself into the spotlight with the launch and successful mission of Artemis II. Artemis II broke records, sending humans farther from Earth than ever before. Yet, the government’s actions do not match these achievements. Since 1966, NASA’s budget has plummeted from over four percent of the national budget to just over one percent in 1991 and less than half a percent of the budget in 2017. Just two days after Artemis II’s launch, the White House proposed an additional twenty-three percent budget cut, which included a forty-seven percent decrease in scientific funding. While the House Science Committee rejected this measure, this threat underscores the dangers NASA faces. Instead of cutting NASA’s funding, the U.S. should commit to its investments in space technologies because they aid in technological advancements, prioritize scientific exploration, and ensure America’s defense.
NASA should receive an increase in funding because innovations in space lead to innovations at home. Space exploration requires the invention of leading-edge technologies, which often trickle down to applications unrelated to space. In 1960, NASA launched TIROS-1, the first-ever weather satellite, significantly progressing meteorology and paving the way for hundreds of weather satellites to come. Imaging technology from the Apollo program inspired the development of the CT scan in the medical world. More recently, space innovations led to the development of medical supplements for vulnerable patients. In fact, NASA has a program specifically designed to bring space technology to Earth, called the Technology Transfer Program. These space-to-earth technologies underline the importance of space innovation for humans.
Though commercial investment in space has grown in recent years, it has realized little technological innovation: most companies prioritize profits instead. Space-based enterprises focus primarily on satellites in low Earth orbit, which, in today’s space economy, is where the most money can be gained. While most companies today remain in Earth’s sphere of influence, NASA’s Voyager 1 probe, launched in 1977, has been forging past the Solar System for fourteen years. Similarly, while Katy Perry went to space commercially for two million dollars, the James Webb Space Telescope studied the earliest lights of the universe post Big Bang. Such disparities between revenue-boosting and actual scientific advancement underline how private space interests are not yet suitable for productive exploration of space. Thus, NASA’s funding is essential to ensure the continuation of science-centered space research.
Furthermore, U.S. investment in space should be augmented to secure American national security interests. Space has increasingly become a potential battleground in the event of the next great conflict. Precision systems and connectivity have played important roles in many nations’ militaries, including the US. Many of these systems rely on space-based platforms such as Starlink and GPS satellites. In the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russian forces were in disarray after Elon Musk cut their access to Starlink. New and future defense applications, including the much-publicized Golden Dome, require hundreds of satellites for the accurate detection, tracking, and destruction of threats. Such abilities would be crucial in future conflicts as near-peer adversaries develop novel weapons that may now reach the contiguous United States, a major difference from previous conflicts. Without investment in space and defense, such weapons could assail American cities relatively unimpeded.
U.S. investment in space should be protected if not augmented to power innovation and defend national security. Despite the growth of commercial interests in space, NASA continues to lead the field in exploration and science. Even as pressing matters around the globe envelop our world, the U.S. has a duty to protect the space age—Fire in the Sky.
