ENG Proposal Final Draft.

The problem with NASA funding

66 million years ago a 6 mile wide rock slammed into the face of the earth and the

resulting cloud of dust blotted out the sun for over a year as well as killed 75% of life on earth,

including the dinosaurs (How to Defend Earth from Asteroids). The dinosaurs died because they

didn’t have a space program, capable of deflecting asteroids, one of the most important elements

if a strong space program. Up until the 1950’s, the human race as a whole didn’t have any sort of

space program. However, advances in the field of space exploration came from competition

between the United States and the Soviet Union during the space race, which ended in 1969

when Apollo 11 landed on the moon. Since the height of the space race, the funding for NASA

has been decreased to its current funding of 0.5% of the federal budget (Steinberg). NASA’s lack

of funding limits the number and types of missions it can conduct, thereby limiting our

understanding of space and stunting technological advances in the space exploration field.

Creating interest in space exploration and research among the general public in the United States

through various forms of media could arouse public support for increasing the funding of NASA.

The increase in funding leads to an increase in research of the universe and our planet’s

surroundings, which would have benefits to mankind in the form of technological advances,

greater knowledge, and increased safety in the event of a dooms day like scenario like that of the

dinosaurs.

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Although it is unlikely that a comet or asteroid will hit the earth in the years to come,

problems such as the earth being destroyed in some sort of cosmic event are real threats. The

ability to deflect an asteroid or comet, or, should the need arise to leave the planet earth in search

of a new home are important solutions to problems involving the destruction of life as we know

it on earth. According to Stephen Hawking, the future of the human species relies on our ability

to colonize other celestial bodies, as eventually our planets resources will be gone or our planet

will be in danger of annihilation from a cosmic threat (Carpenter). The problem however remains

that, should such an event happen relatively soon, the current state of space program is not

advanced enough to tackle such a problem. The problem stems from the lack of funding given to

NASA from the Federal Budget, which has currently left NASA underfunded to the point of

canceling the Shuttle Program to cut costs. The solution to this problem is to increase the funding

of NASA by arousing interest in space exploration in the public who in turn will support the

funding of NASA.

At the height of the space race, NASA received 4.41% of the federal budget, and with

that money they used it to put men on the moon, launch probes, and advance our understanding

of the universe. After winning the space race by landing men on the moon the NASA budget has

been reduced over the years to its current value at 0.5% of the federal budget (Steinberg). The

lack of funding to the space program and the high cost of space exploration has forced NASA to

make decisive decisions about missions that they conduct. These decisions have limited the

knowledge and understanding we have of the universe. The lack of funding to NASA from the

federal budget comes from a perceived lack of necessity of the space program since the federal

government uses most of the money from the federal budget to pay for Medicare, Medicaid,

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social security, and defense. The public also perceives that NASA funding is much higher than it

truly is, making the public unlikely to support an increase in NASA funding.

The consensus remains that the public is unaware of the lack of funding to NASA

projects and are equally unaware of the benefits mankind will receive should NASA be granted

increased funding by the federal government. According to Alan Steinberg, as the public support

for NASA increases, so will the actual support for the funding NASA. Although Roger Launius

found that the public supported NASA, he also found that the public was unaware of NASA’s

objectives and that they felt the money funded to NASA could be spent on more important

programs (Launius). The objective then should be to foster in the American people an interest in

the universe, science, and space exploration in the hopes that public support for NASA funding

will encourage the federal government to increase NASA’s funding.

Human spaceflight and Innovation often go hand in hand; it is necessary to innovate in

space to tackle the harsh problems that come with living in the vacuum of space. Although the

public may be unaware of what NASA is actually doing in space, the mass majority of the public

have at least been exposed to the technological breakthroughs of NASA’s spinoff technologies,

or products designed for use in space that been since been commercialized for use in by the

public and for the public. These technological innovations range from, computer chips and

robots, to medical imaging technology used in hospitals (Doris). According to NASA these

spinoffs have generated “over a billion dollars in revenue” (Dunbar). NASA technologies have

had profound impacts on the lives of people whether or not they were fully aware of what NASA

does; increasing public perception and interest in NASA, and highlighting the technological

advances that came from NASA could increase the public’s interest in supporting NASA with

the goal of advancing consumer technology.

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In order to address the lack of funding to NASA, the public needs to be aware of the

actual lack of funding that NASA has. Astronomer Neil deGrasse Tyson is an avid proponent of

increasing the NASA budget by citing the benefits to the field of science and engineering, as

well as increasing the jobs surrounding the space industry (Chow). Neil deGrasse Tyson rose in

popularity through his use of various media outlets such as Reddit.com and Twitter.com as well

as answering questions on his radio show star talk and recently helping to produce and promote

the television show Cosmos. His hope is to spark an interest in space and space exploration and

in turn gather support for increasing the funding to NASA. Similarly motivated, Canadian

astronaut Chris Hadfield, who rose to prominence by posting videos of life aboard the

international space station, hoped to inspire a public interest in space exploration and gain

support for NASA (Schilder). Raising awareness for NASA’s budget issues, and inspiring public

interest could have profound effects for scientific advancement and job opportunities.

A common argument against the increasing of NASA’s budget is that the money used to

fund NASA could be better spent elsewhere, which is a claim that Roger Launius found was

common amongst the American public (Launius). People often feel that money spent on space

exploration is wasted on scientific discovery that has little or nothing to do with their lives.

These issues stems from the general publics lack of understanding about what NASA does and is

trying to achieve in exploring space. An effort must be made by NASA to broadcast the

importance of the organization’s work and the technological breakthroughs that have had a

massive impact on our lives, as well as educating people about the opportunities created by

NASA.

Neil deGrasse Tyson has adamantly advocated for the increase in NASA’s budget stating

in his address to congress that beyond the breakthroughs in scientific research Space is a “$300

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billion industry worldwide” (Chow). Increasing the funding to NASA would increase job

opportunities, for engineers, scientists, and astronauts which would have a trickledown effect

impacting a large portion of the American economy (Tyson). Tyson also suggested inspiration

gained from successes of human spaceflight would inspire the next generation of astronauts,

engineers, and scientists, as well as encourage innovation throughout the United States that

would have a positive effect on the American economy (Tyson). Beyond the need for a space

program to help advance our scientific knowledge and protect our species from disaster, the

practical benefits of increasing the budget of NASA like increasing jobs throughout the US,

which would in turn help the economy.

NASA is seriously underfunded to the point where we have canceled the American

shuttle program, because of a lack of public support despite the fact that the public views NASA

as a whole as an important organization. The public doesn’t understand exactly what NASA does

day to day or what it wants to discover. And so they feel that the money could be better spent. In

order to increase the funding for NASA, the public opinion needs to reflect that the American

people feeling that NASA is important enough to warrant funding. Prominent figures such as

Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chris Hadfeild have tried to foster an interest in the public regarding

the field of space exploration through use the popular internet websites and other media outlets

in the hopes that increased interest in space will gather support for the increase of NASA’s

budget. The public needs to be informed that the space agency is underfunded, and that NASA as

a whole is an important organization which when funded will produce results that are beneficial

to mankind in multiple areas.

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Works Cited

Carpenter, P.A. P.C. Bishop, “The seventh mass extinction: Human-caused events contribute to a fatal

Consequence.” Futures, Volume 41, Issue 10, December 2009, Pages 715-722

Chow, Denise. “Boosting NASA’s Budget Will Help Fix Economy: Neil DeGrasse Tyson.”Space.com.

Tech Media Network, 17 Apr. 2012. Web. 13 Apr. 2014.

Doris J. Rouse, Daniel L. Winfield, S.Catherine Canada, NASA spinoffs to bioengineering and medicine,

Acta Astronautica, Volume 25, Issue 2, February 1991, Pages 103-110,

Dunbar, Brian. “NASA Celebrates Spinoff Technologies from the Space Shuttle Program.” NASA.

NASA, 17 Sept. 2012. Web. 02 May 2014.

How to Defend Earth from Asteroids. Perf. Phil Plait. Phil Plait: How to Defend Earth from Asteroids.

Tedx, n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.

Launius, Roger D. Public opinion polls and perceptions of US human spaceflight, Space Policy, Volume

19, Issue 3, August 2003, Pages 163-175

Schilder, Jana. “Chris Hadfield Could Teach PR Companies a Thing or Two.” The Huffington

Post. Huffington Post, 15 May 2013. Web. 26 Apr. 2014.

Steinberg, Alan. “Space policy responsiveness: The relationship between public opinion and NASA

funding,” Space Policy, Volume 27, Issue 4, November 2011, Pages 240-246

Tyson, Neil D. “Past, Present, and Future of NASA – U.S. Senate Testimony.”Hayden Planetarium.

Hayden Planetarium, 7 Mar. 2012. Web. 25 Apr. 2014.

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