Is NASA A Waste Of Money?

Is NASA a Waste of Money?

People often question whether NASA is a waste of money or not. Most people usually aren’t aware of what percent of the budget even goes towards NASA. I can assure you by looking at NASA and what they have accomplished since being created to what they have accomplished recently they are by no means a waste of money. While they have had their ups and downs throughout their history, they have provided many of us with things we take for granted. Not only things we use throughout each day but also technology that is helping save lives every day.

The Amount Of Money NASA Is Receiving

The first important thing to look at is how much money NASA is actually getting. In the year 2020 NASA received $22.6 billion dollars. This accounts for 0.48% of 4.7 trillion the United States planned to spend. In other words, NASA received less than half a percent of the United States budget. If you look back in history you will see a completely different story. In the 1960s during the Apollo missions, NASA received a record-high budget of just under 4.5%. This budget allowed us to do something the world had never seen before and put humans on the moon. Since the Apollo missions, the budget has only gone down to where it is currently.

The Benefits Of NASA

When looking at the pros of NASA there are a lot but I will focus on some of the bigger ones. This includes everyday things you might use such as GPS or memory foam. Looking out into space and working on extinction prevention. Helping the economy by providing thousands of jobs and salaries to some of America’s smartest individuals. Improving crucial technology used by many such as water purification. Also, the hope and inspiration created by their goals and missions.

1. Everyday Items Thanks To NASA

Memory foam – In an effort to improve seat cushioning and crash protection in the 1970s NASA developed a contract to do exactly that and created memory foam. Memory foam is now very popular and often seen in a lot of different beds and pillows on the market. So popular you might even own some.

GPS – It’s easy to get into your car and set a destination on your GPS or do the same with your phone. NASA played a major role in getting the Global Positioning System in place. Not only that but NASA has continued over the decades working on and improving the technology. At this point the technology is so widespread and accurate that we use it practically anytime we need to go somewhere.

Phone Cameras – In the 90s NASA was in need of a small camera that could fit on a spacecraft but still produce a high-quality image. This technology was crucial and ended up being built upon to create a lot of the high-quality small cameras we use today.

Food Packaging – Early on NASA and Pillsbury worked together to try and create packaging for foods that would keep them safe for longer periods of time in things like space flight. Today this technology has become a normal practice and helps keep food safer for us consumers.

Home Insulation – NASA had the challenge of extremely cold temperatures and needed a solution. To combat this problem they created insulation made from aluminized polyester called Radiant Barrier. This type of insulation is very common now in the average home insulation.

Portable Computers – The world’s first laptop computer was first used on the space shuttle in 1983. NASA’s need for a computer that was portable helped develop and create something I know I and many others use daily.

2. Extinction Prevention

We all know what happened to the dinosaurs and would like to prevent that from happening in the future. NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office works to try and find, warn, mitigate, and coordinate response to NEO’s or Near-Earth objects such as asteroids and comets.

The main goal is to provide early detection of potentially hazardous objects. They then track and characterize what they see and are currently working on strategies and technology to try and prevent collisions from happening. Even just knowing what is coming before an impact could possibly save millions of lives and is worth having. They are still working on this process but it could come in a lot of handy in the near or far future.

3. Economy

When NASA spends their money despite popular belief, not all the money is just going into space on a rocket ship. In fact, a good portion of the money ends up in NASA’s many employee’s pockets. Currently, more than 17,000 people work for NASA. These are some of the country’s smartest individuals responsible for landing rovers on different planets and humans on the moon. When we look at the budget NASA gets we have to factor in these jobs and the positive effect it has on our economy.

4. Innovating Technology That Saves Lives

Water is necessary for survival yet there are still places around the world without access to clean water. When developing technology for the International Space Station NASA needed high-quality water purification systems to provide the crew with constant access to clean drinking water. NASA and aid organizations collaborated and were able to provide at-risk areas with advanced water filtration and purification systems. This technology can help save lives and provide communities with a stable way to get clean water.

5. The Future And Hope Brought With It

With so many things going on around the world at all times it can be hard to find inspiring and positive things in the future. Ever since I was a kid the idea of spaceflight and exploring outside our planet was one of the most fascinating things I could think of. There is so much we don’t know beyond our own planet and this is a way we can find out. It is so important as a human to be excited for the future and what will come with it. The last thing we need is to decrease NASA’s budget and with it the excitement and hope of so many people young and old. Check out more about NASA’s values here – https://www.nasa.gov/careers/our-mission-and-values

Conclusion

One of the main arguments when talking about whether or not the money going to NASA is a waste or not is that there are already a lot of problems on earth. People emphasize that we should fix all the issues here first before we start doing things off our own planet. This is a valid concern if you think the only thing NASA does is waste all of its funding. NASA does so much for us and that’s with less than half a percent of the budget. If you want more funding for certain issues there are better places to look for it. It’s clear to see that NASA is by no means a waste of money. In fact, it should be funded quite a bit more. The better funding NASA has the more benefits for us. Between different everyday items, our safety, the economy, and our hope and inspiration in the future, its clear that NASA is worth every penny.