Dec. 24 marks the anniversary of Apollo 8’s symbolic venture around the moon and the footage gave Americans more than just a glimpse of the moon’s gloomy surface on Christmas Eve. With patriotic symbolism and theological rhetoric, the charade propagandized the space program in a world where science and religion are at odds. Astronauts Bill Anders, Frank Borman and Jim Lovell recited excerpts from the Book of Genesis, implying the mission served more than the curiosity of man and the hubris of NASA. Interestingly, according to the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, the NASA budget was just shy of $5 billion when they took flight in 1968; today, in 2007, it burgeons at $16 billion. Since the space program’s inception, NASA has shelled out nearly $420 billion. But what do we have to show for it? A cure for cancer? A cure for climate change? A cure for war and hate? God must be terribly proud. Here’s a cure: spend that $420 billion toward the world’s impoverished and then, perhaps, we’ll no longer feel the need to search for better life elsewhere in the universe.
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tjs-writer // January 2, 2008 at 8:56 am
Now come on—cures for cancer, climate change, and even war and hate might exist today had the United States not funded NASA over the years. War and hate?!
In 2007, NASA represented .7 (that’s point seven) percent of the federal budget. Indeed, this is not a small amount of money even relative to the entire budget, yet it is hardly an amount that would have solved any of those problems. So sure, without a lot of headline-grabbing successes of late, it’s easy to pick on NASA and say it’s a money pit—a little too easy.
Forget about the patriotic symbolism. Forget about the theological rhetoric. The benefits to you and me derived from NASA’s existence are undeniable. Spinoff technologies have included new and/or improved medical monitoring equipment, fire protection devices, and even farming practices. Portable, lightweight materials have revolutionized the hand tools used in construction today and even the materials comprising your bike or motorcycle helmet or shock-absorbing basketball shoes.
We’re even able to monitor with better precision—and perhaps fix—the mess we’ve made of our environment. And experiments in biotechnology routinely take place on the international space station adding to our knowledge of this increasingly important field.
NASA is hardly just about the “search for better life elsewhere”—if it is even about that at all. I’ll try to keep seemingly romantic notions about expanding the human race and discovering beyond what is known and easy to a minimum, but that sentiment has real value. As a race, we’ve never been satisfied to stay put. We need to roam, to explore, to move forward in new directions. That’s how we’ve grown and evolved from living in small clusters in caves.
And one need only look at the pock-marked surface of the moon to realize it is only a matter of time before a wayward comet or asteroid starts heading in the direction of our humble planet. That kind of close encounter would change things around here pretty quickly. Wouldn’t it be better if we knew when the next one is coming—and be prepared to do something about it?
This doesn’t mean that we stop acting to aid the impoverished or end war. But pick on government graft, misappropriated funds, bureaucratic incompetence, or political pork projects if you’re seeking out misplaced monies. This is where additional revenue lies for humanitarian projects. So please leave NASA alone and let the space agency keep helping us prepare for our future.
And don’t let the occasional outbursts of religious rhetoric from politicians or even astronauts dissuade you from believing in NASA’s greater purpose. NASA has endured and succeeded despite this infrequent blather—for the greater good of all of us.
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