Constant Opinions

It’s been sad watching how the International Space Station has been whittled down since it’s inception. Budget cuts have severely limited its utility. Even John Glenn feels the station deserves more.

I can’t help but agree. The International Space Station currently may not be so much as used after 2016. Just watching the goals for the station get cut back year after year has really disturbed me. What had once been intended as a platform for all kinds of science experiments has turned into something far more minimal and not nearly as useful as it might have been.

It’s tough, I know. Going back to the moon and heading out towards Mars just sound so interesting. Those are wonderful goals also and have their own merits. But the Space Station has already had tremendous sums spent upon it. To just drop it is absurd.

Many people oppose the space program because of the tremendous costs associated with it. They don’t see the benefits in large part because NASA isn’t that great at public relations.

The space program was a large factor in the development of microchips, without which we wouldn’t have home computers. Simply put, since it costs so much to put a pound of anything into orbit, research into making computers smaller for the space program helped make computers small enough for the home practical.

The space program has also helped hospitals do more and be more comfortable. In some cases patients can be monitored wirelessly because of technology developed to keep an eye on the vital signs of astronauts.

Let’s not forget weather forecasting. Just where do you think those pretty satellite pictures come from anyhow?

There’s much, much more, which you can read about on NASA’s site. Even if you knew some of it, you’ll probably be surprised.

No, I don’t want us to give up on the Moon or Mars. Who knows what benefits await from going to those places. But I don’t think they’re worth giving up on the Space Station. Surely there is a balance to be struck.

Cutting back or giving up on the Space Station because of the costs fails to take into account just how much our lives and our economy has been indirectly improved by technologies developed due to space travel. The investment has done more than most realize. What will we get if we continue to work at it?

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Filed under: Politics, Technology