Why is so much money allocated to space research?

Question

This is a fair quesion, I am totally ignorent on why and I don't know the benefits of this spending. Also wouldn't it be better to spend money on medicine and things like that which have much higher chance of making money back?

Answer 1

Out of a $2.4 trillion budget, less than 0.8% is spent on the entire space program.

The cutting edge technologies developed for space travel are a major source of invention for products and technologies here on earth. I'll give you a short list... and some links.

SEMICONDUCTOR CUBING
AIR QUALITY MONITOR
Advanced keyboards, Customer Service Software, Database Management System, Laser Surveying, Aircraft controls, Lightweight Compact Disc, Expert System Software, Microcomputers, and Design Graphics
ENRICHED BABY FOOD
WATER PURIFICATION SYSTEM
SCRATCH-RESISTANT LENSES
GOLF BALL AERODYNAMICS
ATHLETIC SHOES
Dustbuster, shock-absorbing helmets, home security systems, smoke detectors, flat panel televisions, high-density batteries, trash compactors, food packaging and freeze-dried technology, cool sportswear, sports bras, hair styling appliances, fogless ski goggles, self-adjusting sunglasses, composite golf clubs, hang gliders, art preservation, and quartz crystal timing equipment.
SOLAR ENERGY
WEATHER FORECASTING AID
TELEMETRY SYSTEMS
FIRE RESISTANT MATERIAL
Whale identification method, environmental analysis, noise abatement, pollution measuring devices, pollution control devices, smokestack monitor, radioactive leak detector, earthquake prediction system, sewage treatment, energy saving air conditioning, and air purification
DIGITAL IMAGING BREAST BIOPSY SYSTEM
BREAST CANCER DETECTION
LASER ANGIOPLASTY
PROGRAMMABLE PACEMAKER
OCULAR SCREENING
Arteriosclerosis detection, ultrasound scanners, automatic insulin pump, portable x-ray device, invisible braces, dental arch wire, palate surgery technology, clean room apparel, implantable heart aid, MRI, bone analyzer, and cataract surgery tools.
MICROLASERS
ENGINE LUBRICANT
ADVANCED WELDING TORCH
Gasoline vapor recovery, self-locking fasteners, machine tool software, laser wire stripper, lubricant coating process, wireless communications, engine coatings, and engine design.
EMERGENCY RESCUE CUTTERS
FIREMAN'S AIR TANKS
SELF-RIGHTING LIFE RAFT
Storm warning services (Doppler radar), firefighters' radios, lead poison detection, fire detector, flame detector, corrosion protection coating, protective clothing, and robotic hands
Safer bridges, emission testing, airline wheelchairs, electric car, auto design, methane-powered vehicles, windshear prediction, and aircraft design analysis.

I could go on.. but hey... I ran out of money to inform you of other benefits.... :-)

http://spaceplace.jpl.nasa.gov/en/kids/spinoffs2.shtml

http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00000269.shtml

www.thespaceplace.com

Answer 2

Seriously, you should look up the proportion of money spent on space explaoration. It's tiny compared to investment in medical research, and even tinier compared to military investment.

Additionally, space research does make money back. Every dollar is spent right here on Earth. It provides jobs. It funds research that ultimately benefits the whole of humanity. Camcorders are an offshoot of the space program. Before then all video cameras were huge devices that needed stands, dollies, tracks, and seated operators. For the space program they found ways to make them small enough to be operated one-handed. Medical sensing technology was advanced partly because of the requirement of monitoring the astronauts in real time while they were in space. New materials were invented for space that have found other uses here on Earth. And any research that improves our understanding of the world and the universe is worthwhile. Space spending gives us satellite TV and GPS, as well as weather monitoring, advance warnings of solar activity, all sorts of things we take for granted.

The way some people complain about space research you'd think space agencies the world over were loading the money into their rockets and shooting it into space. It just doesn't work that way. It's a tiny proportion of government funds, but because it is so visible it attracts a lot of attention. This fiscal year NASA was allocated less than 1% of the US budget, compared to over 25% for the military. It's really not that much in the grand scheme of things.

Answer 3

Any form of exploration generates innovation and fosters a competitive spirit that drives new technology and pushes the boundaries of the known. Despite what the first answerer says, there is a HUGE amount of technology that was developed from space exploration. The same goes with studying the depths of the oceans...we have learned so much invaluable information about the origins of Earth and just about every subject you can think of. Medical experiments were performed in space, which have helped researchers develop new drugs and vaccines for the better good of humanity. We know much more about the weather patterns on Earth from studying the atmosphere from space (hurricane/tornado prediction, flooding, etc.). GPS, satellite communication, and international information exchange is a by-product of space exploration. A huge number of jobs are created by the funding from government (on the order of hundreds of thousands). Exploration is the result of the fundamental curiosity in humans to try to explain what we do not know, and to benefit from the findings. It is the reason Spanish explorers sailed west across the Atlantic - to find faster routes for trade. It's the reason Lewis and Clarke ventured west, and the reason we study the deepest trenches in the ocean...to learn and benefit.

Answer 4

Personally, I look at it from the opposite angle. A living organism is composed of hugely complex interactions and relationships between cells, tissues and organs that have many different functions, all existing for seemingly no other purpose than to form an organism and keep it alive, which will in turn keep themselves alive. But what is the point of just existing? Well, on the individual scale, the point is to reproduce, to pass of our genes to the next generation, we are just a protein shell constructed by DNA to propagate itself.

What does this have to do with your question? Well, I see civilisation as the means to support this sort of venture. It's serious work, but to humanity as a whole, this feels like a purpose, one that we have assigned ourselves. It also provides jobs for many and when manages well, does wonders for national morale. It's human curiosity and the desire to explore- that is why science exists at all.

It does bring benefits, of course it does. We learn a great deal that directly helps human civilisation in all fields of science, including space research, much of which I can't even begn to describe or even understand, and even those that do not appear to do so in themselves may unlock new fields of research that will.

There's so much we just take for granted that we would not have without space research. All those satellites that transmit TV, phone calls, your Internet, GPS and so much more, we would not have without space research.

However, even with all the benefit it brings, I'm perfectly content for us to explore the cosmos just for the sake of exploring the cosmos. I mean, what else could we spend all that money on? Sure, ending poverty, curing disease, noble goals, and we are working for those already. But what we spend on space research is so tiny compared to that of health care that redistributing it all would make very little difference.

But really, what is the point of maintaining our existence in such a way if we don't do anything with it?

Answer 5

The question is, why is so LITTLE money spent on it? NASA has the smallest budget of any gov't agency, with arguably the largest return - for every dollar NASA recieves in their budget, 7 dollars are spent in the economy. NASA is paying scientists and engineers and teachers and educators and students and researchers and technicians - not to mention janitors and real estate agents and cooks. They are developing new technology and expanding our understanding of the universe. They are funding Spacewatch programs which can warn us of and protect us from killer asteroids. Frankly, I wonder why we're spending so much more on the military - something like over a trillion there a year as opposed to 17 billion or less on NASA.

Answer 6

Set at approximate $17 Billion per year... advancing about 2% per year (barely matching the inflation rate)

The money spent on space research is returned a hundredfold in advances in technology that benefit humanity.

Can the same be said of the Trillions spent on War?


Surely Yes. The government is spending much more for space projects.I'm just trying to find out how much money NASA actually spends on their missons and other projects. Are the missions, projects, and all those testings worth the amount of money the government is giving NASA? How much did the Government just give them for 2007? I heard it was something like $750 Billion.. I don't know if I'm correct on that, but I can't seem to find an exact number..

So much money are spent to discover space and other planets.

Answer 7

Because scientific exploration of space will provide us in the future, an alternative place to live in, to develope new technical solutions, to explore nearby celestial bodies in the hopes to obtain raw materials that one day will run short on Earth, to analize and improve methods for future space travel, the endless search for life besides that found on Earth, and yes, because we might find chemical or mineral elements out there somewhere, that will beneffit medicine as well.

I agree, space exploration is quite expensive, but the return on this investment will prove to be correct in the future.

Answer 8

No, we need to understand that we are not as economically strong as we were 20-30 years ago. Also we are already billions of dollars bank-rupt. We cannot afford to tighten anything up. The people want better health, transportation, saftey, and now want the government to go green ( almost no effort/ or not enough on their part).... that just too much money.

Answer 9

Space reasearch provides a lot of insight into our own planet. It helps us understand our atmosphere and it really is the reason we know about ozone and things like that. Through the study of space, the elements within it, and how they react with human life they can learn what is dangerous and try to find potentially helpful tools.

Answer 10

Because of mankind´s quest for Knowledge. Why do we spend money on archaeological expeditions, if there will be almost no money back?. Because of the need of man to know what happened, how things work, what can we learn from things.

Answer 11

A. Because space research, by its very nature, is fairly expensive.

B. Historically, humanity has gotten --far-- greater return on investment (ROI) from space research than any other area.

Doug