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Would you like to live on Mars? If so we should explore space. We should explore space because we could advance in technology, gain new materials. And learn to colonize mars. Space exploration is also important because it could give us new solutions to problems. This could also lead to helping our own society like what if we find a cure for cancer on another planet or we could find biodegradable materials.

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On July 20 th , 1969, a scientific breakthrough was made. Neil Armstrong became the first human to ever set foot on Earth's only Moon. Ever since this remarkable day, his famous words "that's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" have been memorialised. According to the Guardian, in that year alone, the total US federation spending was 178,134 million dollars. In 2015, this number was estimated to be 4,385,531 million dollars .[1] Evidently, an enormous amount of money is spent on space exploration each year, yet simultaneously there are vital humanitarian problems occurring on our planet. Should such a vast amount of money be spent on space exploration as opposed to helping the millions of people in need?

20 th century astronomer Edwin Hubble uncovered extremely important evidence that the universe is expanding. In 1924,Hubble used the 100-inch Hooker Telescope on Mount Wilson near California, and observed

billions of galaxies besides the Milky Way (prior to this it was believed that the Milky Way was the only galaxy in the Universe), the galaxies all moving away from each other. In 1929, he published his findings, concluding that the universe is expanding.[2] Almost four decades after his death in 1953, NASA named the Hubble Space Telescope in honour of one of the most important astronomers of all time. This telescope has provided a great deal of scientific data and extremely detailed images of faraway galaxies. We now know that there are at least 10 trillion planetary systems in the known universe; Earth is just one of them.[3]

Though space exploration may seem needless and unnecessary given the humanitarian problems Earth is facing in this current moment, we must simply put our place in the universe into perspective. There is so much that is unknown about the world we live in, and space exploration is the key to finding out more about our existence. With at least 200 billion galaxies in the universe, many scientists believe that there must be intelligent life elsewhere in our universe. In fact, the odds that there is only intelligent life on Earth are about one in 10 billion trillion.[4]

Utilitarianism is a philosophy which states that morality is about maximising utility for the majority of the society. 18 th century English philosopher, Jeremy Bentham, argued that, " the greatest happiness of the greatest number is the foundation of morals and legislation" .. is a contemporary issue . In fact, according to UNICEF, 22,000 children die each day due to poverty. Another disturbing statistic is that malaria, an easily curable disease, kills one child every 30 seconds ..[5] Nearly half of the world's population are living on less than $2.50 a day, and concurrently, millions of pounds are being spent on further space exploration [6] If anything, shouldn't we be cutting this amount? People who believe in utilitarianism will argue that everyone should have the equal opportunity to live a happy and healthy life. Therefore, because such a large number of people are suffering, we must make it our number one priority to save them. Arguably, space exploration will not benefit the millions and millions of people living in corrupt areas, unable to read and write, let alone understand this information. Space exploration is not necessarily something that we need right now. However, poverty Artemisinin-based combination therapies ( ACTs) are an extremely effective treatment, formed by combining artemisinin-based compounds with other antimalarials; an adult dose costs less than a dollar [7] This means that 4 children have died since the beginning of this article. [8] Shouldn't wealthier countries be sending aid to low income countries, rather than spending millions on space exploration, when such a large number of people are dying from such curable diseases?

Overpopulation has been a concern for several years due to the rapid population increase that Earth has experienced. It is predicted that by 2050, the world's population will be 9 billion; many scientists believe, however, that Earth can carry a maximum of 9 billion to 10 billion people, based on limited availability of freshwater and constrained food supplies.[9] Despite this, it is not certain exactly how many people Earth can sustain as figures are constantly changing. The human race is expanding and eventually, planet Earth will simply not be big enough. To overcome this problem, one solution is to colonise another planet, which would involve spending even more money on space exploration. NASA is currently planning the colonisation of Mars, aiming to send humans to the planet in the 2030s. If the mission is successful, this could change the world as we know it. During a public lecture at the London Science Museum, Stephen Hawking argued that space colonisation will act as a 'life insurance' for the human species. With human conflict and weapons such as nuclear bombs threatening the future of the human race, Hawking claimed we must colonise planets.[10] There are estimated to be 20,500 nuclear warheads in the world today, enough to destroy the entire earth.[11] This is a huge concern to the human race and therefore, arguably, we must colonise planets in order to gain greater world security.

Despite the modern form of humans evolving about 200,000 years ago, there is still so much that is unknown about Earth and it has not fully been explored yet. According to National Geographic, around 1.2 million species are known to science and a new study predicts that there are 8.7 million species living on our planet ..[12] This means that we have a record of just fourteen percent of the species currently living on Earth. Billions of pounds have been spent on space exploration, whereas it could be far more valuable to spend more money on the exploration of our own planet. For example, approximately 71 percent of the Earth's surface is covered by water, yet scientists know very little about the oceans. In fact, to this date man has only explored 5% of the oceans [13] Oceans are incredibly important to our planet. They provide jobs and seafood, regulate Earth's temperature and produce more than half of the Earth's oxygen whilst absorbing carbon from the atmosphere. Shouldn't we be spending more money on exploring the remaining 95% of ocean that is right here on our own blue planet?

For 160 million years, the Earth was ruled by dinosaurs. The most common theory for the mass extinction is that a large asteroid struck the Earth. It is then believed that the atmospheric matter blocked out the sun creating a nuclear winter which wiped out the plants, then the plant-eaters and eventually the meat-eaters. Because of this, there is a fear that this could happen again and wipe out the entire human species. It is therefore important that scientists monitor asteroids which pose a threat to Earth. Asteroids are essentially the remains of the material which formed the solar system, around 4.5 billion years ago. They vary hugely in size, the largest being about 583 miles in diameter, compared to the smallest having roughly a 2 meter diameter.[14] Radar is a vital tool which detects and monitors potential asteroid hazards. It works by reflecting transmitted signals off of objects, allowing scientists to learn a great deal about an asteroid's orbit, size and rotation.

Several missions have flown to asteroids, allowing scientists to gain a greater insight into how the solar system

formed. For example, in September 2007, NASA launched a mission, Dawn, to study the two largest objects in the asteroid belt, Vesta and Ceres. The mission provided data on the role of size and water in the evolution of the planets and as a result hugely helps in NASA's goal of understanding the origins of our solar system. Ultimately, exploring asteroids can be hugely beneficial, mitigating the risk of a large asteroid hitting Earth and also helping us to understand more about the origins of the solar system.

To summarise, the arguments in support of more money being spent on space exploration are persuasive. It is certainly true that further space exploration would bring many advantages; for example providing answers to the many questions we have surrounding our existence. Are we alone in this universe? How did life begin? Why exactly did the dinosaurs become extinct? Is time travel possible? All part of the endless list of questions that comes with human curiosity. Furthermore, it allows us to challenge the boundaries of what is known about the world we live in. Nevertheless, with such significant humanitarian issues occurring on our planet, more attention must be paid to these issues. It is time to put an end to world problems like poverty. Even a fraction of the money spent annually on space exploration could save millions of people in poverty-stricken countries, and improve living conditions for future generations. The foundations of the world we live in are largely based on science and it is indeed vital to extend our knowledge of the universe. However, space exploration is not something we need in this very moment. We must prioritise the needs of our human race and only wholly concentrate on space exploration once there is a large improvement in the humanitarian issues Earth is currently facing.

1. "NASA Budgets: US Spending on Space Travel since 1958", The Guardian, February 1, 2010, https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2010/feb/01/nasa-budgets-us-spending-space-travel

2. "The Expanding Universe", Sloan Digital Sky Survey, accessed November 17, 2018 http://skyserver.sdss.org/dr1/en/astro/universe/universe.asp

3. David Salt. "Study Predicts Trillions of Planets", ABC Science , September 24, 2003 , http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2003/09/24/952646.htm

4. Mike Wall. "The Universe has Probably Hosted many Alien Civilizations: Study", Space.com, May 5, 2016, https://www.space.com/32793-intelligent-alien-life-probability-high.html

5. Julia Driver. "The History of Utilitarianism", last modified September 22, 2014, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/utilitarianism-history/

6. UNICEF, "Fact Sheet: Malaria, a Global Crisis", last modified August 27, 2004 https://www.unicef.org/media/media_20475.html

Figure References

1. "STS-125 Shuttle Mission Imagery", National Aeronautics and Space Administration, last modified November 13, 2010, https://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/shuttle/sts-125/html/s125e011835.html

2. "Malaria treatment in Angola", USAID Africa Bureau, April 12, 2007, https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Malaria_treatment_in_Angola_(5686571327).jpg

3. "Diver and Turtle in Mexico Scuba Diving", jackmac34 via Pixabay.com, July 22, 2014, https://pixabay.com/en/diver-turtle-mexico-scuba-diving-549380/

4. "Asteroid", Bibbi228 via Pixabay.com, Accessed November 22, 2018, https://pixabay.com/en/asteroid-meteorite-cosmos-land-3642332/

Alina Schumacher, 16, United Kingdom

Alina is a 16 year old student in London. Her favourite subjects include biology, chemistry and maths. She participates in school sports such as netball, hockey and tennis, and is playing tennis at county level.

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Should more money be spent on space exploration rather than to solve humanitarian problems on Earth?

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On July 20 th , 1969, a scientific breakthrough was made. Neil Armstrong became the first human to ever set foot on Earth's only Moon. Ever since this remarkable day, his famous words "that's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" have been memorialised.

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We should explore space because we could use the materials we find to advance in technology, we could also gain new materials. And learn to colonize mars. Space exploration is also important because it could give us new solutions to problems.

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5 Reasons Space Exploration Is More Important Than Ever - ExtremeTech Colonization is the ultimate backup. 

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I have no doubt that colonization could save humans one day because

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5 Reasons Space Exploration Is More Important Than Ever - ExtremeTech

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If we stop exploring, we stop being human.

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10 Reasons Why Space Exploration Matters to You, reason #9

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At the time of the moon landing in 1969, many people envisioned that by the beginning of the 21st century, space travel would become routine, and we would be visiting other planets in our solar system and perhaps even daring to venture into interstellar space.

That future didn't arrive as planned. In fact, humans haven't made it any deeper into space than when we landed the moon in the late 1960s and early 1970s, though we have operated a manned orbital outpost, the International Space Station, which has been continuously occupied for more than two decades [source: Howell]. NASA currently is planning to resume human missions to the moon in the mid-to-late 2020s, as a prelude to astronauts eventually traveling to Mars [source: Dvorsky].

We've also seen the rise of private space entrepreneurs such as Elon Musk, who has described his dream of building a rocket capable of reaching Mars and supporting a permanent human settlement there [source: Torchinsky]. And other countries are looking to reach Mars as well. China, for example, aims to send its astronauts to the Red Planet by 2033 [source: Kharpal].

But those who've long dreamed of humans becoming a truly spacefaring race argue that exploring space provides down-to-earth benefits in areas such as health, mining and security. And more inspirational benefits, too. Here are some of the most compelling arguments for continuing the exploration of space.

If we don't want to go the way of the dinosaurs someday, we need to protect ourselves against the threat of being hit by a big asteroid. According to NASA, typically about once every 10,000 years, a rocky or iron asteroid the size of a football field could smash into our planet's surface and possibly cause tidal waves big enough to inundate coastal areas.

But it's the real monsters - asteroids about 328 feet (100 meters) across or bigger - that we really have to fear. Such a collision would unleash a firestorm of heated debris and fill the atmosphere with sun-blocking dust, which would wipe out forests and farm fields and starve the human and animal life that it didn't immediately kill [sources: NASA, NSS].

That's why it's vital to develop a way to neutralize such a threat to Earth. NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test, set for launch in late September 2022, will be the first mission to demonstrate a technology called asteroid deflection by kinetic impactor. A robotic spacecraft will be crashed into the binary asteroid system Didymos, in an effort to show that it's possible to slightly alter the path of an asteroid. That would enable NASA to redirect potential threats to miss Earth [sources: DART, Mann].

A very long list of gadgets, materials and processes originally were developed for the U.S. space program but found other applications back on Earth - so many that NASA has an office that looks for ways to repurpose space technology as products. We all know about freeze-dried food, but there are plenty of others. In the 1960s, for example, NASA scientists developed a plastic coated with a metallic reflecting agent. When used in a blanket, it reflects about 80 percent of a user's body heat back to him or her - an ability that helps accident victims and post-marathon runners to stay warm.

Another more obscure but valuable innovation is nitinol, a flexible but resilient alloy that was developed to enable satellites to spring open after being folded into a rocket. Today, orthodontists equip patients with braces made from the material [source: Independent].

According to NASA, other inventions spawned by the space program include CAT scans, LED lights, memory foam, freeze-dried food, shock absorbing materials used in artificial limbs, the computer mouse and portable computers, and a key nutritional ingredient in baby formula [source: JPL].

Earlier, we mentioned the ominous notion of international conflict in space. But it doesn't have to be that way, as evidenced by the cooperation of multiple nations on the International Space Station. And a U.S. space program could allow other countries, large and small, to join in their exploration efforts.

A 2018 paper from NASA points out the benefits of international cooperation. For one, the hefty costs could be spread around. For another, it could forge stronger diplomatic ties between nations such as the U.S. and India, and help create new jobs in both countries, for example.

In 2020, NASA awarded the first contracts to four companies to collect small amounts of lunar regolith, the loose rock and dust that sits atop the surface, when missions to the moon eventually resume in the 2020s. It could be the first step toward mining of raw materials from the moon. "Space resources are the fuel that will propel America and all of humanity to the stars," Mike Gold, NASA's then-acting administrator for international and interagency relations, explained at the time [source: NASA].

Our primitive ancestors spread from east Africa to all over the planet, and since then, we've never stopped moving. We're running out of fresh territory on Earth, so the only way to meet this ancient urge is to find somewhere new to go - whether it's making brief jaunts to the moon as a tourist, or signing up for an interstellar voyage that will take multiple generations.

In a speech, to the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership, former NASA administrator Michael Griffin differentiated between "acceptable reasons" and "real reasons" for space exploration. Acceptable reasons would be issues like economic benefit and national security. But real reasons include concepts like curiosity, competitiveness and monument-building.

"Who among us does not know the wonder and mystery and awe and magic of seeing something, even on television, never seen before, an experience brought back to us by a robotic space mission?" Griffin added that "when we do things for real reasons as opposed to acceptable reasons, we produce our highest achievements."

Why Space Exploration Matters FAQs

Why is space exploration important?

Humans have always been curious to find hidden mysteries of the universe that lie far beyond our Earth. How was Earth formed? Is there life outside planet Earth? How big is the universe? All these and many more questions are still unanswered and we will only find their answers by exploring space. Addressing these challenges helps humans develop new technologies, make new innovations and reconstruct scientific expedition to a whole new level.

What are the cons of space exploration?

One of the major cons of space exploration is exposure to harmful radiation. While in space, astronauts are prone to experience galactic cosmic radiations that are 10 times more dangerous than radiation on Earth. Cost is another significant negative to exploring space. NASA's 2021 fiscal year budget is $23.3 billion. Space exploration also creates a ton of space junk.

How has space exploration benefited health and medicine?

Space exploration and NASA specifically has can claim credit for a several medical innovations, including ear thermometers, automatic insulin pumps, implantable heart defibrillators and improvements in digital mammography technology. Other innovations include laser angioplasty, voice-controlled wheelchairs and programmable pacemakers.

How is space exploration important for national security?

Even if the U.S. privatizes much of space exploration, it still wants to ensure that companies can mine the moon or asteroids without worrying that interlopers will usurp their claims or steal their production. That's why it's crucial to back up diplomacy with a NASA spacefaring capacity that could be converted to military use, if needed.

What resources can we get from space?

Space is believed to hide valuable substances such as gold, platinum and silver. It's only with space exploration that humans can amass these valuable raw materials. For example, the moon contains lucrative sources of a rare gas helium-3, which costs around $5,000 per liter.

Author's Note: 10 Reasons Why Space Exploration Matters to You

I was a child in the 1960s, a time when many of us believed that someday we would be flying off into the cosmos in search of adventure. I can't say precisely when that dream ended for me, but I remember that back in the mid-1990s, the British folk singer Billy Bragg recorded a song that seemed to capture some of what I felt. In "The Space Race is Over," Bragg sang of staring at the moon as a child, and dreaming that night of walking on the Sea of Tranquility.

But decades later, he stood staring at the same sky with his young son, who asked him, "Why did they ever go?" As Bragg lamented, "The space race is over, and I can't help but feel that we're all just going nowhere." Despite the beauty of his lyrics, I must differ with him respectfully on that last point. I continue to believe that humanity still has a chance to become a truly spacefaring race, and that we must find a way to do so.

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In conclusion, with us not spending valuable resources on space exploration we would not be as advanced in technology as we are now, like think about it we wouldn't have GPS our accurate weather prediction. We also wouldn't be finding ways to colonize other planets without space exploration.