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Should we spend valuable resources on space exploration? Yes, we should spend valuable resources on space, yes we should. If we didn't we wouldn’t have many of the technologies we have today. We wouldn’t be educated on many things in space that could harm us like asteroids and more. We wouldn’t have satellite technology, including accurate GPS systems, accurate weather systems which help tell us when hurricanes, tornados and more are coming, satellites allow us to make long-distance cell phone calls.

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We should spend valuable resources on space, yes we should. If we didn't we wouldn’t have many of the technologies we have today. We wouldn’t be educated on many things if we didn't have space exploration because we wouldn't be able to easily access the internet and many online classes that people attend. We wouldn’t have satellite technology, including accurate GPS systems, accurate weather systems which help tell us when hurricanes, tornados and more are coming, satellites allow us to make long-distance cell phone calls. If we didn't explore space we would have no ideas of the dangers that could impact the earth. We wouldn't have any time to prepare and it could have a critical impact on our planet.

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I know we need space exploration for things like satellites because we wouldn't have a lot of the technology we have today, like GPS systems, weather predictions and more that we value in life every day.

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Satellites are manmade objects put into orbit. They often affect our lives without our realizing it: they make us safer, provide modern conveniences, and broadcast entertainment. Here are some of the jobs satellites do:

Television

Satellites send television signals directly to homes, but they also are the backbone of cable and network TV. These satellites send signals from a central station that generates programming to smaller stations that send the signals locally via cables or the airwaves. "At the scene" news broadcasts, whether live reporting on a vote at the Capitol or from the scene of a traffic accident, are sent from the field to the studio via satellite, too.

Telephones

Satellites provide in-flight phone communications on airplanes, and are often the main conduit of voice communication for rural areas and areas where phone lines are damaged after a disaster. Satellites also provide the primary timing source for cell phones and pagers. In 1998, a satellite failure demonstrated this dependence; it temporarily silenced 80 percent of the pagers in the United States, National Public Radio was not able to distribute its broadcasts to affiliates and broadcasted only via its website, and on the CBS Evening News, the image of Dan Rather froze while the audio continued.

Navigation

Satellite-based navigation systems like the Navstar Global Positioning Systems (known colloquially as GPS) enable anyone with a handheld receiver to determine her location to within a few meters. GPS locators are increasingly included in in-car direction services and allow car-share services like Zipcar to locate their cars. GPS-based systems are used by civilians and the military for navigation on land, sea, and air, and are crucial in situations like a ship making a difficult course in a harbor in bad weather or troops lost in unfamiliar territory, where other navigation tools may not exist.

Business & finance

Communications satellites have the ability to rapidly communicate between a number of widely dispersed locations. This is an important tool, allowing big manufacturing companies and department stores to perform inventory management, provide instant credit card authorization and automated teller banking services to even small towns, pay-at-the-pump gas at freeway gas stations, and video conferencing for international corporations.

Weather

Satellites provide meteorologists with the ability to see weather on a global scale, allowing them to follow the effects of phenomena like volcanic eruptions and burning gas and oil fields, to the development of large systems like hurricanes and El Niño.

Climate & environmental monitoring

Satellites are some of the best sources of data for climate change research. Satellites monitor ocean temperatures and prevailing currents; data acquired by satellite-borne radars were able to show sea levels have been rising by three mm a year over the last decade. Imaging satellites can measure the changing sizes of glaciers, which is difficult to do from the ground due to the remoteness and darkness of the polar regions. Satellites can determine long-term patterns of rainfall, vegetation cover, and emissions of greenhouse gases.

Safety

Earth observation satellites can monitor ocean and wind currents as well as the extent of forest fires, oil spills, and airborne pollution; together this information helps organize emergency responders and environmental cleanup. Satellites can take the "search" out of "search and rescue" for people in distress in remote regions. Distress radio beacons directly linked to a search and rescue satellite can lead rescuers quickly and accurately to a land, sea, or air emergency location.

Land stewardship

Satellites can detect underground water and mineral sources; monitor the transfer of nutrients and contaminants from land into waterways; and measure land and water temperatures, the growth of algae in seas, and the erosion of topsoil from land. They can efficiently monitor large-scale infrastructure, for example fuel pipelines that need to be checked for leaks, which would require enormous hours of land- or air-based inspection. Imaging satellites produce high-resolution data of almost the entire landmass on earth; such data used to be a closely guarded military capability, but now, nearly anyone with an internet connection can find his house using Google Earth.

Development

Satellites are increasingly important to the developing world. For a country like India, with populations separated by rough terrain and different languages, communications satellites provides remote populations access to education and to medical expertise that would otherwise not reach them. Earth observation satellites also allow developing countries to practice informed resource management and relief agencies to follow refugee population migrations.

Space science

Before the Space Age, astrophysicists were limited to studying the universe via ground-based telescopes, and so could only use information from the parts of the electromagnetic spectrum that penetrated the Earth's atmosphere. Many of the most interesting phenomena are best studied at frequencies that are best or only accessible from space-satellite telescopes have been critical to understanding phenomena like pulsars and black holes as well as measuring the age of the universe. The Hubble Space Telescope is arguably the most valuable astronomical tool ever built!

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Satellites are manmade objects put into orbit. They often affect our lives without our realizing it: they make us safer, provide modern conveniences, and broadcast entertainment. Here are some of the jobs satellites do: Satellites send television signals directly to homes, but they also are the backbone of cable and network TV.

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The reason space exploration is important for education is important for our future. Without space exploration many people wouldn't be able to attend online classes and make long distance phone calls and more with educators.

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Access to education increases economic prospects, broadens opportunities for social mobility, and contributes to the empowerment of women and young girls. While remote and rural communities have traditionally struggled with access to education, space-based technologies, such as satellite communications technologies, are helping to bridge this access gap.

Technologies like web and videoconferencing and voice over Internet protocol allow educators and students to create virtual classrooms, regardless of physical locations. Other versions of distance learning allow learners to access web based course materials on their own schedules, and communication between students and teachers may take place through e-mails, message boards or video recordings. Tele-education has become so popular that many institutions worldwide now offer distance education options ranging from the simplest instruction to degree and doctoral programs.

Beyond facilitating programme delivery, space also plays an inspirational role in education. Classes on space topics often spark students' curiosity and imagination and encourage youth of both genders to become increasingly involved in the sciences.

For more information, see:

See below for recent documents relating to Education. For more documents, search the Documents Database.

SpaceEddocs

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united nations office outer space affairs un

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Access to education increases economic prospects, broadens opportunities for social mobility, and contributes to the empowerment of women and young girls. While remote and rural communities have traditionally struggled with access to education, space-based technologies, such as satellite communications technologies, are helping to bridge this access gap.

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We need to explore space for our own safety because if we didn't explore space our lives would be in danger from asteroids and other types of things in space like space debris.

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Asteroids and comets that come close to Earth can pose a very real threat to our planet, but impacts from these objects aren’t inevitable. With proper planning we can prevent this natural disaster from happening.

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Why would we spend so much money and resources on space exploration when we still have many homeless still on the streets?

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Chronic homelessness has become a major problem in America. Tens of thousands of Americans are left living out on the streets, trapped in a cycle of poverty rendering them unable to find a steady livelihood. There has been some debate on this issue at the local level, with policies ranging from statewide rent control and a controversial "right to shelter" policy as most comprehensive and surefire solutions. A closer look at the methods adopted to address the problem of chronic homelessness warrants that there needs to be a better approach.

By examining the problem of homelessness on a state level, we can better address the magnitude of the situation. California has the largest population of people experiencing homelessness with nearly 130,000, 90,000 of whom are unsheltered according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The city of San Francisco alone had a 30% increase in homelessness since 2015. New York has approximately 91,000, and Florida has over 31,000. California is in a state of crisis mainly to the lack of affordable housing and the significant housing shortage. The average house price in the Bay Area is as $1.25 million. LA is the least affordable housing district in America.

Given these challenges, efforts to tackle homelessness through increased state involvement in the housing sector have not able to yield the intended results. This strategy amounts to simply throwing money at the problem. Oregon has recently passed the first statewide mandatory rent control bill for all citizens in March of this year as an emergency measure. Rent hikes are capped at 7 percent including inflation during any 12 month period. California is attempting to enact a legal "right to shelter" mandate modeled after that of New York in effect since 1981. Last year, New York spent $3.2 billion on services to house its homeless population and $1.9 billion on shelters. It has created a safe haven. The California "right to shelter" plan does not offer any specifics, yet California is spending tons of money with little signs of progress. California legislators have allocated $650 million, with $124 million for building more homeless shelters despite the mayors' request for $2 billion. The costs to build are much too high.

There have been efforts by the private sector to manage the problem of homelessness. One great example is the California-based housing non-profit Solutions for Change. Founded in 1999 by Chris Megison, Solutions for Change is the only nonprofit in the country that employs a full-service leadership developmental residential program. Through a 1000-day college-like experience, parents can have their lives transformed through counseling, employment training, life skills training, counseling and other services. Since its founding, it has lifted over 900 families out of homelessness. It serves as a high-barrier shelter, meaning that applicants need to abstain from drug use and alcoholism and have a job in order to serve in a stable property owned by the company. Adopting Solutions for Change rather than a HUD- prescribed housing-first method of public-funded housing programs can pave the way for success.

We at ALEC recommend private-sector-based solutions to the complex problems associated with homelessness. These solutions can empower people in poverty to take control of their own lives and help them escape from a vicious cycle. The culture of dependency needs to be addressed. If we can address the problem of chronic homelessness, we can lead America in the right direction.
Alexander Hageman is an intern with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). He works in the Health and Human Services Task Force.

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Tackling the Crisis of Homelessness in America

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Chronic homelessness has become a major problem in America. Tens of thousands of Americans are left living out on the streets, trapped in a cycle of poverty rendering them unable to find a steady livelihood.

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In conclusion, spending valuable resources on space exploration is important because without it we wouldn't be able to do the things we do today. Every time you open Instagram or Snapchat, it is because space exploration is possible.