Astronomical Research
Since the last manned mission to the moon in 1972, mankind has been itching to go further. Whether that be to send probes out to research and photograph objects in our solar system beyond the range of conventional telescopes or to plan yet another manned mission, this time to Mars, the possibilities seem to be endless. It’s not just the exciting prospect of adventure that awaits these challenges but also the promise of the innovation necessary to fulfill these objectives that drives scholars, scientists, politicians, and anyone with a general interest in advancements to invest in Space Technologies. The issue of insubstantial government funding of the Space program affects us all whether we are aware of it or not. Without a promise of advancement in this sector, the general public and, indeed, every one one of us here on Earth is voluntarily disadvantaging, and thwarting ourselves from the promise of more effective technologies faster. We live in an age where technology is exponentially becoming more complex and mind-blowing right before our eyes so it’s easy to take for granted how quickly new technologies come along without proper investments in the long-term.
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During the height of the Space Race, the U.S. government was in full-swing to promote our very young Space program to commit to leaps and missions no one dreamed possible in their lifetimes, let alone a decade. The U.S. Government committed 4.5% of the national budget to the development of NASA and its other outlying entities to fulfill this commitment. Today, NASA is receiving a mere 0.4% of the national budget because of America’s steady and ever-dwindling disillusionment with the prospect of space from the late 1960’s till today. NASA, the same agency that brought us technologies like LED lights, prosthetic/artificial limbs, water purification systems, chemical detection systems, and advanced computer system to name a few, is now struggling to meet deadlines for missions scheduled a decade ago before they were riddled with more incisive budget cuts. During the 60’s, America’s public and her government spoiled the Space program because a perceived national security threat from the Russians who also had their eyes set up to the stars.
This perception led to spending that brought back some of the greatest return that any investment has possibly earned in the history of mankind as we frontiered our way to the Moon and set a foundation for information technologies and GPS to take foundation in. Since the days of the “Red Scare” as it was called, political investments in support of national security have aligned with battling a much less-romantic threat that is the political turmoil in the Middle-East. By comparison, the Military, which invests only about 15% of their budget towards innovation and research in sciences and medicine, receives a yearly budget of about $687 billion dollars annually to the $28 Billion dollars received in the postbox of NASA and its associated agencies. The military and the Department of Defense also happen to be the largest weapon distributors on Earth with a documented 94 recipient nations receiving armor and weapons from the United States, It is interesting to see the picture that gets painted of the nation’s political interests in the moment when you care to follow the money and go over the budget for certain sectors.
