I posted a video not too long ago of Neil deGrasse Tyson explaining how NASA does not have the funding it used to. NASA currently receives 0.048% of every tax dollar. That is less than half of a penny per dollar. It is a shell of its former self. At one point, NASA was receiving over 4 pennies on the dollar. Those were NASA’s glory days. NASA should be a point of pride for the U.S and should be receiving as much money as possible if we want to advance as a country. There have been dozens of inventions and discoveries that have come out of NASA. At one point, the scientists and engineers of NASA were leading us into the future. With more money invested, NASA can once again lead us into the future.
Increased funding to NASA would mean created jobs for engineers, scientists, and technologists. These jobs that emphasize science and math, would lead to a better education system. When you have jobs that emphasize science and math, it gives kids a reason to focus on these subjects. The U.S. today lags behind other countries in student’s science and math abilities. If children had an incentive to actually learn these subjects, they could perform better, because really, what kid doesn’t want to be an astronaut?
Many inventions and spin-off ideas have come from NASA. Increased money to NASA would lead to a boom in these ideas. Ever slept on or owned a memory foam mattress or pillow? Memory foam was first designed by NASA for aircraft seats and helmets and later turned into a consumer product. In 1972 when the FDA declared that glasses must be shatter resistant, manufacturers had to start making their glasses out of plastic, which at the time scratched extremely easily. That is until NASA scientist Ted Wydeven created a process to prevent scratching for a spacesuit visor. Today scratching glasses is much harder than 30 years ago. NASA also designed or improved technologies that lead to invisible braces, LEDs, smoke detectors, water filters, and space blankets to name just a few of the dozens. With more funding, more of these inventions would be made possible.
We need to refocus on becoming a scientific nation instead of a militarized nation. Our only hope of prosperity in the future is through the advancement of science. There needs to be more focus placed on the sciences, specifically NASA. It has already been proven that science and technology can better our lives in magnificent ways. 50 years ago, who would have imagined today’s world? Increased money funded to the sciences can lead to amazing discoveries that will better our lives in immeasurable ways.
My last reason NASA needs more funding, and probably the most controversial reason we need to invest more money into NASA, is that our survival of a species depends on space travel. The Earth will not be around forever. Space is a violent place that will eventually destroy the planet we know and love; that is if we do not destroy it first. Our survival relies on our ability to leave this planet and find a new home when need be. This is why we need to start learning and mastering space travel now when we can, before it is too late.
NASA needs more funding if we want to grow as a nation and as a world. This isn’t just a U.S. and NASA issue, the sciences across the world need more funding in general for there to be progress. NASA is already a scientific organization that has proven it can reach goals and generate results. This is why it is the best option to invest money into. We need to increase the budget of NASA to create hope for now and our future. NASA currently receives less than half a penny of every tax dollar. With just one penny of every tax dollar, NASA could do incredible things. Kids would be inspired to be scientists and engineers. Inventions and improvements to everyday life would come out of NASA often. We could ensure that we as a nation and that also the entire world has a future, not just a future but a better future. We could have a future where the world has less problems, a healthy future. Increased funding in not only NASA, but all science across the world is a necessity for a better future.
If you are interested in what you can do to increase funding for NASA, please visit http://www.penny4nasa.org/.
