Running head: EXPENSIVE AIR TRAVEL JUSTIFIED

Expensive Aerospace Travel Unjustified

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Expensive Aerospace Travel Unjustified

Gemini, Mercury, and Apollo programs cost American taxpayers in excess of $25

billion at the time. Subsequent space travel efforts have cost taxpayers an additional $50

billion for the space station and $196 billion for the shuttle. Based on estimates from

NASA, the total inflation-adjusted cost for aerospace travel between 1958 and 2014 is

$900 billion, which amounts to about $16 billion per annum (Hsu, 2011). This paper

argues that these costs are unjustified.

There is no doubt that Aerospace travel has brought us some good things. For

instance, Velcro originated from NASA. However, there is no reason why the United

Sates should continue spending such large sums of money exploring space and

discovering that there is water in Mars since we already have water on earth. The skills of

these scientists could be applied to find alternative methods to meet the world`s excess

demand for energy, to feed millions of people across the globe, especially in developing

countries, who are dying of hunger, and generally make life better on earth before

moving to the skies.

Humanity’s needs and not wants should always be given the first priority. Since

we have people on earth who need assistance, they should be assisted, instead of

spending so much on programs that send a few people and robots onto other planets.

Humanity should be given the top most priority; ensuing that the human race stays alive

is a necessity. Aerospace travel is a want or desire. Putting our wants before our needs

worsens the standard of living for all humanity.

In conclusion, there is still more to be explored on earth. There are far more

important scientific endeavors on planet earth that can be funded for the benefit of
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humanity. Proper research on regions such as the Antarctica and organisms that inhibit

ecosystems with extreme conditions, are far more valuable compared with the huge

expenditures on aerospace travel.

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References

Hsu, J. (2011). Total cost of NASA's space shuttle program: Nearly $200 billion. Space.

Retrieved from http://www.space.com/11358-nasa-space-shuttle-program-cost-

30-years.html