Space Exploration

Space exploration has been the subject of many fantasy and role play ever since the US landed on the moon in the late 1960s. Shows such as Star Trek have swept the nation with their "out of this world" gadgets, lingo, and adventures; arguably, they have paved the way for much of today's technology. Many viewers saw the technology of make-believe space exploration as astonishing; but to researchers and scientists, it marked a platform from which they could apply their knowledge and creativity.

Building on this concept, space exploration is considered a long-term investment in the future of human civilization. There are a number of reasons to justify such an investment. The first concerns the concept of exploration in itself; if humans did not have the passion to explore, we would still live in a society that thinks the world is flat, the Americas would not have been discovered, and coffee would still be out of reach. Hence, exploration is a necessary trait for survivability. Continuing with that thought, then space exploration would allow us to uncover extraterrestrial resources, and perhaps establish human civilizations on other planets to avoid a wipe-out on earth (Hubbard, 2008).

A second, and more relevant rational for space exploration within the context of this question, is that there are economic benefits to be realized. Many of the technologies used on space missions have found their way back to the consumer market such as lighter metal alloys for airplanes and viscoelastic mattresses (Spacefoundation.org, 2011). G. Scott Hubbard (2008), a professor of aeronautics and astronautics at Stanford University notes that for every one dollar spent in the space program, the US economy receives roughly eight dollars of benefits. Other benefits of space exploration include motivational tools for children to enter into scientific and engineer fields and it offers a "peaceful cooperative" in the international arena to work together as a united front (Hubbard, 2008).

In a sense, the catch phrase of the Star Trek show "Space, The Final Frontier" is a reality. From an economics perspective, space exploration fuels entrepreneurship leading to creativity and innovation in the economy. As the level of innovation increases, so does the demand for technology. Hence in combination, all of these factors create new products coupled with new demand and new supply. Ultimately it is contributing to the growth of the economy rather than wasting resources i.e. having a high opportunity-cost in comparison with its benefits. In terms of the technology used in space exploration, it is without a doubt at the cutting edge of advancing technical knowledge. In fact, many of the modern technology used is a result of using it in space exploration.

For example, infrared ear thermometers are a light weight device that uses infrared technology to detect the amount of energy emitted by the ear drum. It avoids