The Article of the week discussed the difficult topic of space travel and how the candidates running for the republican nomination took their stands on it. Space has always been a new frontier, a lost place that we could see, but never experience. With the advances that the scientific community has made, further research on celestial bodies such as the moon will be possible. The last time a man stepped foot on the moon, I was not even a though let alone alive. But now with the proposal of a lunar base, politicians argue whether or not its worth the time money and resources. Some say that it is worth it because America is one of the worlds great super powers, and a base on the moon would only help prove this fact to the our countries of the world. We could also gain significant knowledge about many things that we do not experience on earth. The down side, many of the candidates say, is that our country is in debt and this would be a frivolous waste of money and resources. They believe that we need to spend the money on better things such as education and defense.
Both sides present valid points, but from my personal opinion. I think that a base on the moon would be a great scientific breakthrough. We could use it for so many things such as research, colonization and population control. And also defense. We could put missiles on it and have a better nuclear program. We all know that it will happen one day so why not sooner than later?
I can't agree with you on this. I do believe that one day the space program will need to be expanded, but not at this point. With the economy the way it is and the cost of manned space travel, it just isn't a valid option. A base on the moon would require ungodly amounts of money. When the economy grows and Americans have more money to spend on ideas like this, we can allow private sector space travel and this could be made possible. But, right now, I just don't believe this is a very good idea.
ReplyDeleteYou make very good points, Aly. I also thought that this would help solve the population problem in our country and would make great advances in research. I didn't think of the defense side, though. Although the advantages of a moon base are huge, I have to agree with Tyler on this one. America just simply can't afford that kind of expense, and it would put a huge burden on taxpayers. Maybe we can accomplish this in the future, but like Tyler said, it just isn't a good idea right now.
ReplyDeleteThere is no arguing with you that it would be a great scientific breakthrough. But I think that we would be a world superpower if we had a stable economy and a smaller government. I don't think we have to go to space to establish our position as the best. That money would be better served fixing the place that we live in, not some place of our dreams. The smart thing to do would be to fix our problems, and once we have done that, then start to think about a space home. I also agree with Tyler. It could be a possibility, but only when we have figured out our own problems.
ReplyDeleteYes, it would be an amazing breakthrough if we landed a colony on the moon, but the money and the resources are not really abundant at this time. It probably would be better to go sooner than later because we are going to keep getting farther in debt, but maybe if we wait a couple more years we might get better equipment.
ReplyDeleteGood job and great points!