Pro/Con: Should the U.S. government invest more in space exploration?

By Amber Aldaco | aaldaco@vicad.com

Amber Aldaco
Education Reporter
Oct 28, 2018
Oct 28, 2018 Updated Jun 13, 2020
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Two explorers stop to inspect a robotic lander and its small rover in this artist’s concept of a future Mars mission.

Contributed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Ribbons of dust festoon the galaxy NGC 613 in this new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. NGC 613 is classified as a barred spiral galaxy for the bar-shaped band of stars and dust crossing its intensely glowing center. About two thirds of spiral galaxies show a characteristic bar shape like NGC 613 — our own galaxy appears to have one of these bars through its midline as well. NGC 613 lies 65 million light-years away in the constellation of Sculptor (The Sculptor). It was first noted by the English astronomer William Herschel in 1798 and later by John Louis Emil Dreyer, a Danish-Irish astronomer, who recorded the object in his 1888 New General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars — hence the letters "NGC". NGC 613's core looks bright and uniformly white in this image as a result of the combined light shining from the high concentration of stars packed into the core, but lurking at the center of this brilliance lies a dark secret. As with nearly all spiral galaxies, a monstrous black hole resides at the heart of NGC 613. Its mass is estimated at about ten times that of the Milky Way's supermassive black hole and it is consuming stars, gas and dust. As this matter descends into the black hole's maw, it radiates away energy and spews out radio waves. However, when looking at the the galaxy in the optical and infrared wavelengths used to take this image, there is no trace of the dark heart. A version of this image was entered into the Hubble's Hidden Treasures image processing competition by contestant Robert Gendler.

Contributed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration

For centuries, people have looked up at the night sky, eyed the stars and wondered what lies beyond our planet. About 400 years ago, Galileo Galilei looked through his telescope and discovered – with his feet planted firmly on the Earth – the moons of Jupiter.

And just 49 years ago, the first humans were launched into space and stepped foot on the moon, a mission that sparked not only modern science and technology but a motivation to trek farther into the infinite beyond.

Dave Bloomberg, 69, a member of Crossroads Astronomy Club, said he remembers watching television programs on Disney about space.

“They were making plans to make a trip to the moon, and there was a lot of interest in it then, and there’s a lot of interest now,” he said.

SpaceX, an aerospace manufacturer and space transportation service, already has plans to send at least one person on a weeklong trip to circumnavigate the moon in 2023. President Donald Trump has also called for the creation of an additional and separate branch of the military specifically for space. For years, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has planned to send astronauts to Mars.

However, critics say investing more in exploring the space frontier is wasteful and can wait. Even Pentagon chief Jim Mattis initially pushed back on the idea of creating an additional military space force. Creating that branch of military is estimated to cost the country billions.

With a push to do more to discover and defend the final frontier, we ask: Should the U.S. government invest more in space exploration?

Amber Aldaco reports on regional counties for the Victoria Advocate. She may be reached at aaldaco@vicad.com or 361-580-6303.

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Amber Aldaco

Education Reporter

Amber Aldaco is the education reporter at the Victoria Advocate. She's covered various events in the Crossroads including a zoo rescue, a biker funeral and a state meeting with the governor. She enjoys singing with her significant other.