Nasa why do we explore

Here are five reasons why we belong up there. Humans did not evolve to go into space, but we go there anyway. That has led to the development of various technologies that feed back into the economy and improve our lives on Earth. Space exploration could save your life.

Speaking of saving lives, space exploration could save all our lives. The solar system has calmed down a lot since the early eons, but there are still an unknown number of big asteroids and comets out there that could smack into the planet and really ruin your day. A robust space program is the only hope we have of deflecting such an object. Americans would feel that we had lost something that matters, that our best days were behind us, and they would feel themselves somehow diminished.

Yet I think most would be unable to say why. There are many good reasons to continue to explore space, which most Americans have undoubtedly heard. Some have been debated in public policy circles and evaluated on the basis of financial investment.

In announcing his commitment to send the country back to the moon and, later, on to Mars, President Bush quite correctly said that we do it for purposes of scientific discovery, economic benefit, and national security. I think that is extraordinarily well put. But these are not reasons that would make Americans miss our space program. They are merely the reasons we are most comfortable discussing.

They spent twice as much as they made. Sergei Korolev and the team that launched Sputnik were not tasked by their government to be the first to launch an artificial satellite; they had to fight for the honor and the resources to do it. I think we all know why people strive to accomplish such things.

They do so for reasons that are intuitive and compelling to all of us but that are not necessarily logical. First, most of us want to be, both as individuals and as societies, the first or the best in some activity. We want to stand out. On the International Space Station we will improve and learn new ways to ensure astronauts are safe, healthy and productive while exploring, and we will continue expand our knowledge about how materials and biological systems behave outside of the influence of gravity.

NASA will continue its unprecedented work with the commercial industry and expand an entire industry as private companies develop and operate safe, reliable and affordable commercial systems to transport crew and cargo to and from the International Space Station and low Earth orbit.

Operating in translunar space, NASA can research galactic cosmic radiation—potentially the most threatening element to humans exploring deep space—and develop mitigation strategies that may also lead to medical advancements on Earth.

The Lagrange points—places in cislunar space where the gravitational influences of the Earth and moon cancel each other out—are advantageous areas for exploration and research in which almost no propulsion is required to keep an object or spacecraft stationary. Missions to translunar space will give NASA and its partners the opportunity to develop tools and operational techniques to support decades of future exploration, while remaining in relative proximity to Earth. Asteroids are believed to have formed early in our solar system's history—about 4.

By visiting these near Earth objects to study the material that came from the solar nebula, we can look for answers to some of humankind's most compelling questions, such as: how did the solar system form and where did the Earth's water and other organic materials such as carbon come from? In addition to unlocking clues about our solar system, asteroids may provide clues about our Earth. By understanding more about asteroids we may learn more about past Earth impacts and possibly find ways to reduce the threat of future impacts.

Future robotic missions to asteroids will prepare humans for long-duration space travel and the eventual journey to Mars. Robotic missions will provide reconnaissance information about asteroid orbits, surface composition, and even return samples to Earth for further evaluation. These robotic missions are a critical step in preparing humans to visit asteroids where we will learn about the valuable resources available in space, and further develop ways to use them in our quest for more efficient and affordable exploration.

Mars has always been a source of inspiration for explorers and scientists. Robotic missions have found evidence of water, but if life exists beyond Earth still remains a mystery. Robotic and scientific robotic missions have shown that Mars has characteristics and a history similar to Earth's, but we know that there are striking differences that we have yet to begin to understand.

Humans can build upon this knowledge and look for signs of life and investigate Mars' geological evolution, resulting in research and methods that could be applied here on Earth.