Opinion: NASA is Still Worth the Investment

Opinion: NASA is Still Worth the Investment

Olivia Tang 

As the leading organization in space exploration, NASA created a historical event of the first American astronaut landing on the moon--Niel Armstrong. However, this wasn’t accomplished without investment and failure. In 2020, NASA.gov reported a budget of $22.6 billion and U.S total spending of 650 billion(nominal dollars). NASA’s Technical Report Server also reported that “between the years of 2000 to 2016, 41.3% of all small satellites launched failed or partially failed. Of these small satellite missions, 24.2% were total mission failures, another 11% were partial mission failures, and 6.1% were launch vehicle failures.” This leads to the crucial question: is investing in NASA worth it? 

To answer this question--Yes, I believe investing in NASA is worth these costs. Recently in class, we estimated percentages of the federal reserve budget for a variety of categories. For NASA, I estimated around 5% but overestimated as the budget was 0.48% in 2020. It's important to consider that Covid-19 also coincided with 2020. Hence, this graph below provides a comparison of the percentage of U.S federal budget spent on NASA between the years 1958-2017. 

I assumed that the U.S was spending more due to technological advancement. Despite my initial thought, there has been a significant decline since the 1960s. This was right before the moon landing as NASA obtained the highest budget to prepare for the space race. When you look at the most recent years, the amount is only a fraction of before. I consider the amount spent recently a reasonable budget--compared to the overall federal reserve. 

Another factor to consider is Economic Growth. Utilizing data from the 2019 fiscal year NASA reports an estimate of “$64.3 billion in total economic output,312,000 jobs nationwide supported, and an estimated $7 billion in federal, state, and local tax revenues.” Biden mentioned “Economic Growth” as one of the top U.S economic goals in his State of the Union Address, and NASA has made a significant contribution. It's pertinent to consider that NASA expands its agenda beyond space exploration. NASA has 16 satellites surrounding the earth which are integral for monitoring and protecting our land. Satellites can help predict the weather, natural disasters, asteroids, and yes-- if a UFO comes into contact with the earth. Without these satellites provided by NASA, the ability to prepare for such occurrences would decrease significantly. 

It’s also important to consider the opinion of U.S citizens as their income contributes to NASA’s budget. According to Pew Research, a survey conducted March 17th-April 9th, 2018, the majority of U.S citizens find that earth-related NASA activities should have higher importance than sending astronauts to the Moon or Mars. (results provided below)

The same survey also reports the majority claiming that it’s essential for the U.S to be a world leader in space exploration and that it's a good investment. Most claim NASA should continue their involvement in space exploration but not make this their top priority. If the majority argue that NASA's space exploration is a good investment but also want to continue monitoring Earth's atmosphere; they want NASA to continue what they've been already doing. This proves NASA has U.S citizen approval and is worth the investment. (results provided below)

However, it’s still important to consider the amount of money the U.S is investing in NASA and the relatively high failure rate. Although, I still believe that these benefits eclipse those losses. NASA continues to make progress that may not be noticeable to the everyday citizen. There are 16 satellites around the world that monitor environmental occurrences and a majority of U.S citizens agree that NASA should continue surveillance. Furthermore, the U.S budget is only 0.48% of the federal reserve and has decreased significantly since the mid-1960s before the first moon landing. While one may argue that “NASA hasn't made any significant accomplishments since the moon landing,” NASA’s is proven to be a lot like space--they expand beyond what one might think. 

Works Cited

Dubar, Brian, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration. “Value of NASA.” NASA, https://www.nasa.gov/specials/value-of-nasa/. Accessed 26 March 2022.

Jacklin, and Stephen A. “Small-Satellite Mission Failure Rates.” NASA Technical Reports Server, 1 March 2019, https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20190002705. Accessed 26 March 2022.

Pew Research Center. “Majority of Americans Believe Space Exploration Remains Essential.” Pew Research Center, 6 June 2018, https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2018/06/06/majority-of-americans-believe-it-is-essential-that-the-u-s-remain-a-global-leader-in-space/. Accessed 26 March 2022.

Powell, Corey. “Is NASA Worth The Money We Spend On It?” Forbes, 19 August 2016, https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2016/08/19/is-nasa-worth-the-money-we-spend-on-it/. Accessed 29 March 2022.