73.2 billion dollars. This is the amount of money the United States spent on funding its space programs in 2023.
Many may wonder why the government allocates such a large amount of money towards exploring and studying space, especially when there are countless issues to contend with on Earth. However, space exploration does have numerous benefits for people on Earth. Apart from identifying and tracking near-Earth objects such as asteroids and comets to minimize any potential consequences, scientific discoveries from space exploration benefit numerous other industries at home.
Space exploration began during the Cold War, when the Soviet Union launched the first human-made satellite, Sputnik, into space in October 1957. The United States caught up soon after, launching its first satellite, Explorer 1, in January 1958 after two failed attempts.
Towards the end of World War II, Germany had developed groundbreaking military technology, including powerful rockets that were then used as missiles. When Germany began to surrender, both the Soviet Union and the United States sought to recruit German engineers — often part of the Nazi party — in order to improve their own military technologies. This technology was later used in the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War, culminating with the goal of sending a human to the moon, which the United States achieved in 1969. Although the Soviet Union’s space program faltered in the late 1960s, both the U.S. and Russia currently have noteworthy space programs.
Despite beginning through a conflict between two prominent nations, space exploration is one of the most transnationally unifying fields in science today. Currently, 15 countries operate the International Space Station, the largest space station ever built. It serves as a home for crews of astronauts and cosmonauts from various different countries, and 280 individuals representing 23 countries have visited the station. The station is currently operated by the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Canada, Japan and several countries of Europe. Especially in a time where international relations tend to be contentious, the space station’s element of unity is a vital reminder of the benefits of multinational collaboration.
Not only is space exploration itself fascinating, allowing scientists to gather data and learn more about the expansiveness of the universe, the research performed on space stations has immense benefits for humanity — both directly and indirectly. The International Space Station’s laboratory has studied and created drugs for disorders such as Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a genetic disorder previously thought to be incurable, leading to major progress in designing effective treatments. Scientific and medical advancements that were difficult to accomplish on Earth were able to be researched in the station’s microgravity. For instance, scientists developed components for artificial blood for animals, which could help with the shortage of donated animal blood that impacts veterinarians’ abilities to perform blood transfusion treatments. Data gathered by the space station has also helped mitigate the effects of extreme heat.
In addition, the technology created for the space station often has benefits when adapted for and applied to Earth — for instance, an X-Ray source created by the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer telescope that had the ability to be turned on and off quickly allowed a neuroradiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital to improve the effectiveness, access and safety of CT scans. Another application of space technology to Earth was the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Advanced Astroculture system, which was used for air purification on Earth — first to improve the shelf life of fresh produce in grocery stores, and later in air purifiers that are effective in eliminating the SARS-CoV-2 virus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite these advancements, many may not understand why countries all over the globe — and especially the U.S. — spend so much money on space exploration. However, space exploration does not actually take up a large amount of the U.S.’s federal budget. According to a report by Novaspace, the global expenditure on space programs was approximately 117 billion U.S. dollars, a growth of 15% from the previous year. The United States’ budget takes up 73.2 billion of this amount. However, this amount is actually only around 1.1% of the U.S.’s federal budget, and this is for all space programs from various government associations outside of NASA, including the Air Force, the Space Force, the Naval Research Laboratory, the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and more. The budget for NASA alone, while still higher than previous years, was around $25.4 billion — 0.36% of overall U.S. spending. For comparison, the U.S. spent around $874 billion on national defense, or around 13% of its budget, an increase of $55 billion.
Space exploration and research has numerous benefits in technology, medicine, research, international relations and other sectors. Although the space industry may seem like a financial black hole to some, the effort gone into space exploration has led to numerous global advancements outside of pure astronomical scientific research, and its continuation will undoubtedly contribute to countless future breakthroughs in many scientific fields.
