The Red Planet never will seem quite the same again. On Saturday
night, NASA’s second rover, Opportunity, safely landed
on Mars. Within hours, the robot beamed never-before-seen images of
the Red Planet, displaying a smooth and dark surface. The
expeditions of Opportunity, as well as other spacecraft, reflect
the federal government’s heightened interest in space
exploration ““ and an opportunity for peaceful human progress.
On Jan. 21, President Bush unveiled a proposed $1 billion budget
increase for NASA, as well as hopes to return to the moon by 2020.
With greater public attention focused on scientific endeavors, a
question has been raised: Is space exploration worth the money?
Recent polls suggest half of all Americans prefer the government
spend NASA’s $1 billion on domestic issues, such as health
care and education. Others claim the proposal simply serves as
election year candy for Bush or as a form of U.S. competition with
China’s plans for an unmanned moon landing in six years. But
despite the president’s possible ulterior motives, space
exploration must be preserved. It is this exploration into the
depths of the unknown that helps to educate, motivate and inspire
humanity. Space exploration satisfies humanity’s desire to
investigate and understand. Since the earliest times, people have
sought answers to questions about the universe. From the work of
the Greek philosopher Anaximander (circa 610-546 B.C.) to the 20th
century’s Edwin Hubble, humanity has searched for
understanding of our universe. A starry night sky, though a rare
occurrence in Los Angeles, stands as one of the greatest natural
splendors. To many young children, such visuals are the first
steps to a life-long interest in science, as well as a potential
career. It is this sense of wonder that captures our imaginations
and expands our minds beyond the boundaries of Earth. Ferdinand
Coroniti, a professor in the UCLA Department of Physics and
Astronomy, said, “Even people who aren’t trained in
science find it interesting to know about a rover on Mars, about
the microbiology of the human body. They do share an interest in
this quest, as well.” But space exploration isn’t just
inspirational, it’s financially realistic. Because such
projects are at the frontier of space research, money is essential
to developing new tools and equipment, training new scientists and
engaging in new programs. However, an increase in NASA’s
budget is not equivalent to a massive increase in taxes. Coroniti
added, “The economy of the U.S. is now at a level of close to
$10 trillion a year. And we’re talking about a project of
about $1 billion. We should be able to devote a tiny fraction or
our economic resources.” Wasteful pork-barrel spending should
not be attributed to the scientists of NASA. One only needs to look
at Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, who arranged $480 million in
government projects for his lightly populated state in 2002, to
witness the true meaning of exorbitant spending. At the legislative
session on Dec. 21, 2003, Stevens was asked how his state made out
in the Defense Appropriations Bill. His response? “Like a
bandit.” If this man can request so much money for his state,
why can’t the United States allocate money for programs meant
to benefit all people, with long-term results? Space exploration
requires significant resources. But as Gaspard Duchene, a professor
in the physics and astronomy department said, there are pay-backs,
as well. Cell phones, for example, “have been massively
improved by planetary probes sent far away into space tens or
hundreds of millions of kilometers away.” Meanwhile,
scientists use older technology once utilized by the military,
often improving these inventions. Coroniti added,
“Historically, the things we consider essential but take for
granted ““ television, computers, radios ““ were
motivated by technology that took part in these scientific
processes.” Most recent expeditions, such as Saturday’s
Mars landing, involve little
human harm. With unmanned spacecraft, scientists can explore
without fear of lost lives. History Professor M. Norton Wise, who
teaches a history of science class at UCLA, said, “I lived
through Sputnik and missions to the moon. It was extremely
exciting, tremendously stimulating. However, with the current
fiscal crisis, sending humans to space would be too risky and
expensive of a project. It would be irresponsible.” As
technology develops, NASA will find even less incentive to provide
actual human assistance in space. While humans can adapt to
environments in ways robots cannot, unmanned machines also mean
that fewer lives are on the line. UCLA takes pride in a
long-standing relationship with space exploration. This quarter,
the registrar lists sixteen undergraduate courses for the earth and
space sciences department, as well as six different undergraduate
astronomy classes. And in 1999, David Paige, an earth and space
science professor at UCLA, controlled the landing of the Mars Polar
Lander, becoming the first non-NASA scientist to do so. Space
missions must continue because they positively affect the world,
including our many scientists and students at UCLA. The projects of
today can inform the scientific facts of tomorrow. The
spacecraft, Opportunity, even may find that Mars was once a water
world capable of sustaining life ““ a truly remarkable
discovery. Said Coroniti, “You can’t put a dollar value
on the payback of space exploration in any clean way because part
of the payback is the philosophical, psychological. The quest for
knowledge is, in some senses, an obligation we have as
humans.”
Fried is a first-year history student. E-mail her at
ifried@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to
viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.