Why continue space exploration

We should note that several other motivations lie behind the push for astronaut expeditions to our celestial neighbors. These include the desire to outdo our rivals, the belief that space offers an eventual refuge from a debilitated Earth and an eagerness to exploit raw materials in the nearby solar system. Each of these arguments, in our opinion, favor expeditions not with humans but with our ever improved spacecraft and robot explorers—at least until the habitats for the refuge of a chosen population are ready.

National pride. Human survival. I am convinced that humans need to leave Earth. Raw materials. Although less cited in the wider world, a great incentive for reaching nearby solar system objects springs from an old-fashioned, solid desire: the quest for raw materials for profit. One of the asserted justifications for sending humans back to the moon focuses on their potential for harvesting helium-3, a rare isotope of helium.

Unlike those of helium-4, the far more common stable isotope of the element, helium-3 nuclei will fuse readily once they reach a sufficiently high temperature.

Because this fusion releases large amounts of energy but no radioactive by-products, helium-3 nuclei could provide an almost ideal nuclear fuel. On Earth, helium-3 nuclei furnish only about one one-millionth of already scarce helium nuclei, but their relative abundance in lunar soil rises times higher.

The asteroids likewise offer a road to wealth. A metal-rich asteroid that is only the size of a house would contain a million pounds of metal, including pounds of platinum, gold and other rare metals. We can imagine future space missions that use the more abundant minerals for the construction of mining colonies but that draw the bulk of their profits from the return of the most valuable metals to Earth.

Do any existing international agreements deal with these issues? Raw materials and the transformation of planetary surfaces. In the U. Congress passed legislation, informally known as the SPACE Act, that denies any assertion of authority over cosmic objects but promotes the right of U. On a moral basis, do we, as humans, U. To some, the answer is obvious: Of course we do. And the resources of these worlds belong to those who can first exploit them. The opposing moral argument begins with the thought that humans ought not to embark on these activities lightly, because whatever we do may not be capable of being repaired.

Wherever we land, we inevitably leave behind traces of our own forms of life. NASA has worried about this problem ever since the first lunar probes and has taken pains, which the agency knows can never be entirely successful, to avoid the biological contamination of other worlds. Large-scale extraction efforts, however, could never proceed without this contamination. Even the moon or asteroids, hostile to life though they now are, may contain traces of past biological activity. The discovery of life on a nearby world should reveal, through comparison of its DNA or equivalent material, whether life in the solar system originated separately or transferred itself from world to world onboard meteoroids or asteroids.

If we find Earth-like organisms on Mars, our ability to discriminate will be lost if we cannot tell whether this transfer occurred in recent years or eons before.

Aside from the immense difficulties of creating sustainable, million-person colonies required for sufficient long-term genetic variation , any lunar or planetary colonists will bring the same human attributes that have caused problems 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. There are currently more than 7 billion humans, which is a lot. Humanity's interest in the heavens has been universal and enduring. Humans are driven to explore the unknown, discover new worlds, push the boundaries of our scientific and technical limits, and then push further.

The intangible desire to explore and challenge the boundaries of what we know and where we have been has provided benefits to our society for centuries. Human space exploration helps to address fundamental questions about our place in the Universe and the history of our solar system. Through addressing the challenges related to human space exploration we expand technology, create new industries, and help to foster a peaceful connection with other nations.

Curiosity and exploration are vital to the human spirit and accepting the challenge of going deeper into space will invite the citizens of the world today and the generations of tomorrow to join NASA on this exciting journey.

This is the beginning of a new era in space exploration in which NASA has been challenged to develop systems and capabilities required to explore beyond low-Earth orbit, including destinations such as translunar space, near-Earth asteroids and eventually Mars.

By building upon what we learn there we will prepare astronauts for the challenges of long-duration flight and the permanent expansion of human exploration beyond where we have been before.

Explorers may visit near-Earth asteroids where we may get answers to the questions humans have always asked. Visiting an asteroid will provide valuable mission experience and prepare us for the next steps—possibly for the first humans to step on Mars. Robotic exploration continues to deliver profound answers about our Universe by visiting far-off destinations, providing reconnaissance and collecting scientific data.

When combining both human and robotic exploration methods we will use technology and our senses to increase our ability to observe, adapt, and uncover new knowledge. Like the universe itself, exploring space has no limits. Progress for humankind As well as being useful in themselves, space exploration missions have brought tangible improvements for the Earth and its inhabitants. Kinder to the planet Space exploration also teaches us to be more sparing in our use of vital resources.

New horizons for humanity The ultimate aim of space exploration is to discover whether other planets harbour the resources that we will need when our own are exhausted, and even whether any of them — Mars, Saturn satellites, the Moon, asteroids, comets — are potentially inhabitable. To mention a few examples: The Cygnus cargo spacecraft, for which Thales Alenia Space builds all the pressurised cargo modules, carried a portable 3D printer for the purpose of carrying out tests under zero-gravity conditions.

The printer could eventually enable astronauts to produce any spare parts they need directly on board; The EDEN ISS project, meanwhile, aims to develop techniques for the cultivation of food plants in extra-terrestrial environments, in order to provide food for the ISS and, in the longer term, for space exploration vehicles and planetary outposts; And, thanks to the expertise we have gained through the development of orbital infrastructures on board the ISS, we are also working on a module that will allow people to live, work and communicate in extreme environments on earth, such as in the desert, in polar stations or in humanitarian bases for example.

This is a typical example of space technology being used to serve the needs of citizens on earth. BepiColombo probe will reveal the mysteries of the smallest and least explored planet in the Solar System. Learn more about our solutions in.