Public Opinion About Space Exploration - Should Space Travel Be A Science Priority?

In the 1960s television show Star Trek, space was called "the final frontier." While this may be true from a philosophical viewpoint, it does not apply as well to the realm of science. Geneticists, oceanographers, geologists, and biologists maintain that there are still many scientific and medical frontiers to be explored on Earth.

Since 1998 marine biologist Sylvia Earle has been an explorer-in-residence at the National Geographic Society. That same year Time magazine named her a "hero for the planet." In 2004 the Associated Press asked Earle about NASA's discovery that water once existed on Mars (Mars Critics Wonder if Billions Aren't Better Spent Elsewhere, Environmental News Network, March 9, 2004). Earle stated that "the resources going into the investigation of our own planet and its oceans are trivial compared to investment looking for water elsewhere in the universe. Real oceans need scientific attention more FIGURE 9.4 Public opinion poll on funding for NASA's space program, 2004 Darren K. Carlson, "It Has Been Estimated that NASA's Budget Request This Year Would be Under 1% of the Federal Budget, Which Would Amount to Approximately $55 Per Year for the Average Taxpayer. Do You Think the Nation Should Continue to Fund Space Exploration?" in Space: To Infinity and Beyond on a Budget, The Gallup Organization, August 17, 2004, http://poll.gallup.com/content/default.aspx?ci=12727 (accessed December 28, 2005). Copyright © 2004 by The Gallup Organization. Reproduced by permission of The Gallup Organization.than the dried-up remnants on Mars." She said that she does not want to cut funding for space science, but noted that "we have better maps of Mars than our own ocean floor. That's just not right."

Amitai Etzioni is a sociologist at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and a long-time critic of the U.S. space program. He believes that the scientific community should focus more attention on Earth's oceans because of their potential to yield new energy and food sources or medical breakthroughs that would benefit humanity. He also criticizes the money spent looking for water on Mars and asks, "What difference does it make to anyone's life? Will it grow any more food? Cure a disease? This doesn't even broaden our horizons." Etzioni believes that any crewed space missions should be financed by private investors, not with taxpayers' dollars.