With the Obama administration attempting to place a stranglehold on NASA funding and prohibit any manned exploration I thought I'd take a few moments of your time and express my views.

Please note the lack of a Space Shuttle in the attached photo - that program has already been cancelled, and they're trying to pull the budget for the replacement.

The current argument is that NASA expenditures and exploration are a drain on an already hurting economy. In Barney Frank's words “Space exploration is very important and has great scientific and practical results, but sending human beings to Mars and back will cost hundreds of billions of dollars for very little scientific worth.” In a recent interview with Dan Rather, Frank was asked "What if Lewis and Clark had made it to the Louisiana Purchase and turned back?" Frank's answer (to paraphrase): "Well if they got there and said it was a desert we wouldn't have been all that interested in rushing out there!" Forgive me, but I think the fact we DID rush across the deserts to found California kind of negates the argument.

To put it in perspective, the government will spend $4 Trillion this year (or more.) The TARP bailout provided for buying $700 Billion of troubled assets. The NASA budget for 2009 was $17.2 Billion, or only 0.55% of the Federal budget. In 1993, the NASA budget was 1% of the Federal budget. During the heavy space-race days, NASA's budget approached 5.5%. The government approved without thinking $700 Billion for TARP, but wants to slash the already strained NASA budget. One is a band-aid - a reaction to a problem. The other is an investment in our future. Both are at least equally important.

NASA's contribution to our well being goes beyond a simple feel-good that we were "winning the space race." NASA does a very good job of providing their inventions found during space research to the average American. For instance, kidney dialysis machines, Velcro, freeze dried foods, athletic shoe manufacturing techniques, insulation used in automobiles, water filtration technologies, many, many computer innovations and even fireman's gear are all a direct result of inventions by NASA.

Still not convinced that the space race helps us all? How about satellite technologies, GPS navigation, and even what you're using to read this blog post. ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Agency) was a government agency that was a direct result of the space race. It was later renamed "DARPA" to add Defense in the name, but before they did they are credited with the creation of a little thing... you may of heard of it... called the Internet. No, sorry, Al Gore wasn't there.

What about all of the private businesses that create private sector high-paying technically skilled jobs providing contract work for NASA? What about all of the previous NASA employees who have gone on to be entrepreneurs and founded what are now large technology businesses? Without NASA we wouldn't have satellite TV, medical imaging, modern vision screening techniques, or even smoke detectors, which were originally created for the Skylab space station to protect manned exploration, and by now have probably saved tens of thousands of lives.

How many lives have been saved as a direct result of technology pioneered by NASA?

We wouldn't have our current automobile design tools - the first was originally used for analyzing spacecraft by NASA. We wouldn't have thermal gloves and boots to keep you warm while skiing. Or ski boots. Or how about shock absorbing helmets for football players or motorcycles, or the Tempurpedic beds so many people sleep on now that are all made with a special foam created by NASA.

What about joystick controllers? Designed originally for the Apollo Lunar Rover, they drove an entire computer industry into the hands of consumers with the original Atari game systems.

The list goes on and on...

Even in the midst of a world wide recession, India increased it's budget for space exploration. They see the value that America has gained by being a technology leader over the past few decades. The problem is, we don't know what we don't know. Only by stretching yourself beyond your comfort zone will you make new and amazing discoveries.

But, Rep. Frank would have you believe that the cost is too great.

Tell that to the dialysis patients.

Sources:
http://www.spacepolitics.com/2008/10/31/frank-talk-about-a-nasa-budget-increase/
http://mattbille.blogspot.com/2009/07/is-nasa-too-expensive.html
http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/11/is-space-exploration-worth-the-cost-a-freakonomics-quorum/
http://science.howstuffworks.com/ten-nasa-inventions.htm
http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/spinoffs2.shtml
http://www.firstscience.com/home/perspectives/editorials/50-years-sputnik-the-space-race-and-what-next-page-1-1_37610.html