Q #1: Space exploration is beneficial for Earth
Pros:
Learning new stuff:
We can learn new stuff. We can learn what is out in the great expanse of space. For example, the International Space Station (ISS) has made many new discoveries in space. This research is helping us back here on Earth too!
Traveling to other worlds:
We can learn about these planets out there, in the great expanse, or learn about our own solar system! OSIRIS-REx, the spacecraft that was sent to an asteroid to collect a sample, has already learned a lot about asteroids!
Accessing new resources:
we can get new resources from deep space exploration. For example, asteroid mining could bring many valuable minerals to earth! this could help us make new technology!
Locating potential dangers:
If we keep sending rockets into deep space, we can try and see if an asteroid is headed our way! We can evacuate ahead of time, ore try and deflect the asteroid!
Cons:
Costs a lot:
Most missions are very expensive. it costs $19,000 to send 1 kilogram of stuff into space. the 12” MacBook is 0.92kg. it costs $17,480 to send a 12” MacBook into space. I’m about 33 kg. it costs $627,000 to send me into space.
Has risks:
It’s dangerous. the rocket could explode, the fuel might run out, the code might be wrong in the spaceship. people are thinking that one of the ways to get rid of nuclear waste is to launch it into the sun. what if the rocket explodes? if that happens with the nuclear waste inside, the area will be contaminated and there will be radioactive particles in the air. (it’s not as bad as it sounds. okay, it’s roughly bad as it sounds.)
Creates space junk:
There is A LOT of space junk up there. if we send a Satelite and it gets hit by a piece of space junk the size of a marble, it will explode into many billions of more pieces of junk.
Q#2: a Mission to Mars is worth funding
Pros:
Learn about the conditions for life:
We’re pretty sure that mars had the conditions for life and had life a lonnnnng time ago. to learn about what the conditions for life are, we need to look at other examples of where life formed.
learn about how we can colonize:
We can learn about how to colonize/make Mars habitable if we learn more about the red planet. the reason to move there is, well, it’s the second closest to Earth (the closest to Earth is Venus, but why would we want to move there?).
improve the quality of life here on earth:
we can take what we learn from the red planet and use those “survival” techniques that the rovers use to make life more comfortable!
Cons:
Very Expensive:
it’s very expensive to send stuff to Mars. Mars is far away. here is a list of what makes the cost higher:
- parts for the rover
- parts for the rocket
- instruments for the rover
- things to control the rover
- the code area (the “brain”)
creates space junk around Earth & Mars:
Around the Earth, this is already a problem. around mars, there isn’t any(so far). so, a lot of things will be sent into orbit around Mars. it will collide with other satellites and create some junk, and there is a runaway situation!!!!! let’s not ruin Mars 😉
uses up resources:
on earth, there is a limited amount of resources. it uses these things up and puts it on mars. those materials could be better used for things like cleaning up pollution and stuff.
Q#3: people should be flown to space instead of robots
Pros:
Easier to communicate with:
the human language is much simpler than any code for a robot can be. they can just tell you “keep working” and you can keep working on the task that’s most important.
Much more reliable:
humans are able to think and if some danger pops up, they know exactly what to do. for example, a leak in the ISS is dangerous, so you have to react. a robot would have to ask what to do. a person would seal it up quickly.
Cons:
Dangerous:
it’s dangerous to send a person to do something. they could die! if you have a choice of “which one should go out, Robot or person”, send the robot.
Computers can do some things better:
for example, storing memory. if you were given a lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng list with many instructions, you could forget one. a computer will never forget what you tell it.
worse at going far far away:
a human can get lonely, or bored, or sick on a lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng trip onto space. a robot will never be sick, or homesick, or annoyed that you made them do this for science.
I mean, most of the time robots + humans are a great match. which one do you like?
The end
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