A Waste of Space: Why the U.S.

Government Must Increase Funding for NASA

Anna Fisher Lopez

Dr. Simel

5.7.18

Widely regarded as one of America’s greatest achievements, the Apollo program

achieved the unfathomable in 1969 and made the United States the first - and to this day only -
country to successfully land a man on the moon. The mission united the nation under a common

goal and was a massive breakthrough in the fields of space research and exploration. The

realization that human ingenuity and concerted effort could surmount seemingly impossible tasks

such as space travel inspired not just Americans, but people around the world. Since the lunar

landing, the United States’ emphasis on the Space Program has decreased, with funding falling

from 4.4% to less than 0.5% of the total U.S. budget in less than 50 years. In today’s currency,

that’s a decrease of almost 27 billion dollars. The government must increase funding for the

National Aeronautics and Space Administration because NASA research has led to numerous

modern technological advancements that improve lives, a higher budget is essential to complete

large-scale tasks that can fuel the enduring explorative nature of the human race while improving

the economy and the environment, and NASA inspires students to pursue careers in science and

mathematics and unites people around the world under a common cause of creativity, innovation,

and the protection of our planet.

Critics often remark that money given to NASA is wasted on fanciful rocketship flights

and does not address the problems of modern society, but NASA has had a huge influence on the

advancement of the technological industry since its establishment in 1958. The technologies that

NASA uses to improve the lives of astronauts in space are adapted and implemented in a way

that benefits not just industry, but life on Earth as well. NASA inadvertently introduces

technology to the world through what are known as NASA “spinoff products.” Each of these

spinoffs has an annual revenue of $1 million (nasa.gov). Some commonly known examples are

LASIK eye surgery, memory foam, and DSLR cameras. NASA technologies are also saving

lives; for example, an algorithm developed by NASA astronomers to extract information out of

blurry photos was used as one of the first methods to detect breast cancer from X-rays. NASA

was also instrumental in the breakthrough of the microchip and wireless technology industries.
For the Apollo mission, the program was in need of a small, portable computer that could be

used for in-flight navigation. Engineers thought that a new item on the technological market, the

integrated circuit, could be used to achieve their goals. In order to ensure a high-quality product,

NASA ordered one million integrated circuits from a company known as Fairchild

Semiconductor. This unprecedented demand for their product gave the company a boost that no

private investor was willing to provide, and as a result, two members of Fairchild went on to

form the company now known as Intel. Former NASA Flight Director Glynn Lunney noted that

“We were asking people to do things that were probably 10 or 20 years faster than they

otherwise would have done. And they knew it. They stepped up to it and succeeded”

(theguardian.com). To conserve water on the International Space Station, NASA uses a water

recycling system that converts urine and sweat into water that is cleaner than what most people

on Earth drink. This system is able to recycle 93% of the water used on board the ISS, and saves

6,000 liters of water every year (nasa.gov). NASA researchers are working on applying this

system to save water on Earth, as well as in space. The researchers’ goal is to “substitute

recycled water where potable water is unnecessary,” such as flushing toilets and farming

irrigation (nasa.gov), but they cannot pursue this system without an increase in funding. The

International Space Station is set to cease operation in 2024 because of budget constraints, and

with its departure our planet will lose all of the potential benefits that could develop from

research into sustainable life in outer space, such as the water recycling system. Antja Chambers,

a manager of the ISS Life Support Systems Branch, remarks that “in the pursuit of trying to do

… life support on the space station or any NASA endeavour, we get these spinoff technologies

that actually bring the rest of the world with us” (nasa.gov). With increased funding, NASA will

be able to pave the way to the invention of innovative technologies that will improve life in

space and on Earth.

 NASA has a number of missions planned that, in addition to leading to technological and

scientific breakthroughs, could break the existing boundaries of human exploration and fuel

humanity’s insatiable desire for discovery. Unfortunately, NASA lacks the funding necessary to

execute many of these missions. Some argue that giving NASA additional funding would hurt

the country by increasing the national debt, but money needed for NASA could simply be

reallocated from other departments (debate.org). If just 1% of the U.S. military’s budget was

given to NASA, the space program’s budget would double. With twice the budget, NASA could

plan and execute long-term projects much more efficiently. In 2004, President Bush gave a

speech outlining a proposed plan for NASA’s coming projects. He began with the proposal for a

lunar outpost, stating that “establishing an extended human presence on the moon could vastly

reduce the cost of future exploration, making possible ever more ambitious missions.” The

ambitious mission of which Bush spoke was a manned mission to Mars, a project that has been

one of NASA’s major goals for decades. A mission to Mars, Bush believed, would lead to “many

technological breakthroughs,” and would “test our limits to dream.” Bush hoped that the

“fascination garnered by further exploration will inspire our young people to… create a new

generation of innovators and pioneers.” As the project continued, it became apparent that the

budget NASA had received would not be sufficient to complete the project. NASA asked for

more funding to no avail, and the project was eventually abandoned. Since then, no further

efforts have been made to build a lunar base on the moon, effectively “bleeding the life out of

exploration efforts” (Spudis). A successful mission to Mars would be a tremendous achievement

for NASA, one that would provide opportunities for exploration and discovery unlike anything

the world has ever seen. History Professor Jerry deGroot believes America’s mission to the

moon is pointless, and even goes so far as to call the moon a “worthless rock,” but he overlooks

the importance of the moon in future deep-space exploration. If a lunar base were established on
the moon, it would prepare NASA with the skills necessary to maintain a self-sustaining base on

Mars. The space program could test systems on a base only three days away instead of facing the

potential problems on Mars, which would be “six months away from help of any kind” (Fecht).

Another mission which could prove to be extremely beneficial economically as well as

technologically is NASA’s goal of sending a manned spacecraft to an asteroid. The information

and resources that could be obtained by retrieving samples from an asteroid would be beneficial

both economically and scientifically. Mining resources from asteroids would drastically reduce

the cost of space travel by eliminating the need to fly resources out of Earth’s atmosphere into

space. Water is one of the heaviest and most cumbersome materials to transport into space,

costing around $50 million per ton to get out of the atmosphere (Cruddas). The mining of

asteroids combined with the water recycling system mentioned previously could aid in creating a

closed-loop life support system on the International Space Station, meaning that astronauts

would not have to rely on materials or water shipped from Earth in order to survive. Other

materials, such as iron that are mined from asteroids, could be made into tools in space using 3D

printing technology, which would reduce the number of tools that need to be flown from Earth

into space. Asteroids are valuable resources that could provide not just more information about

the universe outside our solar system, but the materials needed for humans to explore those

places themselves. With an increased budget, NASA could invest into long term projects that

would dramatically increase the rate at which exploratory progress is being made, and

subsequently benefit the economy and the environment.

It is well known that NASA has had a large influence on higher education. When NASA

was founded in 1958, students all around the country flocked to science, engineering and

mathematical programs that would allow them to partake in the journey to understand the

universe. Throughout the 1960s as the space race intensified, “PhD intake at American
universities, particularly in the field of physics, increased almost threefold” (Riley). The space

program allows the nation’s youth to funnel their passion to innovate and explore into a

government-backed organization that has achieved astounding milestones. After the success of

the Apollo missions, young graduates were inspired by what some consider to be “one of

civilization’s crowning achievements” (Chaikin). Students were not alone in their fascination of

the monumental event. The moon landings were watched by an estimated 600 million people

around the world, which was around 1/6th of the world’s population (nixonlibrary.gov). Two of

the most famous and reproduced pictures of all time, known as “The Blue Marble” and

“Earthrise”, were taken during the Apollo missions. “The Blue Marble” was released in the midst

of a worldwide movement in support of environmental protection, depicting the first photo ever

taken of a completely illuminated Earth from space. The picture motivated the public to support

environmental protection and research of environmental sciences, and quickly became a symbol

of the environmental movement of the 60s. The juxtaposition of the vibrant, life-filled Earth

against the dark void of space gave people around the world a newfound sense of appreciation

for the planet on which they lived, and “galvanized an entire generation” to protect their planet

(Petsko). It made their everyday struggles seem “trivial compared with environmental dangers

that threatened all of humanity” (Petsko). NASA does what no other government agency can; it

unites people from all across the world and allows them to pursue common ways to improve and

protect our planet. With increased funding, NASA could expand the “frontiers of knowledge and

understanding and the frontiers where humans live and work,” and continue to inspire

generations to come (history.nasa.gov).

In the past 70 years, NASA has carried out some of America’s greatest accomplishments,

and has created a lasting effect on society that will remain for centuries. Our species’ journey

into the cosmos must not be limited by the refusal to provide NASA the necessary resources. If
NASA’s budget was doubled, it would still only be around 1% of America’s total spending,

whereas the U.S. spends about 54% of its budget on the military. It is incredible what NASA has

achieved with such limited resources, and one can only imagine the progress they could make if

they are provided with increased funding. NASA could introduce technologies which cannot

even be imagined today, just as the idea of hand-held computers was completely foreign in the

1960s. The space program could launch large-scale operations to Mars and the moon, and

rejuvenate the public’s fascination with space travel, which has declined since the Apollo

missions. The economic, environmental, educational, and technological benefits that would arise

from such missions could transform the world in unprecedented ways. NASA must be allowed to

increase the scale of the “imperative to explore [that] is embedded in our history, our traditions,

and our national character” (history.nasa.gov). Without a program to inspire and organize such a

movement, the human race will never reach the stars.

Works Cited

"African American History Month." Houston, We Have a Podcast, NASA, 16 Feb. 2018,
www.nasa.gov/johnson/HWHAP/african-american-history-month. Accessed 24 Feb. 2018.
Atkinson, Nancy. "An Inside Look at the Water/Urine Recycling System on the Space Station." Universe
Today, 23 Dec. 2015, www.universetoday.com/101775/an-inside-look-at-the-waterurine-recycling-
system-on-the-space-station/. Accessed 12 Mar. 2018.
Bush, George W., President. "Remarks on U.S. Space Policy." 14 Jan. 2004. Speech.
Chaikin, Andrew. "Live from the Moon: The Societal Impact of Apollo." Societal Impact of Spaceflight,
edited by Steven J. Dick and Roger D. Launius, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2007.
Nasa History, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, history.nasa.gov/sp4801-chapter4.pdf.
Accessed 17 Mar. 2018.
Cruddas, Sarah. "The Truth about Asteroid Mining." BBC, 5 Jan. 2016,
www.bbc.com/future/story/20160103-the-truth-about-asteroid-mining. Accessed 18 Mar. 2018.
DeGroot, Jerry. "The US Government Should Cut NASA Funding." Opposing Viewpoints in Context, Gale
Cencage Learning, 2012,
ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/DocumentToolsPortletWindow?displayGroupName=
Viewpoints&jsid=9a90b4c0b22ff21a165a39a66c8ab464&action=2&catId=&documentId=GALE%7C
EJ3010356216&u=mcle22101&zid=7ad351565ade09b151e41ce8ed92cef0. Accessed 16 Mar. 2018.
Fecht, Sarah. "Six Reasons NASA Should Build a Research Base on the Moon." National Geographic, 21rrrf
Dec. 2013, news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/12/131220-lunar-research-base-mars-mission-
science/. Accessed 17 Mar. 2018.
"Moon Landing." Nixon Library, National Archives and Records Administration,
www.nixonlibrary.gov/forkids/speechesforkids/moonlanding.php. Accessed 18 Mar. 2018.
NASA Socio-Economic Impacts. The Tauri Group. NASA, www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/files/SEINSI.pdf.
Accessed 18 Mar. 2018.
Petsko, Gregory A. "The Blue Marble." Springer Link, Apr. 2011, link.springer.com/article/10.1186%2Fgb-
2011-12-4-112. Accessed 18 Mar. 2018.
"Report of the 90-Day Study on Human Exploration of the Moon and Mars." NASA Moon/Mars Database,
NASA, 20 Nov. 1989, history.nasa.gov/90_day_study.pdf. Accessed 16 Mar. 2018.
Riley, Cristopher. "Apollo 40 Years On: How The Moon Missions Changed the World Forever." The
Guardian, 15 Dec. 2012, www.theguardian.com/science/2012/dec/16/apollo-legacy-moon-space-riley.
Accessed 18 Mar. 2018.
Spudis, Paul D. "Would More Money Improve NASA?" Air and Space, Smithsonian Institution, 8 July 2009,
www.airspacemag.com/daily-planet/would-more-money-improve-nasa-153246741/. Accessed 17 Mar.
2018.
Wiedemann, Darlene, editor. "Water Recycling." NASA, 16 Oct. 2014, www.nasa.gov/content/water-
recycling/. Accessed 11 Mar. 2018.

Annotated Bibliography

"The Advantages of Going to Mars From a Scientific Point of View." Seattle Pi, Hearst Seattle Media,
education.seattlepi.com/advantages-going-mars-scientific-point-5563.html. Accessed 10 Mar. 2018.
This article provided some benefits that a manned mission to Mars could provide, some of which I
used as examples in my paper.
"African American History Month." Houston, We Have a Podcast, NASA, 16 Feb. 2018,
www.nasa.gov/johnson/HWHAP/african-american-history-month. Accessed 24 Feb. 2018. In this
transcript of a podcast done for African American History Month, Host Gary Jordan interviews Antja
Chambers, who works on the Life Support System of the ISS. In the podcast, she describes the water
recycling system used on the ISS, and how it could be used to improve life on Earth. This was the first
example of technology developed by NASA that could have a huge impact on life on Earth that I
encountered.
Atkinson, Nancy. "An Inside Look at the Water/Urine Recycling System on the Space Station." Universe
Today, 23 Dec. 2015, www.universetoday.com/101775/an-inside-look-at-the-waterurine-recycling-
 system-on-the-space-station/. Accessed 12 Mar. 2018. This article, written by Nancy Atkinson,
provides a brief explanation about how the water recycling system used on the International Space
Station works. It gave me a better understanding of how the same system could be implemented on
Earth, and strengthened my argument when I used it in my paper.
Bernal, Alan. "American Government Should Invest More in Space Exploration." Daily Titan, 23 Feb. 2016,
dailytitan.com/2016/02/american-government-should-invest-more-in-space-exploration/. Accessed 11
Mar. 2018. Author Alan Bernal supports my thesis and provides supporting evidence. This article gave
me information about the level of interest in NASA's astronaut program, and introduces the idea of
cutting military funding to fund NASA.
"The Blue Marble." Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blue_Marble. Accessed 18 Mar. 2018. This
Wikipedia page gave me information about the history of the photo "The Blue Marble" that was useful
when writing my paper and verifying sources.
Bush, George W., President. "Remarks on U.S. Space Policy." 14 Jan. 2004. Speech. In this speech, President
George W. Bush emphasizes the importance of a manned mission to Mars and the Moon. I used quotes
from this speech in my paper.
Chaikin, Andrew. "Live from the Moon: The Societal Impact of Apollo." Societal Impact of Spaceflight,
edited by Steven J. Dick and Roger D. Launius, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2007.
Nasa History, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, history.nasa.gov/sp4801-chapter4.pdf.
Accessed 17 Mar. 2018. This excerpt from Societal Impact of Spaceflight went into great detail about
the effect that the Apollo missions had on American society. It discusses both the positive and negative
reactions, both of which I included in my paper.
Chow, Denise. "Boosting NASA's Budget Will Help Fix Economy: Neil deGrasse Tyson." Space.com, Purch,
17 Apr. 2012, www.space.com/15310-nasa-budget-future-space-exploration.html. Accessed 6 Mar.
2018. In this article, author Denise Chow interviews Neil deGrasse Tyson about the benefits that an
increased budget for NASA could have on the economy. This article supported my thesis and provided
me with information about the effects of the Apollo missions.
Cruddas, Sarah. "The Truth about Asteroid Mining." BBC, 5 Jan. 2016,
www.bbc.com/future/story/20160103-the-truth-about-asteroid-mining. Accessed 18 Mar. 2018. This
article by Sarah Cruddas included statistics about asteroid mining that I used in my paper.
DeGroot, Jerry. "The US Government Should Cut NASA Funding." Opposing Viewpoints in Context, Gale
Cencage Learning, 2012,
ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/DocumentToolsPortletWindow?displayGroupName=
Viewpoints&jsid=9a90b4c0b22ff21a165a39a66c8ab464&action=2&catId=&documentId=GALE%7C
EJ3010356216&u=mcle22101&zid=7ad351565ade09b151e41ce8ed92cef0. Accessed 16 Mar. 2018.
In this piece which was originally an article in the Telegraph called "The Space Race is a Pointless
Waste of Money," Jerry DeGroot provides multiple counter-arguments to my thesis which I used in my
essay. He argues that government money should not be allocated to pursue a mission to the moon
because he believes it is pointless.
Diaz, Jesus. "Why the Government Must Spend More Money on NASA." Gizmodo, 26 Nov. 2012,
gizmodo.com/5962595/why-the-government-must-spend-more-money-on-nasa. Accessed 10 Mar.
2018. This is an article that supports my thesis by arguing the necessity of increased funding for
NASA. This article also made me aware of the number of NASA spinoff technologies that have been
developed, and their importance in today's technological industry.
Dickerson, Kelly. "Elon Musk Has the Perfect Argument for Raising NASA's Budget." Business Insider, 5
Oct. 2015, www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-says-we-need-to-raise-nasas-budget-2015-9.
Accessed 11 Mar. 2018. This article, written by Kelly Dickerson, introduced the ideas to me that a
budget of just 1% would be sufficient to achieve some of NASA's long-term goals. It also entertained
the idea that if NASA's budget hadn't been cut during the 70's, humans might have set foot on Mars
already. This introduced the Mars mission as the most compelling reason to increase NASA's budget.
Fecht, Sarah. "Six Reasons NASA Should Build a Research Base on the Moon." National Geographic, 21rrrf
Dec. 2013, news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/12/131220-lunar-research-base-mars-mission-
science/. Accessed 17 Mar. 2018. This National Geographic article lists reasons that a lunar base
should be built. I used some of these reasons in my paper to support my thesis.
"40 Years of NASA Spinoff." NASA, edited by William Bryan, www.nasa.gov/offices/oct/40-years-of-nasa-
spinoff. Accessed 10 Mar. 2018. This website provided many examples of well-known NASA spinoff
technologies, which I used as examples in my paper.
"Journey to Mars Overview." NASA, edited by Jim Wilson, www.nasa.gov/content/journey-to-mars-
overview. Accessed 17 Mar. 2018. This web page detailed the timeline of NASA's mission to Mars. It
made it clear to me that with increased resources, NASA could work on the Mars missions more
efficiently and land on Mars sooner than they could with their current budget.
"Lunar Outpost (NASA)." Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_outpost_(NASA). Accessed 16 Mar.
2018. This Wikipedia article provides details about a potential lunar base on the moon that was
proposed by President Bush. It talks about the history of the idea of a lunar base, and that it has yet to
be achieved.
Metzger, Phillip. "How Asteroid Mining Could save the Planet." The Week, 17 Jan. 2018,
theweek.com/articles/748563/how-asteroid-mining-could-save-planet. Accessed 16 Mar. 2018. This
article by Phillip Metzger lists the many benefits that come with mining asteroids. I used some of these
examples to support my thesis.
Miozzi, CJ. "Human Spaceflight: No Single Rationale Justifies It, NRC Report." Escapist Magazine, 5 June
2014, www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/135055-Human-Spaceflight-No-Single-Rationale-
Justifies-it-NRC-Report. Accessed 10 Mar. 2018. This article lists some benefits of human spaceflight
which I used as supporting evidence in my paper. It also speculates that a mission to Mars is
impossible with NASA's current budget.
Miozzi, CJ. ”Is NASA Worth Funding?" Escapist Magazine, 11 June 2014,
www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/scienceandtech/columns/forscience/11666-Is-NASA-worth-
Funding. Accessed 11 Mar. 2018. This article provided arguments and counter-arguments to my thesis.
It also touched on every one of my arguments and gave specific details that I used in my paper.
"Moon Landing." Nixon Library, National Archives and Records Administration,
www.nixonlibrary.gov/forkids/speechesforkids/moonlanding.php. Accessed 18 Mar. 2018. This page
on the Nixon Library website gives a limited background about the moon landings and the
circumstances in which they took place. I used a statistic from this website in my paper.
NASA. Photo of aurora, description of Aurorasaurus program. Instagram, 16 Feb. 2018,
www.instagram.com/p/BgXFSYkAxDE/?taken-by=nasa. Accessed 16 Mar. 2018. This Instagram post
describes a citizen science project called Aurorasaurus, which was funded by NASA. It made me
aware of the numerous citizen science projects which would not be possible without NASA, and
supported my argument that NASA helps further scientific progress on Earth.
"NASA's Journey to Mars." NASA, 27 Aug. 2017, www.nasa.gov/content/nasas-journey-to-mars. Accessed
17 Mar. 2018. This source provides information about NASA's planned mission to Mars and
introduces the information that NASA plans to send a manned mission to an asteroid. I used this
information in my paper.
NASA Socio-Economic Impacts. The Tauri Group. NASA, www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/files/SEINSI.pdf.
Accessed 18 Mar. 2018. This report by the Tauri Group describes the socio-economic impacts that
NASA has had, and includes statistics about NASA websites and resources. I used some of these
statistics in my paper.
"NASA Spinoff Technologies." Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_spinoff_technologies. Accessed 16
Mar. 2018. This Wikipedia article listed many NASA spinoff technologies that I used in my paper. It
also listed some which were commonly thought to be NASA spinoffs, but in truth were not, which led
me to not use those examples in my paper.
Orwig, Jessica. "5 Undeniable Reasons Humans Need to Colonize Mars - Even Though It's Going to Cost
Billions." Business Insider, 25 Apr. 2015, www.businessinsider.com/5-undeniable-reasons-why-
humans-should-go-to-mars-2015-4. Accessed 16 Mar. 2018. This article, written by Jessica Orwig,
lists a number of reasons that humans should colonize Mars, some of which I used as arguments in my
paper.
Penny4NASA. Space Advocates, www.penny4nasa.org. Accessed 11 Mar. 2018. Penny4NASA is a civilian-
run site that advocates for NASA's budget to be increased to 1% of the U.S.' total spending. This
website showed the level of interest that Americans have in maintaining the space program and also
showed how NASA's budget has been steadily decreasing in recent years.
Petsko, Gregory A. "The Blue Marble." Springer Link, Apr. 2011, link.springer.com/article/10.1186%2Fgb-
2011-12-4-112. Accessed 18 Mar. 2018. On this web page, Gregory Petsko reflects on the influence of
photographs on society, and how the picture known as The Blue Marble may have had the greatest
effect of them all. I used quotes from Petsko's writing in my paper.
"Report of the 90-Day Study on Human Exploration of the Moon and Mars." NASA Moon/Mars Database,
NASA, 20 Nov. 1989, history.nasa.gov/90_day_study.pdf. Accessed 16 Mar. 2018. This is a report on
the planned missions to the Moon and Mars that began in the 1990s. It describes the schedule and
strategies for ensuring the success of the mission and also emphasizes the endorsement of the project
by President Bush. I used information about this planned mission, which eventually failed because of a
limited budget, in my paper.
"The Right Track for Vision Correction." Nasa Spinoff, spinoff.nasa.gov/spinoff2003/hm_1.html. Accessed
17 Mar. 2018. This source confirms that the technology for LASIK surgery was developed by NASA,
which I used as an example of a NASA spinoff technology in my paper. It also describes the process
through which the technology was invented.
Riley, Cristopher. "Apollo 40 Years On: How The Moon Missions Changed the World Forever." The
Guardian, 15 Dec. 2012, www.theguardian.com/science/2012/dec/16/apollo-legacy-moon-space-riley.
Accessed 18 Mar. 2018. In this article, Christopher Riley goes into detail about the lasting effects that
the Apollo missions had on American society. He provides multiple examples of the positive
influences that NASA has had on the world which I used as arguments in my paper.
Roff, Peter. "To Infinity and Beyond?: More Wasteful Spending at NASA." U.S. News, U.S. News and World
Report, 10 Apr. 2013, www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/peter-roff/2013/04/10/stop-wasteful-federal-
spending-on-space-programs-. Accessed 9 Mar. 2018. Author Peter Roff contradicts my thesis in its
claim that the U.S. government must focus on resolving the high national debt before it pours more
money into NASA. I read this article to better understand the opposing argument to my thesis.
"Should the Government Fund NASA?" Debate.org, www.debate.org/opinions/should-the-government-fund-
nasa. Accessed 11 Mar. 2018. This online discussion about whether the government should fund
NASA provided me with some basic arguments and counter-arguments to think about when writing
my paper.
Sinha, Rohan. "Why Trump Needs a Space Program." Andover Political Review, 3 Mar. 2017,
www.andoverpoliticalreview.com/why-trump-needs-a-space-program/#fn-1095-6. Accessed 12 Mar.
2018. This article, written by Rohan Sinha, describes the benefits that a successful space program
could have on President Trump's administration. This article was useful in the writing of my paper
because it introduced to me the idea of mining asteroids.
Spudis, Paul D. "Would More Money Improve NASA?" Air and Space, Smithsonian Institution, 8 July 2009,
www.airspacemag.com/daily-planet/would-more-money-improve-nasa-153246741/. Accessed 17 Mar.
2018. This article speculates on what NASA could do with increased funding, and if it would use extra
resources efficiently. It informed me that President Bush had endorsed a mission to create a lunar base
and to send a manned mission to Mars. I used this information in my paper.
"What Could NASA Do with Double the Budget?" YouTube, uploaded by Seeker, 19 Feb. 2016,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhTXkcLfj_g. Accessed 11 Mar. 2018. This video posted to YouTube
by the channel Seeker speculates about what NASA could do if its budget were doubled. It introduced
 the Mars missions as something that could be feasibly achieved if NASA had more money, which I
included in my paper.
"What Could NASA Do with Half the Military Budget?" Quora, www.quora.com/Space-Exploration-What-
could-NASA-do-with-half-the-military-budget. Accessed 18 Mar. 2018. Speculation was made on this
Quora post about potential achievements NASA could make if they were given more funding. I
included some of these ideas in my paper.
"What's Next For NASA?" NASA, 9 Jan. 2018, www.nasa.gov/about/whats_next.html. Accessed 17 Mar.
2018. This web page lists some of NASA's goals for the future, which include sending manned
missions to Mars and further out into the solar system. This page made me realize the potential
accomplishments that NASA could achieve if it was given the necessary resources, so I used the
information to support my thesis.
Wiedemann, Darlene, editor. "Water Recycling." NASA, 16 Oct. 2014, www.nasa.gov/content/water-
recycling/. Accessed 11 Mar. 2018. This page went more into detail about the water recycling system
that I encountered in a NASA podcast. It gave me the details necessary to use the information in my
paper.