By snoadmin
It’s easy to be sucked into the issues of today, whether they are world, U.S., or local. In turn, it’s easy to forget about what exists beyond our own world: the universe. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration — more widely known as NASA — is still very much active… Or at least they’re trying to be. However, their lack of funds is stalling the amazing projects they could potentially be pursuing.
At a conference, taking place today, Thursday, Sept. 29, NASA will be revealing new discoveries regarding near-Earth asteroids.
“From January 2010 to February 2011, [the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) spacecraft] hunted for asteroids and comets in a mission called NEO-WISE (with the NEO standing for “Near-Earth Object”),” reports Mike Wall of Space.com. “The observatory found more than 33,000 new space rocks in the main belt between Mars and Jupiter.”
The Obama Administration did send some recognition to NASA in 2010, urging NASA to send astronauts to a space rock by 2025. If this can be done, the goal to send astronauts to Mars by the mid-2030 will be more attainable.
In other words, NASA does have a project they will be executing rather sooner than their Mars expedition. In 2016, NASA will launch a mission called Osiris-Rex, in which an asteroid sample-return will be collected.
Osiris Rex will obtain samples of a potentially dangerous asteroid called 1999 RQ36, and return them to earth by 2023.
“Since 1999 RQ36 is packed full of carbon-based compounds — the building blocks of life as we know it — the mission could shed light on how life originated on Earth,” Wall writes. “It could also help scientists better understand how to prevent or mitigate asteroid impacts, researchers have said.”
Then there’s Kepler, which is now nearing the end of its 3.5-year lifespan.
“Kepler watches a field of 145,000 stars looking for tiny variations in their brightness, which could indicate that an extra-solar planet has passed between the telescope and the star,” Alex Madrigal of The Atlantic wrote. “After Kepler makes the initial spot, other telescopes can be pressed into service and astronomers can determine if a planet is an earth-like planet in the habitable zone around its star.”
Leader and promoter of Kepler, Bill Borucki, stated, “There is a serious worry that Kepler’s funding might not be extended,” meaning Kepler’s hope to find out exactly how similar Earths in the universe are could be terminated.
In addition, Terrestial Planet Finder and the Space Interferometer mission — two different exoplanet proposals — have been delayed, partly due to our ailing economic state.
All of these projects are huge in terms of the effect it would have on humanity. Whether we found out how the first life form originated, how to prevent an asteroid impact, or whether or not there are Earths like ours elsewhere in the universe, it would shed light on the endless amount of knowledge we have yet to soak up regarding our planet and the universe.
Furthermore, it would help to unite us as a world. We would no longer be divided by our politics, religion, or the like. We would, instead, be reminded that we are a single humanity that is a part of something much bigger than our planet and ourselves.
In 2010, the budget proposal for NASA was $18.7 billion dollars, which accounts for about .05 percent of the federal budget. It’s true that money is tight right now, and that we have many other matters to worry about. But, if we did fund NASA a little bit more, the opportunities for us as a human race to advance would increase.
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