NASA needs a boost to make a difference

The future of humanity lies in space.

As far as we know, it’s populated only with robots sent to collect information about the area that is beyond Earth.

Yet, the U.S. government remains content to give NASA a subpar budget. We need another Space Race in which the finish line is Mars. But why wait when priorities could be straightened and NASA could again have the budget it did back in the 1960s?

NASA’s discoveries have historically led to spin-off inventions such as the memory foam that served as a precursor to Tempur-Pedic mattresses and portable cordless vacuums. Science can be fun while greatly benefiting us — especially since we have the technology to discover more than in the past.

A method pioneered by NASA to fix blurry images on the Hubble Space Telescope is also applicable to detect early signs of breast cancer. The endeavors that NASA commits its resources to often create something that aid the whole society and make our lives a little bit better.

With more restricted funding, it is more difficult for NASA to make breakthroughs. There needs to be some sort of spark to get NASA the funding it deserves. The agency should have the ability to push the envelope as it used to do during the Space Race.

This is not just for our own’s sake, but for future generations and the generations after as well.

Earth will always outlive us, but it is a matter of time until we render the planet uninhabitable. Our solution to that problem lies among the stars.

We better start looking at that place now before time runs out and we are all doomed.

Assistant opinion editor Thom Dwyer is a broadcast journalism sophomore and can be reached at [email protected]