I have been hearing a lot about the arguments surrounding the end of the Apollo program and, in some people's opinions, The US' space exploration. Astronauts and congressmen are screaming that with the loss of funding to NASA space exploration will fall behind and the US will be overtaken as the leader in space exploration by Russia or China or the likes.
Now, I have a massive amount of respect for Neil Armstrong (a very loud voice against ending the Apollo project), obviously. And I think space exploration is most likely a beneficial undertaking and a worthy goal to keep in site. It's also really, really cool. Check out my home state from space:
Awesome, right? But all of that being considered- I can't help but wonder if discovering life on Mars and being outdone by Russia is really more important that getting medical care to children, paying our troops, and balancing the national budget. Our country is in the midst of a financial crisis and it's time to make some hard choices. In addition to ending the Apollo program this week, NASA laid off hundreds of workers. Hundreds. That's a lot. Let's think about them and their needs.
I just think that, maybe, Luke Armstrong and the like should be thinking about how else the funding could be used. Not to say that it wouldn't be difficult to give up on 40 years of work and dreams. It would be- and I am sure it is. But we all have to make hard choices, give up dreams, and make decisions for the sake of our families. In the case of the USA, all of us are the family. And this sister thinks "Big Brother" in Washington is making a good choice here. The others- well, that's for other blog posts!
Thoughts?
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