ABC asks: “Is Space Worth the Money”
ABC News had an interesting “Question of the Day” (3/12/09) I discovered through Twitter. In the space biz, we all know the value of space. Sometimes we struggle to quantify it or describe why we think it’s valuable beyond the “cool” factor. Some of the 270+ comments on the ABC blog can be written off as “ignorant.” One of my twitter friends, @RobertPearlman (editor of CollectSPACE), said “If you ask a stupid question, you’ll get a whole bunch of stupid answers.” However, I think you should read the comments on this question of the day if you think that we who work in the industry no longer need to explain the value of space.
I encourage you to post comments on the abc blog if you feel compelled. In addition, what do you tell people who ask you this question?
Here’s what I said:
“Here is some very interesting info you can read about space:
- Is space exploration worth the cost: http://www.spacecoalition.com/benefits3.cfm
- Space-derived products: http://www.spacecoalition.com/products.cfm
- Benefits of space exploration: http://www.spacecoalition.com/benefits.cfm
- 88% of Americans value the space program: http://www.spacecoalition.com/Press_releases.cfm
If you say space is not worth it, I ask you to back up that claim.”
4 Responses to “ABC asks: “Is Space Worth the Money””
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Nick Skytland on March 13th, 2009
Natalie, you make an absolutely critical point that we sometimes (okay, often) forget inside the space industry. Communicating the value of the space program is so important – especially in a world where it’s much easier to be critical then supportive. NASA has done quite a bit lately (IMHO) to really manage it’s brand and engage in the conversation. But it isn’t just PAO’s responsibility; it’s everyone’s responsibility. The easy thing to do is to just assume that it’s someone else’s job. I’m constantly encouraged by people inside our community who are doing quite a bit to be actively involved in conversations about NASA outside our gates. This takes patience, commitment, unselfishness, and a willingness to lead when it’s easier not to. So thanks for showing leadership and proactively responding. Imagine if everyone who supported space did that!
Michael Frostad on March 14th, 2009
Way to be! I’m going to respond now as well…
Michael Frostad on March 14th, 2009
blast…tooo late!
But I would have said something like:
‘Space’ is a part of our economy and will be on into the future. And it will grow.
There are 4 main reasons for space:
Survival
Soft Power/Prestige
Economy
Human Experience/Technology Development
There are a lot more resources off planet than on planet.
Hear are some general practical reasons for Space Flight:
*Survival – We discover new things that can take out the entirety of humanity all the time. If we never start to go we’ll never go, and we’ll go the way of the dinosaurs. We can not remain static and survive in a dynamic universe.
*National Prestige/Soft Power – Anyone who is anyone goes to space (The Rest of the World is completely stoked for space yet the USA takes it for granted)
*Economy – If we really want to expand our economy be able to utilize the resources within the Solar System versus just earth is essential. This is obviously long term but Humanity needs to start thinking long term if it expects to get anywhere.
*The Human Experience/Tech Dev – Allowing ourselves new experiences gives us new ideas and new viewpoints. New viewpoints can help with technical development (not to mention the process of giving those initial new experiences). We have seen the payback from Space Tech in many ways across all facets of life (From Healthcare improvements, to efficiencies, to new materials, to inspiration)and it will continue to drive improvements our efficiency in utilizing resources,in our economy, our way of life.
InfiniteFrontier on March 14th, 2009
It’s encouraging to read so many people supporting our space program, but it worries me to see the comments coming from the people who do not. It seems they think that first of all, NASA’s budget is a huge percentage of the federal budget, and second of all they think of the money being spent on the space program is just like throwing money out the window. It seems they have zero comprehension of the idea that all the money that goes into the space program actually is spent here on Earth.
For some time now I’ve been very concerned that we (as space enthusiasts) have been completely failing at communicating our message to the general public. I’ve had countless arguments with people who are “anti-space” and I feel that the arguments of inspiration and spin-offs just don’t work for them. People need to see more tangible and direct benefits to their lives. They don’t understand the value of something that has long-term benefits like the space program. In my opinion the three main issues we as space enthusiasts need to tackle are:
1) Communication of what we do in space (people barely know what Apollo is. It’s amazing how many people don’t know we even have a space station and then are amazed to learn about what we do in space. We can’t expect the media to do our work for us. We need to push space exploration religiously. Our goal should be to educate people about cool things that are done in space on a daily basis.)
2) Communication of what NASA costs us as taxpayers (there are two ways to think of NASA’s budget: $18 billion or less than 1 penny for every dollar spent on taxes or 0.7 % of the federal budget. Out of context the first number seems huge to the average person. The second way seems like a bargain! Just look at this Wired article that discusses a survey that showed that Americans believed that NASA’s budget was one-fourth of the total budget!: http://blog.wired.com/wiredsci.....rica.html)
3)Communication of how our daily lives are affected by space (this is the usual spin-offs discussion)
4) Communication of NASA’s Return-On-Investment (this is a hard figure to come up with, but if we had it it would be a great one point reply to the nay-sayers)
5) Communication of NASA’s long term benefits to our nation and the world (in my opinion the hardest of all things to communicate or prove)
Note the key to all 5 points is communication! If NASA isn’t able to promote itself that’s no excuse as to why we as private citizens can’t do it. Do we really care enough about this issue to do this on our own? Wernher VonBraun spent his entire life as a staunch space advocate, communicating his message within the government and to the general public. He realized that we lived in a democracy and that in the end it was the voice of the people that decided the course we would take. He wrote technical books, science-fiction novels, magazine articles, and even worked with Disney on a series of shows dealing with our future in space. We need to the same. Personally, I’m trying to do my part with my blog (http://infinite-frontier.blogspot.com/) and a start up model-rocket club (still in development, but the goal is to teach children the basics of rocketry through community events and online educational videos). I don’t think what I’m doing is enough, but I’m trying to take one small step at a time.
With the internet we have the opportunity to communicate our message more effectively than ever. Want to spread the gospel of space? Start a blog, make a YouTube video, participate in online communities, contribute space articles to Digg and Reddit, twitter about space, facebook about space, MySpace about… space, launch model rockets in your neighborhood (but not at your neighbors), go talk at your local elementary school, be an astronaut for halloween, celebrate Yuri’s night, invite friends over for Shuttle launch viewing parties, communicate, communicate, communicate!