The U.S. Federal Government should increase its exploration and/or development of space

As did my opponent, I will first address his defense, then re-defend my arguments. On his case: 1. World Peace I believe world peace, or whatever we call as close as we will ever get to it, shall be very important for exploration and research along the caliber of missions that take humans beyond the asteroid belt. Missions that take place on Mars, the Moon, or the reconnaissance/exploration of worlds beyond though the use of robots or satellites are reasonable endeavors that America could undertake on it's own. Now let's consider what you proposed for a moment. "Space terrorists" could utilize the acquired technology to do harm on America or other nations. According to your quote, it would seem that other parts of the world are developing space technology while America remains in the same place, despite the potential yield the program has to offer. If America was to cut back on any/all space research and development, how is it to thwart off potential attacks[space piracy included] based on such technology? 2. Debt and Money The debt crisis can be solved though a number of methods: stimulating the economy, re-evaluating other government programs, increasing taxes, or educating Americans on the matter. Making all other agencies stop what they are doing to focus on the debt isn't going to solve the debt problem. 10+ years ago the space program existed and wasn't causing the country to go into debt, and it isn't to this day. What has caused this debt though? Wars, tax cuts, stimulus packages, bailouts, certain administrations? No one seemed to have a problem where all the money was going then, yet now the space program needs to take the heat? 3. Various Dangers A. The fact space exploration is dangerous shouldn't deter us from undertaking it. I shall reiterate as I said before, great peoples throughout history took great risk to give us what we have today, and we should consider where we would be if they had not. Such as the Wright Brothers, Martin Luther King Jr, outspoken skeptics of religious dogma, Hirsi Ali, the colonists who ventured out to find America, and so on. To this day we still have the same type of people who are willing to put their lives on the line to aid in the advancement in the human endeavor, and turn a blind eye on the risks involved because they believe it to be worthwhile. B. Just because a planet resides in the "goldilocks zone" doesn't imply life exists there, just that chances are the planet could have conditions that are favorable for life to exist. What your referring to is deep space exploration for which I agree a global effort is required, however the technologies required to undertake such an achievement are so far into our future that I believe humans will have either settled their differences and worked together to solve their problems, or have perished. Now my argument isn't that life can or can't exist elsewhere in the Universe, I'm just addressing your assertions on the facts you've presented. However, I don't see how whether or not some extra solar planets have detectable life at the present would be any reason why America should cease space advancement. It would be good if we could find out more about such a world, like Gliese 581g[1], unfortunately present satellite technology can only do so much. C. Again, these problems, "come with the territory" so to speak, the advancement in this field requires our knowledge to be fine-tuned. Not everything can go as planned, however how is that a reason for degrading or ceasing our development of space? Defending my case: 1. Inspiration What I was saying was that regardless of what any of them decided to do, the program had a positive influence, and the ones that stayed with it for a good number of years had the program to thank for giving them the knowledge that such career fields even existed. Many people today working at NASA or highly technical careers thank the happenings of the Apollo program for setting them off on the right foot, for having that idea propel them in a direction that would lead to multiple opportunities for careers in not just space study/exploration, but all the fields of industry that employ scientists and engineers. 2. Knowledge What I want to first address is that when one says America knows x about something scientific, we should reflect upon what that really means. America is lagging behind in both mathematics and scientific literacy when compared to other nations.[2] If we are referring to the general American populace then we need to keep in mind how this effects people, government elects, and eventually policy. Perhaps a rekindling of public interest could be brought about from a new space related goal, or discovery? Many scientists at the start of the 1900s felt that we knew all we needed to know about the physical laws that govern the Universe, we all now know how wrong they were. 3. Technology and Advancement Moore's Law is concerned with technology only to the extent by which it effects it so. What's to occur when we can no longer improve silicon based chips/boards? Quantum computers[3] may very well take over from that point, however Moore's Law would become a memory. Space research would likely warrant advancements in quantum computing(QC), the rate other technologies evolved with it presents the likelihood that QC would develop at a quicker rate as well. Scientific discovery is the proponent of technological advancement, and I would rather America stick with that as a catalyst than War. 4. Cost and payoff I addressed some of this in my counter to my opponents case 2. I ask that all who are reading this debate to consider what has been happening to America the past 10 years. What has been happening unique to this decade? I'm referring to recent policies, bailouts, natural disasters, aiding other nations, and military presence in foreign nations. I'm not trying to blame or suggest we turn a blind eye to other issues in the world, however I ask that we consider the cause of debt, and what will alleviate it. The space program throughout the decades has given us the tools necessary to aid those foreign nations It has also given us the technologies re purposed to defend out country. Also, the technologies we use and have become dependent upon such as GPS, satellites, cell phones, and the Internet. Lastly, it's given us the knowledge that my opponent has been trying to use to suggest that somehow we don't need it any longer. I believe that it has paid us back in full, and we should allow it to continue to do so. [1] = http://en.wikipedia.org... [2] = http://www.all4ed.org... [3] = http://en.wikipedia.org...