Resolved: NASAs Space Exploration Program should be kept open.

Contention 1. Space exploration will allow man to eventually set up human civilization in another world. As most people know all too well, it was natural catastrophe that caused the demise of our predecessors, the dinosaurs. If man stopped exploring outer space it would be irresponsible. The same natural disaster on earth, killing the dinosaurs, could happen once and again, and over billions of years it is highly probable an event like it will happen again. It simply would be irresponsible to stop exploring space now when space exploration could potentially be the only thing saving the human race. John M. Logsdon, director of the Space Policy Institute and acting director of the Center for International Science and Technology Policy at George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs, states "eventually some number of people in the future will establish permanent settlements away from Earth, in the extreme case to ensure that the human species will survive a planetary catastrophe, but also because people migrate for both economic opportunities and new experiences. " Mankind needs to take a broader approach to this topic. Scientists know that these two events will eventually happen: a) Magnetic pole shift Scientists have concluded Earth's magnetic poles "flip" every 300-400 thousand years (the exact number varies). The the rotation of the earth's magma is directly correlated to the rotation of the earth. With a magnetic pole shift, the earth is now spinning the opposite direction, from east-west into west-east. If a magnetic pole shift happens rapidly, the Earth's crust will change directions rapidly meaning a MASSIVE displacement of the oceans, a wall of water will wipe through all western shorelines with the potential to destroy western civilization. How this happens is simple. When the magnetic poles "flip" the earth's rotation will have to change. "Earth currently rotates west to east which means that the ocean is being naturally pulled, by centrifugal forces, towards every east coastline and away from every west coastline. If Earth's crust were simply to stop rotation, the oceans would immediately inundate every western coastal area and would create new coastlines several hundred miles inland from their current positions. And yes, the tsunami from that event alone would be cataclysmic and of biblical proportions. " (2) We do not know when this next shift could begin, but, should mankind not prepare? b) Volcanoes & Nuclear Winter It is quite obvious that a magnetic pole shift would cause a huge change in the earth's crust. This would cause volcanoes to become super active, not to mention earthquakes, tsunamis, and other natural disasters. All around the world there are supervolcanoes, the largest of which resides under the federal park Yellowstone. An eruption would devastate over two thirds of the United States and the resulting "nuclear winter" could cool the earth up to 20 degrees. This is just Yellowstone alone. There are in fact six known supervolcanoes all around the world in Yellowstone, Long Valley, New Mexico, Indonesia, New Zealand, and Japan. "According to some volcanologists, Yellowstone volcano, located in the central US, may be on the verge of a large scale eruption. Some researches even suggest that it's past due for such an eruption. The changes around Yellowstone don't seem to get much media coverage for obvious reasons, but the effects are getting more extreme every year with the water tables becoming highly acidic, deforestation, and increased tremors. The caldera of Yellowstone lies under a lake, and it's rising. It also happens to rest on a bed of Uranium, so when it does erupt, the result will be very radioactive. " (2) It would be irresponsible to not prepare for such events. Contention 2. Space exploration can help improve economies a) Let's take the United States for instance, in 2009, NASA's budget was 17.78 billion dollars (1), this represents a minute portion of the United State's GDP which is in the trillions. G. Scott Hubbard, a professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Stanford University, estimates for every 1 dollar spent on the space program, the United States government makes 8 dollars. An 800% profit. You may ask ? how does that work? " Here is the simple answer: royalties on NASA patents and licenses made directly from the space program go into the US Treasury, not NASA's budget. Joan Vernikos, a member of the Space Studies Board of the National Academy and former director of NASA's Life Sciences Division, believes if NASA was allowed the returns on their own patents, NASA would be self-sustaining. NASAs budget is not large enough to even require it to be cut. "Studying humans living in the microgravity of space has expanded our understanding of osteoporosis and balance disorders, and has led to new treatments. Wealth-generating medical devices and instrumentation such as digital mammography and outpatient breast biopsy procedures and the application of telemedicine to emergency care are but a few of the social and economic benefits of manned exploration that we take for granted. " Joan Vernikos knows what she is talking about. When you look at all the good space exploration has done and weigh it against the bad, the good outweighs the bad. The world would NOT be as technologically advanced without space exploration. Keith Cowing, founder and editor of NASAWatch. com and a former NASA space biologist, states "tax dollars spent on space projects result in jobs — a large proportion of which are high paying, high tech positions. " NASA creates jobs within the United States. "If we Americans do not think so, then why is it that nations such as China and India — nations with far greater social welfare issues to address with their limited budgets — are speeding up their space exploration programs? What is it about human space exploration that they see? " Countries with far worse societal problems than the United States are speeding up their space exploration program. The question is why should the United States end this program when there are obvious benefits? Just look at NASA's patents and invention stemming directly from the Space Exploration Program, many of these inventions revolutionized technology (in the case of the microchip) and without NASA, a company such as Microsoft would never even have existed. Here are 15 of NASAs inventions used today (3) (there are over 6,300): 1)CAT scanner 2)Computer microchip (important for starting up companies such as Microsoft) 3)Cordless tools 4)Ear Thermometer 5)Freeze-dried food 6)Insulation 7)Invisible Braces 8)Joystick 9)Memory Phone 10)Satellite TV 11)Scratch Resistant Lenses 12)Shoe Insoles 13)Smoke Detector 14)Swim Suit 15)Water Filter b) NASA creates jobs. If you take a state such as Florida, you see that ""The end of the shuttle program will potentially eliminate as many as 7,000 – 8,000 jobs"… "According to a state study, in the 2008 fiscal year NASA generated $4.1 billion dollars in revenue and benefits for the state. $2.1 billion of that was in household income, and over 40,000 jobs were created due to NASA-related activities. " (4) In 2006, NASA created 25,000 jobs and added 2.8 billion dollars to the national economy (5). Ending the Space Exploration Program HURTS the economy. Directly, NASA put billions of dollars into the economy and created thousands of jobs. NASA revolutionized the computer allowing for corporations such as Microsoft to be founded. Sources 1. . http://www.nasa.gov... 2. . http://www.timeline2012.net... 3. . http://www.telegraph.co.uk... 4. . http://www.universetoday.com... 5. . http://www.nasa.gov...