Why NASA is Important

NASA is the next target in the Trump Administration’s budget cuts. Trump reduced the budget by 25%. As a result, hundreds of current and former NASA employees are expressing their concerns. Cuts are going around wildly, from permanently turning off space missions that cost the American people billions of dollars to simply chopping off staff without any consideration. Here is why NASA is important and should not be cut.

First, NASA accounts for a small portion of our budget. It used to account for less than half a percent of the budget, or roughly $25 billion. Taking out ¼, and you’re left with only 19 billion, or ⅜ of the budget. For comparison, the health budget is 27%, and the military (13%), which is set to receive a $157 billion budget boost, or 8 times NASA’s budget! Part of this budget boost is going to the Space Force, which attempts to put weapons in space. And we are not at war, so do we need to put weapons in space or add billions to this part of the budget? We already spend the most money on the military, roughly $1 trillion, compared to China’s $330 billion. Our military is already ahead, and will stay ahead without adding any more money.

The NASA budget not only keeps the space industry running (including satellites), which creates jobs and returns the budget threefold, but also promotes innovation. NASA was just about the only consumer of integrated circuits during its early years. NASA also helped to invent memory foam, scratch-resistant lenses, freeze-dry technology, emergency blankets, miniature sensors, insulin pumps, cochlear implants, and many other inventions. Can we afford to lose some of this agency, which is helping American science stay ahead?

Next, these budget cuts are being managed without much consideration. As stated earlier, people are being suddenly fired without any rhyme or reason. NASA wants to terminate the missions of several spacecraft, including the Chandra X-Ray Telescope (cost U.S. $1.65 billion) and the Juno Mission at Jupiter ($1.1 billion). In total, these two missions that they want to remove cost $11.50 out of every American taxpayer’s pockets!

The next plan is to cut several missions that haven’t started yet, such as the Artemis program (to bring people back to the moon), which would be letting down America’s allies who contributed to the program. By canceling these programs, businesses are losing contracts, and American workers may be laid off. Are these plans, which harm American companies, necessary and worthwhile?

Finally, NASA is exploring space, and doing so for the good of the American people. No business from the private sector will pick this up without significant government grants, and it will probably cost more. NASA increases our understanding of science, and people living on the moon will give us the ability to establish bases beyond. This is important for our growth and power. What resources will be on the moon for us to use? And what will happen if China beats us to settling on the moon? NASA’s budget is down to $19 billion, not that far from China’s $14 billion.

Humanity has always looked up to the stars and wondered what’s out there. Can we live there? Let’s not throw that dream into the trash. Don’t touch NASA.