Opinion: Should governments spend so much on space?

C hris Young’s Beyond Earth column explores the intersection of space technology and policy, providing thought-provoking commentary on the latest advancements and regulatory developments in the sector.

Space operations in recent years have yielded incredible discoveries.

Take, for example, the James Webb Space Telescope, which has shown that galaxies in the ancient universe are much more evolved than previously thought possible. The Event Horizon Telescope, meanwhile, has provided us with the first-ever images of black holes.

Soon, we may see humans exploring Mars for the first time and establishing permanent bases on the Moon. Yet, some people must be convinced governments should be spending the massive funds required to make these missions possible.

How can we justify spending billions to go to Mars and beyond when there are many problems to address here on Earth?

The most expensive space missions in history

The US government is the world’s leading space power and has spent billions of dollars over decades to maintain that position. Its most expensive program to date has been the Space Shuttle Program, which racked up a bill of $199 billion.

By comparison, the Apollo program cost the US $25 billion, though the inflation-adjusted cost for 2020 would come to around $257 billion. More recent missions like the James Webb Space Telescope cost roughly $10 billion.

NASA’s Artemis program, which will send astronauts to the Moon for the first time since 1972, has been criticized for cost overruns, even by former NASA members.

In a 2022 interview with IE , former NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver said the Artemis program’s SLS rocket was “not progress,” adding that she could never imagine how “late and how over budget it would be.” Artemis could cost as much as $93 billion, with each launch totaling over $4 billion.

The Mars Sample Return project is also under intense scrutiny and may not proceed due to projected costs of around $11 billion.

Why explore space in the first place?

Human beings are explorers by nature. For centuries, our species has explored our planet and made discoveries that have advanced civilizations, leading to new life-altering opportunities and technologies.

The famous science popularizer Carl Sagan once said, “Human beings are a curious, inquisitive, exploratory species. I think that has been the secret of our success as a species.” Now, he continued, “We have committed ourselves to space, and I do not think that we are about to turn back.”

While there is a strong philosophical case for exploring beyond our planet, there is also a strong economic impetus for reaching for delving into deep space. Closer to home, space technologies, such as satellites, have a massive impact on the global economy. For example, the GPS we use in our smartphones relies on satellites.

Look further afield, and great riches literally await in outer space. Private companies like Atroforge are testing space mining technologies that could bring valuable resources back to our planet. One estimate suggests the asteroid 16 Psyche contains $18 quintillion in heavy metals.

The problem with legislating scientific discovery

The story of scientific progress throughout history can guide how today’s legislators should handle space science and exploration.

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson has argued, “We should never legislate what frontier gets breached next.” On his StarTalk podcast , Tyson said we simply can’t know what’s on the other side of any specific frontier. We won’t know what scientific discovery we could deprive ourselves of if we impede progress.

A former NASA associate director of science, Dr. Ernst Stuhlinger, gave a great example in 1970. During his tenure at NASA, a Zambia-based nun sent him a letter asking how the agency could justify the billions it was spending on space programs. That money could do so much good for poverty-stricken regions on Earth.

Stuhlinger replied. In his return letter, he admired her “compassionate heart”. He then told a story.

Four hundred years ago, while German citizens were suffering from the plague, the country’s government invested in the gradual development of glass lenses. This investment was protested for its wastefulness. Many argued that the money used to develop that technology should have been used instead to help the suffering masses.

Ultimately, glass lenses were used to create the microscope, a giant leap for medicine that helped to eradicate the plague. Scientific discovery and exploration present real risks, but the greatest rewards are often impossible to predict.

Are space missions really that expensive?

Reaching Mars would undeniably require substantial government backing. One estimate suggests reaching the Red Planet could cost as much as $450 billion.

Many, understandably, ask how we can justify such a massive amount when millions are homeless, and children around the globe are starving.

As Carl Sagan once pointed out , this is an excluded middle argument. This means that the person making the argument completely disregards a middle ground in which both outcomes are possible.

According to Sagan, there is more than enough wealth on Earth to take us to Mars and tackle poverty and hunger.

It is all relative, but space research and exploration aren’t as expensive as many think. As The Planetary Society points out , many think NASA takes up a quarter of the US federal budget. The space agency’s entire budget is about 0.5 percent of the total federal budget.

Other countries have made great progress with even smaller budgets. For example, India’s recent Chandrayaan-3 mission famously landed near the lunar south pole for only $75 million. Private companies, like SpaceX, have dramatically lowered the cost of space exploration.

Some people have referred to Earth as a spaceship that carries humanity around the Sun and through the interstellar medium. We are space explorers, whether we decide to be or not. Whether we want to expand our understanding of our home is our choice.

If we did one day abandon space exploration, we would never know what cosmic discoveries would be lost forever.