The Expansion Of Space Programs By The Developed Countries (Research Paper Sample)

Space Programs
Name
Institution
Space Programs
Ongoing advancements in technology and multiple logistical advantages have encouraged the expansion of space programs by the developed countries with many others accelerating the development of space related technologies. Some of the countries that have broadened their space exploration programs include the U.S., Russia, China, Japan, Canada, and India (Burleson, 2005). The U.S., China, and Russia are the only countries on earth that have managed to put people within space independently. China and India have signaled intentions of doing the same in the near future. Many policy critics have argued against the expansion of the space programs on the grounds of the large budgetary allocations and presumed inappropriateness of the missions. In the view of many critics, the money used on the programs should be channeled to causes such as poverty eradication and the provision of essential services such as education, healthcare, counterterrorism, and other matters of immediate concern.
Growing opposition against space programs is largely based on the fact that planet earth continues to face significant challenges and risks, which should be addressed with money from the various space programs. Moreover, the critics contend that the research input that is often directed towards space programs should be channeled towards programs that aim towards the improvement of the conditions that continue to afflict the modern world (Harvey, Smid & Pirard, 2010). Some of the pressing problems that continue to attract the attention of world leaders include global warming, the HIV/AIDS pandemic, global terrorism, cancer, and underdevelopment in many parts of the world (Callmers, 2008). In the opinion of some critics, the budgetary allocation for space programs should be redirected to such problems, which threaten the survival of whole societies across the globe. Such perspectives are usually supported by opposition groups, environmental lobbyists and activists of different causes.
Some of the space programs that would have been invented are those whose import has a direct positive bearing on the survival of the planet earth. Critics consider many of the existing inventions as grossly superficial and wholly inappropriate, particularly when considered in the background of the emergent challenges of the 21st Century (Harvey, Smid & Pirard, 2010). Among the inventions that should have been developed include those that provide definite specifics about the gravity of global warming. Others should offer credible predictions about the weather, particularly on matters related to early warning systems. The common impression is that the available predictions and early warning systems are not as efficient and timely as they should be. As such, poor disaster responses are often attributed to the inability of the existing technology to provide proper information that would lead to the limiting of the damage when the inevitable unfolds. Therefore, space programs should be channeled towards providing solutions on matters related to natural calamities.
Moreover, there is the general feeling that space programs have not helped in the resolution of airline disasters. Critics believe that significant breakthroughs would have been achieved had the space engineers devoted sufficient efforts to the investigation of disaster, particularly those related to missing air planes such as Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. Moreover, the technologies used in the space shuttles could be borrowed and used in the improvement of the mechanical details of jets in order to enhance their safety and performance. Space shuttles are made with surpassing levels of sophistication, which is aimed at enhancing their safety standards (Callmers, 2008). The same level of sophistication could be applied on air jets to enhance their levels of safety. Other critics have argued for the channeling of space program resources towards the development of infrastructure in the developing world. Those who favor this line of thought are inclined to the view that infrastructural development in third world countries and other underdeveloped parts of the world requires high prioritization in order to improve lives and end the migratory patterns that add pressure to the developed world.
Despite the significant opposition to space programs, there is a widespread acknowledgment of the fact that space program technologies have led to important inventions, which would have been impossible without such initiatives. For example, mapping the world would have been impossible without the advances in technology brought into being the space program technologies. The world’s most accurate topographical map was made possible by space photography (Johnson, 2002). Moreover, the same technology used in the making of space suits for astronauts is currently used for the making of ultraviolet protection suits for people with high levels of vulnerability to UV rays, or those under intense exposure of the same. Certainly, the invention would not have been easy without the reliance on the technological advances of the space programs.
Thermal protection blankets, robotic software, and composite materials are some of the important inventions that derive from space program technologies. Thermal protection blankets are regularly applied in conditions of extreme heat, whereas robotic software help in enhancing the efficiency of processes in assembly plants and other areas that require enhanced efficiency of processes (Johnson, 2002). In this regard, the technologies derived from space programs have far-reaching positive impacts in the areas of technology and other crucial applications that foster the efficien...