According to Carl Sagan, space is a human enterprise because it has made an impact on the world. Space does make a huge impact on the world today because events that happen in the universe can impact us down here on Earth. Going into space also can influence us because we can find out more about the planets, stars, and galaxies and ourselves and how the Earth works. The space program has made so much progress that we have more than ever about space itself. It is possible that the universe can affect us on Earth. Science fiction films have made it so that information about planets, anything in our solar system, or even people going into space has become false to the true events that have happened.
One part of our Solar System that influences the earth is the Sun. Carl Sagan states, “Our star, the Sun, is small and cool and unprepossessing, one of some 200 billion suns that make up the Milky Way Galaxy” (Sagan). The Sun does so much for us on Earth. It makes it so that we have our seasons, climate, and weather. The Sun also helps many organisms live, like our plants. The Sun is not only a light to the Earth, but it is also the closet star to the Earth. Although the Sun seems cool, sometimes it could get violent in the space atmosphere as well. Every eleven years, the Sun’s polarity changes and could cause the Sun to take action to make Solar Flares, and many other violent actions. The Sun is also the center of the Milky Way Galaxy.
Considering our Sun is in the Milky Way Galaxy, learning about it has also made an impact as well. The Milky Way galaxy is a spiral created by stars, dust, and gases and another important structure in our solar system. The reason why the Milky Way was called what it is is that the ancients believed that it looked like a river of milk. The Milky Way does not stay in one place; it actually rotates just as our Earth does. The most prevalent starts in this galaxy are red dwarf stars. The Milky Way is also ninety-percent dark matter. There are two major arms and one minor arm in this galaxy. The major arms are the Sagittarius and Perseus, whereas the minor arm is the Orion arm. In the center-section, a black hole forms. The black hole begins to be small and gradually get bigger, which could consume billions of stars. NASA created the GUSTO mission, which made it so that they could put a telescope in certain sections of the Milky Way so that you can see it. This mission will fully take effect in the year 2021.
127 our experts are availableright now
Another important part of our solar system is planet Mars. NASA has done a lot of research and exploration of Mars quite recently. Mars is the fourth planet in our solar system. Because Mars is far away from the sun, Mars is very cold and has a thin atmosphere. Mars is also the only planet we have rovers on so we can see what is going on. NASA as well as many others believe that there was and are potential life on Mars. Mars has similar attributes as we do on Earth like seasons, volcanoes, and more. Like Earth, Mars also has many colors than just red, like brown and tan.
Mars is mainly red because of how much oxygen hits it. Mars actually has two moons named Phobos and Deimos. Both of these moons have completely different features and forms. Phobos has deep cratered-like features whereas Deimos has a bit of a smoother outlook. Many people have discussed humans living on Mars and making this planet home like Earth is home. Considering the climate is slightly colder on Mars, scientists believe that we could find ways to change the temperature and make it so that it is adaptable. Besides the fact that living on another planet would be very awesome, it may not be the best for our health. Because of how much carbon dioxide there is on the planet, humans may not last very long on Mars.
It would be very difficult for us to adapt, considering we need oxygen to survive anywhere. Another reason as to why it may not be the best idea to live on Mars is because of its thin atmosphere. We are still learning so much about Mars, so maybe we will find a way so we can safely and be healthy living on our little red planet. Hoping that we will find a way so that we can live on Mars as long as we have on Earth. Considering other planets have living organisms, why not have humans from Earth living on a planet in space?
Although space exploration is very impactful, it is also quite pricey. Three of the beginning space programs cost roughly twenty-five billion dollars. Not only are the trips to space and space programs expensive, the space shuttles and equipment can be fifty-billion dollars or more. Many have debated whether it is truly worth the cost to keep space exploration going. Another reason that people debate on when it comes to space exploration is that it could be dangerous. Because of how much space debris there is, it could actually ruin the space suits and spacecraft by just one little piece from the universe.
Considering going to space could be that dangerous, that also makes it so it is an expensive quest. I believe that space exploration should expand and keep going. One of our presidents, John F. Kennedy believed that we should have a space program and to explore the wonders of space. Therefore, he made the Mercury program so that someone could be sent to the moon. Even though we have gained so much knowledge about our solar system and more, we still have so much more to explore. We have learned a lot about our star, the sun. Like how it influences our planet and that when it acts up it could actually make solar flares and so on.
Or the fact that our Milky Way galaxy is composed of approximately 200 billion stars. Or how even Mars could be a potential planet that we could live on or that it has volcanoes and other geographic attributes that Earth has. The studies that NASA and other space scientist have only made it so that humans want to know more about our solar system and how other planets work and there are so many benefits towards knowing about space. Also with that, we are also trying to find more life on the other planets and sending more probes to get more information up into space. Space exploration should still be existing for future years, because so much could change with not only our solar system but also what it could do to us here on Earth.
