From sailing uncharted oceans to making voyages through the vastness of space, the human race continues to venture

the boundless galaxy since mankind first entered space five decades ago. Yet man now claim that little tangible results have arisen from space programs conducted over the years and thus begin to question if space research remains justifiable in present days; Whether such researches involving the studies of all aspects of environmental conditions beyond the atmosphere of Earth are valid at times like these when civil wars are on-going and when poverty remains a problem for many. At first thought, many would jump to the conclusion that space research cannot be justified with before such crucial social problems have been addressed. However, I believe that space research can in fact be justified with the benefits it had brought about. The ability to study space is a field of research that can be led by only leading countries and it remains the desire of many nations to claim this prestige and national pride. In attempt to reach for the stars, the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) were involved in a space race to assert dominance and superiority in the world stage. However, many Americans felt that this aspiration could not be justified given the high cost to facilitate every space program initiated, when the money could be used to fund researches in other areas to solve real problems such as to come up with preventions against diseases or simply to feed the poor. Ironically, more often than not, critics of space research are well-to-do countrymen who have failed to reflect on their own consumerist lifestyles before pointing their fingers at the government for wasting their tax money on space instead of helping the poor themselves. What these limousine liberals have failed to appreciate from space research is that it is a profitable field of research as well. In fact, space research brings about great economic returns, new technology and even creates more jobs for the people. For every USD$1 spent in research, the US economy receives USD$8 in return on monetary benefits. In fact, space exploration, in an international context, offers a peaceful cooperative venue that is a valuable alternative to nation state hostilities. Former Soviet Union and the US are now active partners at the international space station, and their international cooperation has helped reduce the cost of space exploration. Thus, space exploration is actually far more justifiable financially than the claim of it being a waste of tax-payers money. Not only is space research worth the money, it reaps great benefits and observations at the same time. Money spent is well-spent on manufacturing, Research and Development and on salaries, dispersed throughout the economy. Jobs are thus created, improving the standard of living for many. Taking the developments brought about by space research for granted, many argue that benefits are debatable as there had been little scientific breakthroughs to mankind. It is not true that mankind had not witnessed tangible results over the years as the Global Positioning System (GPS) and satellites are just a few of the many results from space research that are so important to our everyday lives for communication which many of us cannot survive without in this tech-savvy, globalised world. Space research is also important with discoveries such as global warming being made (not on Earth, but in Mars, in fact). As such, I feel that even with periods of stagnation in discoveries and development made with space programmes, it remains a justifiable field of research as it takes time to produce results and with perseverance and faith, mankind may even develop ways to resettle on another planet for civilization.