Since ancient times, humans have dreamed of reaching for the stars.

During the past few decades, men have taken the first
steps into a new frontier of possibility: outer space. Yet, people have wondered whether exploring outer space truly has more
benefits than costs. I believe that it does. Space exploration has impacted the world at large through innovations in
engineering, technology, and science and by promoting unity and interconnectedness throughout humanity. Despite the risks,
I believe that space exploration will lead us into a peaceful future of exploration sustained by resources from outer space.
Space exploration holds great meaning for our society and for the future of humanity.
Already, the effort put into space exploration has produced innovations in engineering and technology. The space race led to
one of the greatest outbreaks of technological advancement in history. At the beginning of the 1950s, rocket scientists had
only begun to venture past the stratosphere. In 1957, a rocket launched the first artificial satellite, Sputnik, into outer space.
By 1969, a spacecraft had landed on the moon and returned safely to Earth. By setting our sights on the moon, we made
achievements that any other generation would have thought impossible; we took the greatest strides in science and
engineering ever known to humanity.
Reaching for the stars landed a man on the moon, but it also had a profound impact on our lives at home. Approximately
60,000 products made by NASA, including memory foam, LEDs, and solar panels, are used by the general public. Today,
satellites are relied on for weather, navigation, television, communication, and much more. Without satellites and LEDs, cell
phones, social media, television, and the world-wide communication we enjoy today would not be possible. Without the
efforts put into space exploration, much of the technology that shapes our daily lives would not exist.
Exploring outer space has greatly expanded the realms of our scientific knowledge. During the Apollo missions, geologists
discovered that the moon has a molten core, a fact that had before been subject to speculation and debate. Moon rocks that
astronauts collected consisted of similar minerals to those on Earth and showed signs of impact, supporting the impactcollision theory of the moons formation. Through the Hubble Telescope, the Kepler spacecraft, and the International Space
Station, we have discovered new solar systems and galaxies far away from Earth. By observing other planets, astrophysicists
have refined their theories on the mysteries of the universe and have discovered new anomalies, including dark matter and
dark energy. In a short time, humans have learned far more about their universe than they ever dreamed possible. Yet, there is
still so much more to learn.
Space exploration is more than the next step in the field of science; it is the next era of human development. About five
hundred years ago, Europeans crossed the Atlantic Ocean and first explored the Americas. They discovered another part of
their world; by venturing into outer space, I believe that humanity will discover another part of our universe. Christopher
Columbus realized that his people were not alone on Earth, just as I hope we will realize we are not alone in this galaxy. The
universe is so much larger than this solar system and this one planet, and it seems only logical that we are just one among
many advanced civilizations. I hope that through space exploration we can enter another era in human history, the beginning
of a future that will take humanity into outer space. As a New York Times journalist put it, [Space exploration] is more than
a step in history; it is a step in evolution.
Since humans began exploring outer space, humanity has become more connected as a people sharing a great planet, rather
than a race divided by borders and ethnicity. Seeing Earth from outer space unites humans in a way that nothing else does. It
reminds them of the planet that we all share and the things that we have in common, not what separates us. From outer
space, Russians saw the United States for the first time, and Americans saw Russia for the first time. And suddenly, none of
them could remember why the two countries had such conflict when they were really not that different. We were flying over
America and suddenly I saw snow, the first snow we ever saw from orbit. I have never visited America, but I imagined that
the arrival of autumn and winter is the same there as in other places, and the process of getting ready for them is the same.
And then it struck me that we are all children of our Earth, cosmonaut Aleksandr Aleksandrov reflected. When Apollo
astronauts brought home images of Earth from the orbit of the moon, humans were amazed by the fragility and beauty of
Earth. James Lovell, an Apollo 8 and 13 astronaut, recalled the awe he felt when he gazed upon his home planet from
thousands of miles away: Everything that I ever knew my life, my loved ones, the Navy everything, the whole world
was behind my thumb. Similarly, Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong remarked, It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea,
pretty and blue, was the Earth. I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth. I didnt feel
like a giant. I felt very, very small. From outer space, Earth seems so insignificant compared to the vastness of the galaxy
beyond. Suddenly, we remember that we are one people sharing one planet, and that our planet is only one of billions. When
we realize the magnificence and the magnitude of the unexplored, our problems on Earth seem so insignificant and petty. I
believe that as we delve further into outer space, we will become only more united and we will strive to evolve into a better
people. As Willy Ley put it, a giant leap into space can be a giant leap toward peace down below.
Opponents of space exploration think the resources we put into exploring the universe could be better spent fixing the

problems we have here. But what they dont realize is that space holds the answer to many of these problems. While we are
running out of resources on Earth, space holds an infinite amount of resources. Energy from the Sun or fuels from other
planets could become our new sources of energy, ones that dont require vast amounts of fossil fuel or produce nuclear
radiation. As our population expands, Earth is suddenly becoming too small for us. Confined to this world, we will
constantly run into dead ends trying to fix our problems. In space, we will evolve past worrying about the problems of
today.
Opponents of space exploration also say that the risk of sending humans into outer space is too great. They suggest we
satisfy our curiosity using unmanned probes and satellites. But without the human touch, space will not be within our finger
tips. Probes and satellites cannot do the work of humans. Centuries ago, European sailors risked their lives to explore the
unknown. Today we must do the same in outer space. Traveling to outer space is risky because it is rare and vastly
unexplored, but one day it will become no more risky than crossing the Atlantic is today. We take risks every day. If we are
not willing to take risks, we will never be able to reach the full potential of our capability. In 1962, President John F.
Kennedy firmly committed the nation to the goals of space exploration during a speech at Rice University. He declared, But
why, some say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask; why climb the highest mountain? Why,
thirty-five years ago, fly the Atlantic?We choose to go to the moon and do the other things not because they are easy, but
because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that
challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win. The
measure of our capacity is the measure of our will to challenge ourselves to climb the next highest mountain and to be better
than we are today. Using the same spirit in which John F. Kennedy set the nation on the path to the moon, we must venture
into deep space, setting our sights for Mars and beyond.
When I look at the stars, I dream of the future space exploration will bring us. I believe that space exploration will usher in a
new era of peaceful cooperation and unity unlike any we have seen before. By expanding our minds and our horizons, we
can achieve anything we dream of. Humanity has done more than reach for the stars; we have flown among them. The future
that space exploration will bring us holds great possibility for humanity.