Category Archives: Space Exploration

Chinese President Xi Jinping has sent a letter of congratulations to the Global Space Exploration Conference, which opened Tuesday in Beijing.

In his letter, Xi said China is willing to enhance cooperation with the international community in peaceful space exploration and development.

Hailing the achievements made in space exploration in the 20th century, Xi said progress in space science and technology will benefit people around the world in the future.

China has attached great importance to space exploration as well as innovation in space science and technology, the president said, noting that the country wants to use these achievements to create a better future for mankind.

He also expressed hope that the ongoing conference will promote space science development and international exchanges and cooperation.

Source: Xinhua News Agency

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China willing to cooperate in peaceful space exploration: Xi - Space Daily

Space: the final frontier. Outer space has been in the news a lot recently. The recent discovery of seven Earth-sized planets orbiting TRAPPIST-1in February excited many people at the possibility to explore further into space. Whats more, different companies have been conducting successful experiments tolaunch commercial flights tospace. Richard Bransons Virgin Galactic and Elon Musks SpaceX have both been conducting successful tests of their burgeoning passenger spaceships.

The allure of space goes beyond the human need to explore new places and see new sights. The financial gain could be huge as well. There are asteroids full of valuable elements, such as platinum. According to a 98-page client memo, Goldman Sachs said that a craft could be built for $2.6 billion and could extract anywhere from $25 to $50 billion worth of platinum from an asteroid.

Of course this raises many issues, one of which is the risk of inundating the market with platinum and tanking its value.

via GIPHY

Another potential issueis the Outer Space Treaty,drafted in 1967 by the U.S. and the USSR. The countries main fear was nuclear weapons being put in space, but the treaty laid the groundwork for space exploration. Essentially what the treaty established was that the act of space exploration should be used to benefit humankind. In fact, one line of the treaty explicitly says:

Believing that the exploration and use of outer space should be carried on for the benefit of all peoples irrespective of the degree of their economic or scientific development

When the treaty was signed, national governments, and not private companies,had the capital available to venture into space exploration. In 2017, the economic landscape is a bit different. If Goldman Sachs wants to send itsown personal spaceship to an asteroid to mine it for platinum, will theprofits be used for the benefit of all peoples as the treaty would require?

Article VI of the treaty, the only article that addresses non-governmental entities, says that the nation the private entity is located in would have to police its actions. It states:

States Parties to the Treaty shall bear international responsibility for national activities in outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, whether such activities are carried on by governmental agencies or by non-governmental entities, and for assuring that national activities are carried out in conformity with the provisions set forth in the present Treaty. The activities of non-governmental entities in outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, shall require authorization and continuing supervision by the appropriate State Party to the Treaty

The U.S. would have to ensure that Goldman Sachs use the profits of itsmining to benefit all peoples.

Space, as of right now, is technically res communis, or common territory, like a park or the high sea. Unfortunately, what you can and cannot do there is not as clearly defined as it is in these territories. The treaty prohibits national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, so does that mean that no one can build a hotel on Mars? And what about that gold mine (well, platinum mine) in the asteroid? Does Goldman Sachs even have the right to mine it, even if itcan get there?

For now, space is a legal gray area. We have a long way to go before we become like The Jetsons or Zenon. But its still fun to think that one day we could get there.

via GIPHY

Anne Grae Martin is a member of the class of 2017 University of Delaware. She is majoring in English Professional Writing and minoring in French and Spanish. When shes not writing for Law Street, Anne Grae loves doing yoga, cooking, and correcting her friends grammar mistakes. Contact Anne Grae at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Space Exploration: Can Private Companies Operate in Space? - Law Street Media (blog)

A new trailer for the upcoming indie game Outreach, where you explore an abandoned Russian space station during the cold war, received its first gameplay trailer on Tuesday, giving us a look at what to expect from the graphics and some of the things youll be doing in the game.

Playing as a Russian astronaut named Alexy, youll explore a secret space station built by the Russians in the 1980s to try to discover what happened to the crew. Youll be working on computers trying to get them back online, and talking with ground control back home.

Check out the Initial Gameplay Trailer below:

Outreach was announced back in 2015, and has slowly made its way onto the scene using some high quality, live action trailers meant to portray the tone that they are going for. You can check them all out at developer Pixel Spills YouTube channel. Outreach is to be released sometime later this year on Steam.

Read more from the original source:

Space Exploration Game 'Outreach' Receives First Gameplay Trailer ... - Hardcore Gamer

"Anything is possible if we have the courage to lead," Vice President Mike Pence said. | AP Photo

By Negassi Tesfamichael

06/07/2017 03:54 PM EDT

The Trump administration will ensure that America leads in space exploration, and the "world will marvel," Vice President Mike Pence told a group of new astronaut candidates Wednesday.

The vice president addressed a group of 12 candidates selected as NASA's astronaut class of 2017 at Johnson Space Center in Houston Wednesday, which happened to be his birthday. Pence was accompanied by several Republican lawmakers including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).

Story Continued Below

"Under our administration, NASA will have the resources and support you need to continue to make history to advance American leadership to the boundless frontier of space," Pence said. "Under Donald Trump, America will lead in space once again and the world will marvel."

The White House has its work cut out for it. No nominee has been named for three key posts at NASA, including administrator. Acting administrator Robert Lightfoot attended the ceremony.

Pence also noted the administration will soon re-launch the National Space Council, a group of advisers to the president regarding space policy, which the vice president will chair.

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The council was created in 1989 under President George H.W. Bush but was disbanded in 1993 after infighting within the group. Its functions had since been absorbed by the National Science and Technology Council, but President Barack Obama had also pledged to reboot the group.

Pence first mentioned that Trump would re-start the National Space Council during a signing ceremony at the White House on March 21, but it has not yet formed.

The president's 2018 fiscal budget requested $19.1 million for NASA, a 0.1 percent decrease from the current level. Lightfoot noted when the budget proposal was released that several missions would be discontinued under it along with NASA's Office of Education, but he called it "a very positive budget."

Pence touted the role of the private sector in space exploration, saying that the country "must have the courage to find answers where we haven't found them."

"Anything is possible if we have the courage to lead," Pence said.

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Pence: America will lead in space and 'world will marvel' - Politico

By Irene Klotz | CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. Elon Musk's Space Exploration Technologies Corp will fly its first mission for the U.S. Air Force in August when it launches the military's X-37B miniature spaceplane, Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson said on Tuesday.

Four previous X-37B missions were launched by United LaunchAlliance Atlas 5 rockets. ULA is a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) and Boeing Co (BA.N).

"SpaceX will be sending the next Air Force payload up into space in August," Wilson said during webcast testimony before the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee. She later specified that the payload would be one of the Air Force's two X-37Bspaceplanes.

Launch contracts are usually announced about two years before a flight but the Air Force did not disclose the X-37B contract until Tuesday, a mere two months before the flight. The Air Force declined to say when the contract was awarded or provide other details.

SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell declined to comment.

SpaceX's first publicly disclosed launch contract for the Air Force was awarded last year for a next-generation Global Positioning System satellite flight in 2018. A second GPS launch contract was awarded in March. The contracts are valued at $83million and $96.5 million, respectively.

In May 2016, the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office disclosed it had hired SpaceX to launch a spy satellite aboard a Falcon 9. The mission, which was arranged through an intermediary, Ball Aerospace, took place last month.

SpaceX is owned and operated by technology entrepreneur Musk, who is also chief executive of electric car maker Tesla Inc (TSLA.O).

(Editing by Steve Orlofsky and Matthew Lewis)

CHIRPAN, Bulgaria A team of excavators in Bulgaria has resumed a search for fossils of an ape-like creature which may be the oldest-known direct ancestor of man and whose discovery has challenged the central hypothesis that humankind originated in Africa.

LONDON Drinking even moderate amounts of alcohol is linked to changes in brain structure and an increased risk of worsening brain function, scientists said on Tuesday.

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SpaceX wins launch of US Air Force X-37B space plane - Reuters

Edvard Pettersson and Jason Booth

June 7, 2017, 1:41 PM EDT June 7, 2017, 2:37 PM EDT

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. persuaded a jury to reject a former technicians claim he was fired for telling supervisors he thought test protocols werent followed and results were falsified.

Jurors in Los Angeles state court on Wednesday agreed with the rocket builder that Jason Blasdell was terminated in 2014 because of his poor job performance and not in retaliation for his taking his concern about improper testing procedures as high as Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk. He was seeking as much as $6 million in damages.

Blasdell sued Hawthorne, California-based SpaceX two years after he was fired. He had worked at the private company for more than three years, testing avionic components of Falcon 9 launch vehicles and the Dragon spacecraft, according to his complaint.

He claimed technicians were pressured by their managers not to follow written procedures for testing rocket parts and to report the parts had passed the tests even if the protocols hadnt been followed. Blasdell said he pointed out the deviations from testing protocols to his supervisors, the companys chief operating officer, and eventually to Musk.

SpaceX countered that Blasdell barraged his supervisors with rude, disrespectful and unprofessional emails about what he thought were inefficient testing and documentation procedures.

He never once complained that any laws were broken at the testing laboratory, which is a prerequisite for his claim that he was wrongfully terminated, according to SpaceX. He was fired because he had become disruptive and his co-workers were concerned about their safety, the company said.

We are pleased that we were cleared of the allegations that were clearly false,SpaceXs lawyer, Lynne Hermle, said after the verdict.

A lawyer for Blasdell,Anthony Nguyen, declined to comment on the verdict, as did jurors.

During the trial, Blasdell testified that he witnessed one of his managers demonstrate a test on a type of coaxial cable differently than it was described in the test procedure.

I suggested that he was not performing it as the written instructions told him to, but I also told him that in honesty the way he set it up I felt was the best version of the test that I had seen anyone perform, but it still didnt match the written instruction," Blasdell said under cross-examination by Hermle.

Hermle said in her closing statement that Blasdells main complaint was that the tests werent clear to him. Whereas other experienced technicians completed six to seven tests a day, Blasdell only managed one, she said.

"He couldnt accept that other technicians could complete tests as written," Hermle told the jurors. "If he couldnt do it, they wouldnt be able either and the results would have to be falsified."

Hermle said it wasnt until after Blasdell was fired that he claimed tests were falsified, which is a federal crime if rocket parts are involved.

SpaceX said in court filings that its test procedures arent static and that they are constantly revised and refined based on feedback from technicians and engineers. Technicians perform shock, thermal and vibration tests on component according to written procedures and they are expected to provide feedback, including proposed changes, to the responsible engineers, the company said.

An attorney for Blasdell, Carney Shegerian, said in his closing statement that his client isnt the lunatic that he was portrayed as by SpaceX. Blasdell won the companys Kick Ass" award for showing initiative the year before he got fired, Shegerian said.

The case in Blasdell v. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., BC615112, Los Angeles County Superior Court.

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SpaceX Defeats Technician's Wrongful Firing Case at Trial - Bloomberg

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched its 90th spacecraft mission on June 5, 2017, called GSLV MkIII-D1/GSAT 19. This is one of most important missions launched by ISRO ever, because it successfully lifted a payload mass of 3,136kg, the largest weight ever put by ISRO in outer space.

For the last few years, the Indian space programme is getting recognised as one of the most successful space programmes globally in recent times. However, Indian space capabilities for all these years were suffering from lack of a heavy satellite launch vehicle.

Now, with the success of GSLV Mark III, in the coming few years ISRO should be able to fully operationalise this new launch vehicle for heavy satellites.

Normally, communication and meteorological satellites belong to the category of heavy satellites. Such satellites are 4 to 6 tonne in weight and operate from geostationary orbit (36,000km above the earths surface).

Since, 1983 India has been launching communications satellites mainly under the programme famously known as Indian National Satellite (INSAT) system. Some of these satellites were multipurpose satellites too (they had meteorological payloads).

Today, India has nine operational communication satellites. Together, these satellites have more than 200 transponders in the C, Extended C and Ku-bands. These transponders are primarily used for television broadcasting and for providing various telecommunications services.

GSAT 19 is also a commutations satellite weighting 3,136kg, and is configured around ISROs standard I-3K bus. This satellite carries Ka/Ku-band high throughput communication transponders. In addition, it carries a geostationary radiation spectrometer (GRASP) payload for monitoring and studying the nature of charged particles and the influence of space radiation on satellites and their electronic components.

The success of GSLV III mission is significant for ISRO on various counts. First, it reduces/removes their dependence on outside agencies like the French company Ariane Space for launching of heavy satellites (four to six-tonne category) on commercial basis.

This would allow significant monitory savings and ISRO could use the same money for their various other programmes. Second, India took the help of Ariane Space during September 2013 for the launch of its first strategic satellite called GSAT-7 (being used by the Indian Navy), a multi-band military communications satellite, because GSLV Mark III was not ready by that time. Hence, ISRO was forced to look towards a foreign agency for launching a strategic payload.

India undertook missions to the moon and Mars more as technology demonstrator missions.

Now, in the near future, ISRO would be able to launch the proposed satellites for the Indian Army and air force by using an indigenously developed launch vehicle. In short, the presence of a heavy satellite launch vehicle would also boost Indias strategic space programme.

Third, India undertook missions to the moon and Mars more as technology demonstrator missions. These missions had limited scientific aims owing to ISRO limitations to carry more weight and the missions were undertaken by PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle).

Naturally, owing to the capability of this rocket, only a limited number of payloads was carried onboard the moon and Mars missions to study these planets. But now, with a stronger rocket (GSLV), ISRO can develop major scientific goals for future missions to these planets.

Fourth, ISRO has already established itself as a reliable and cost-effective agency capable of launching satellites in the low earth orbit, weighing less than two tonne.

Now, in the coming years, with the maturing of the GSLV system, ISRO could be able to make inroads in the global commercial heavy satellite launch market.

Today, a good number of countries in the world can develop satellites and sensors. Many such efforts are collaborative efforts and are among two or more countries. However, mastering the art of rocket science remains a difficult proposal even today.

Hardly 11 countries in the world have developed such capabilities and they are able to launch satellites by using their indigenously built rocket systems. Among these countries only Russia, US (also private agency called Space X), China, Japan and the European Union can launch heavy satellites in the geostationary orbit.

Now, with the successful launch of GSAT 19 by using GSLV Mark III-D1, India has joined this club. In compression, with the earlier rockets developed by India (SLV, ASLV and PSLV), the GSLV is bigger in size and purpose (for launching heavy satellites) and hence fondly gets referred to as Fat Boy.

However, knowing the importance of GSLV for the future of Indias space programme and the type of role it is expected to play in the near future, this Fat Boy needs to be rechristened as a Suitable Boy!

Also read:ISRO launching its biggest rocket ever, GSLV-Mk III, is a bold move by India

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Launch of Indias biggest rocket is a defining moment in space exploration - DailyO

The rocket that blasted into space from New Zealand on May 25 was special. Not only was it the first to launch from a private site, it was also the first to be powered by an engine made almost entirely using 3D printing.

This might not make it the first 3D-printed rocket in space that some headlines described it as, but it does highlight how seriously this manufacturing technique is being taken by the space industry.

Members of the team behind the Electron rocket at US company RocketLab say the engine was printed in 24 hours and provides efficiency and performance benefits over other systems.

Theres not yet much information out there regarding the exact details of the 3D-printed components. But its likely many of them have been designed to minimise weight while maintaining their structural performance, while other components may have been optimised to provide efficient fluid flow.

These advantages reducing weight and the potential for complex new designs are a large part of why 3D printing is expected to find some of its most significant applications in space exploration, with dramatic effect.

One thing the set of technologies known as additive manufacturing or 3D printing does really well is to produce highly complicated shapes. For example, lattice structures produced in exactly the right way so that they weigh less but are just as strong as similar solid components.

This creates the opportunity to produce optimised, lightweight parts that were previously impossible to manufacture economically or efficiently with more traditional techniques.

Boeings microlattice is an example of taking this to the extreme, supposedly producing mechanically sound structures that are 99.9% air. Not all 3D printing processes can achieve this, but even weight savings of a few percent in aircraft and spacecraft can lead to major benefits through the use of less fuel.

3D printing tends to work best for the production of relatively small, intricate parts rather than large, simple structures, where the higher material and processing costs would outweigh any advantage.

For example, a redesigned nozzle can enhance fuel mixing within an engine, leading to better efficiency. Increasing the surface area of a heat shield by using a patterned rather than a flat surface can mean heat is transferred away more efficiently, reducing the chances of overheating.

The techniques can also reduce the amount of material wasted in manufacturing, important because space components tend to be made from highly expensive and often rare materials. 3D printing can also produce whole systems in one go rather than from lots of assembled parts.

For example, NASA used it to reduce the components in one of its rocket injectors from 115 to just two. Plus, 3D printers can easily make small numbers of a part as the space industry often needs without first creating expensive manufacturing tools.

3D printers are also likely to find a use in space itself, where its difficult to keep large numbers of spare parts and hard to send out for replacements when youre thousands of kilometres from Earth. Theres now a 3D printer on the International Space Station so, if something breaks, engineers can send up a design for a replacement and the astronauts can print it out.

The current printer only deals with plastic so its more likely to be used for making tools or one-off replacements for low-performance parts such as door handles.

But once 3D printers can more easily use other materials, were likely to see an increase in their uses. One day, people in space could produce their own food items and even biological materials. Recycling facilities could also enable broken parts to be reused to make the replacements.

Looking even further ahead, 3D printers could prove useful in building colonies. Places like the moon dont have much in the way of traditional building materials, but the European Space Agency has proven solar energy can power the production of bricks of lunar dust, which would be a good start.

Researchers are now looking at how to use 3D printing to take this idea further and develop complete printed buildings on the moon.

To make many of these applications a reality, well need to research more advanced materials and processes that can manufacture components to withstand the extremely harsh conditions of space.

Engineers also need to work on developing optimised designs and find ways of testing 3D printed parts to prove theyre safe. And then theres the irritating issue of gravity, or rather the lack of it.

Many current processes use powders or liquids as their raw materials so were likely to need some clever tricks in order to make these function safely in a low or microgravity environment.

Some of these barriers may even require entirely new materials and techniques. But as research goes on, 3D printing is likely to be used more and more in space, even if a fully printed space vehicle isnt going to launch any time soon. The sky is no longer the limit.

Candice Majewski, Lecturer, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Sheffield

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

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What 3D-printed rocket engines mean for space exploration - MyGaming

June 5, 2017 Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Experts at this year's Euroanaesthesia congress in Geneva (3-5 June) will discuss the unusual and challenging problem of how to perform emergency medical procedures during space missions.

"Space exploration missions to the Moon and Mars are planned in the coming years. During these long duration flights, the estimated risk of severe medical and surgical events, as well as the risk of loss of crew life are significant." according to Dr Matthieu Komorowski, Consultant in Intensive Care and Anaesthesia, Charing Cross Hospital, London, UK. "The exposure to the space environment itself disturbs most physiological systems and can precipitate the onset of space-specific illnesses, such as cardiovascular deconditioning, acute radiation syndrome, hypobaric decompression sickness and osteoporotic fractures."

In the event of a crew member suffering from an illness or injury, they may have to be treated and cared for by personnel with little formal medical training at their disposal and without the equipment and consumables that would be available in a comparable situation on Earth. Dr Komorowski notes that: "In the worst-case scenario, non-medical personnel may have to care for an injured or ill crewmember. Far from low earth orbit, real-time telemedicine will not be available and the crew will need to be self-reliant." He adds that: "Duplication of skills will be critical to enhance crew safety, especially if the doctor on board himself becomes ill, injured, incapacitated or dies. As such, extending basic medical training to most crewmembers will be extremely important."

Despite these measures, Dr Komorowski cautions that: "In remote environments, medical and surgical conditions with a low probability of success that also require using vast quantities of consumables are often not attempted. Similarly, during future space exploration missions, the crew must prepare for non-survivable illnesses or injuries that will exceed their limited treatment capability."

He will discuss various solutions and countermeasures that could be applied and discuss how they have been inspired by the needs of medical care in austere environments such as Antarctic polar bases, expeditions to remote areas, and during military operations here on Earth. These include ideas such as matching crew members for blood type to enable transfusions in an environment where blood products will not be available, or making use of on-demand 3D printing of medical equipment rather than carrying items that would most likely not be needed during the mission.

In the event of a serious problem such as a cardiac arrest, it may be necessary to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR); an especially difficult procedure to perform in microgravity. This will be covered by Professor Jochen Hinkelbein, Executive Senior Physician, Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, University Hospital of Cologne, Cologne, Germany. He is also President of the German Society for Aerospace Medicine (DGLRM).

Prof Hinkelbein points out that "Since astronauts are selected carefully, are usually young, and are intensively observed before and during their training, relevant medical problems are, fortunately, rare in space. However, in the context of future long-term missions, for example to Mars, with durations of several years, the risk for severe medical problems is significantly higher. Therefore, there is also a substantial risk for a cardiac arrest in space requiring CPR." The space environment presents a number of unique problems that must be overcome in order to deliver emergency medical care. In microgravity it is not possible to use one's body weight to perform actions such as CPR as would be done on Earth, and there are strict limits on the amount of medical equipment and consumables that can be taken on a mission.

Prof Hinkelbein will outline the different methods of CPR that have been tested in microgravity experiments onboard aircraft and in specialised underwater space simulators. The research conducted by his team found that using a 'hand-stand' technique was the most effective way to treat a cardiac arrest and most closely matched the guidelines used here on Earth. In situations where that method couldn't be used such as small confined spaces, the alternative is the Evetts-Russomano method of wrapping the legs around the patient to prevent them floating away while performing compressions was judged to be the best alternative.

He concludes that: "In the context of future space exploration, the longer duration of missions, and the consecutively higher risk of an incident requiring resuscitation increase the importance of microgravity-appropriate medical techniques."

Explore further: McMaster engineer working with NASA to improve deep space medicine

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Emergency medicine in space: Normal rules don't apply - Medical Xpress

Venturing off into space costs a pretty penny. Thats why NASA, in 1972, quit sending astronauts on joyrides to the moon. But a nation-wide survey over 40 years in the making reveals that Americans dont mind ponying up the cash for extraterrestrial exploration whether its scouring the red Martian desert for hints of life, or peering down into Jupiters roiling clouds.

Beginning in 1972, when the last astronauts returned home from the moon, the independent research organization NORC at the University of Chicago began surveying Americans in every state, asking them, Do you think the nation is spending enough on space exploration? This was one of hundreds of questions asked as part of the General Social Survey, an ambitious endeavor to track the nations attitudes and beliefs which continues today. The surveys data for this specific question can been seen in the graph below, which was created by Overflow Data, a site that turns data into clear visualizations.

Herein lie some important trends. When the survey began in the early seventies, six out of 10 Americans thought we were spending too much on space exploration. Today, a little over two out of 10 Americans believe this. And in the last decade, the percentage of Americans that think were spending too little on space exploration has nearly doubled, to 21 percent.

Tom W. Smith, the director of the General Social Survey, suggests that the media coverage around commercial space programs, like SpaceX, might be a significant factor for why so many Americans want the government to spend more on space.

A lot of space news in recent years has been about the private sector. I wonder if the public thinks were spending less, Smith told Inverse. If were spending less, then theyre not going to say that were spending too much.

There are few space events that stir more excitement and media attention that Elon Musks reusable rockets, which are now landing back on Earth after blasting into space. The more coverage something is getting, that would be a major factor in shaping what people think about it, says Smith. Private spaceflight, notes Smith, might imply that space exploration money](https://www.inverse.com/topic/money) is being spent more efficiently than before, when the notoriously bureaucratic federal government held nearly exclusive reign over space rocketry.

In the 1980s, the Soviets invaded Afghanistan and Smith observed a similar shift in the nations attitudes. When the Soviets were on the march, support for defense spending doubled, says Smith.

Media attention is undoubtedly influential, but Americans acceptance of space spending could also be motivated by a growing cosmic intrigue. The deeper humans plunge into the void, the more curiosities we find. Saturns moon Enceladus spews geysers of water vapor and ice (and whatever else) into space, while Jupiters moon Europa tempts scientists with what might lie under its cracked icy crust perhaps a salty sea?

Whatever the reasons, if Americans believe that the government is spending less on space exploration, theyre absolutely right.

During the rousing 1960s space race to the moon, NASA was swimming in money. In the mid to late 1960s, NASA was spending well over four percent of taxpayer dollars. But by 1980, this dipped to one percent of the budget, and today its a measly half of one percent. This, of course, isnt too measly its over $19 billion. Nearly a quarter of this (around $4.5 billion) was tagged for space exploration in 2016, which includes the development of NASAs giant new rocket the Space Launch System which will launch Mars(https://www.inverse.com/topic/mars)-bound astronauts into space.

This expensive venture wont take place until the 2030s, but if recent trends continue, Americans may be willing to shell out more money to give astronauts the chance to romp around the Martian desert.

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Americans Like Spending Money on Space Exploration, Survey Finds - Inverse