Space exploration is extremely important, which is exactly why the government needs to stop funding it. The key to developing a better understanding of physics lies in space. The potential scientific developments from astronomical studies are unlimited. Organizations that depend solely on government funding hold back space exploration. If these organizations were privatized, space exploration could develop at a much quicker rate.

Space exploration is key to better understanding science and pushing human development. A well-rounded understanding of physics is unachievable if Earth is the extent of the human race’s knowledge of the universe. There is a multitude of unique factors on this planet that can affect what particles do. Particles act much differently on other planets and in open space. For example, without an understanding of space people would not know that sound travels through matter and is not its own thing. Colonization of other planets in case of emergency is another obvious benefit, however this is a last resort. Space exploration could actually eliminate the need for that at all. With a better understanding of why life exists and why certain planets are able to harbor life, human kind can develop ways to protect the environment of earth and predict and prevent potentially detrimental scenarios. For example, Mars once was a life harboring planet covered in water that had an atmosphere. By understanding what happened to Mars’s atmosphere, we can better protect our own. Knowledge is the most powerful and useful tool, and there is an infinite amount of things that can be learned via space exploration.

This may then make it seem essential that the government continues to run organizations devoted to astronomy and space exploration, however the opposite is actually true. Government science programs are given tiny budgets. This year, the money spent on government campaigns is almost twice as much as the entire government budget for science. This budget greatly limits what organizations can do in terms of space exploration. Privatized space exploration organizations generally have much more to spend than government run ones. They can also have a for-profit status allowing them to make a profit and create an even larger budget. They can still receive government grants (as many private colleges, for example, do), however these grants will not be their entire budget, so this way their budget can be much larger. They can also receive money from private investors. These organizations can therefore reap the benefits of government funding as previous ones did, however, on top of that also receive more money from non-government affiliated areas, allowing their progress in space exploration to develop at a much more rapid rate.

Privatization also adds a crucial element, competition. There will be multiple private organizations competing for government funding and investors. This makes it essential that they do the best work possible. They will have to hire the best people they can and do the best work possible. Development will be crucial, meaning advancements will happen constantly at an incredible rate. The United States made the most advancements in space exploration during the “Space Race.” When the United States were competing with the Soviet Union they put more resources and time towards space exploration. Even government funded space exploration has benefited from competition. This is only a fraction of the competition that affects private organizations, yet it still had a huge impact. Any organizations doing sub-par work will be forced out of business, ensuring that space exploration will be taken on by the very best and brightest.

Space exploration is essential for the development of human kind, and government funding for space exploration is abysmal. For us to have any hope in advancing in astronomy and astronomical physics, we must privatize space exploration. The issue is not that it’s a waste of resources, it’s that the government can not feasibly provide enough resources for space exploration to thrive.