Since the Columbia space shuttle burned up and broke apart during re-entry into the atmosphere 40 miles above Earth's surface on Feb. 1, killing all seven astronauts aboard, the American public has begun a debate about the future of the space program.
Some government officials and a portion of the public have suggested that the NASA budget should be cut and serious evaluations should be conducted to determine whether or not the United States should continue sending men and women into space. While the NASA budget is less than 1 percent of the total national budget, some believe that the funding NASA receives should be cut further. This contrasts the late 1960s, when the United States was in a "space race" with the Soviet Union and there was an open checkbook as long as America beat Russia to the moon.
Throughout NASA's more than 40-year history, countless earth-orbiting satellites have been sent out, unmanned crafts have explored the solar system, many astronauts have orbited the earth in both space shuttles and small space capsules, and men have walked on the moon.
While the space program's most well-known advancements may be Velcro and Tang, years worth of research has been conducted in almost every field of science.
John Nousek, professor of astronomy and astrophysics, said many more shuttle missions have ended in success than in failure.
"Remember that any new technology has risks. I am sure that more than 30 people were killed in the first 30 years of aviation, internal combustion engine travel and in steamship travel than in the first 30 years of space travel," he said.
Before the Columbia tragedy, NASA had been planning many more shuttle missions, but now the three remaining shuttles, Discovery, Endeavour and Atlantis, have been grounded until NASA technicians have assured their safety. In addition to conducting scientific experiments, the shuttles have been used to take astronauts and cosmonauts to and from the International Space Station. Now, re-evaluations of this project are also being considered, such as reducing the number of crewmembers in the space station from three to two, or leaving it completely unmanned for a short period of time.
In addition to Earth-orbiting missions involving space shuttles, NASA is also exploring Mars and, until the Columbia's breakup, was slowly escalating the number of missions planned in the future. Currently, the Mars Odyssey spacecraft is orbiting Mars, using instruments such as a gamma ray spectrometer to analyze the chemical composition of the surface of the planet. Another purpose of this instrument is to measure the amounts of frozen water on the surface of Mars.
The Mars and International Space Station missions may be re-evaluated given the recent tragedy. Nousek said further NASA missions could proceed as planned or be delayed several months based on the results of the Columbia investigation.
"It depends on whether the shuttle investigation reveals a cause for tragedy, and if the cause can be prevented in the future," he said. "If the cost of the shuttle or the need to replace a shuttle drains too much money from the NASA budget to support other science, then the impact can be large."
When asked about the tragedy and the future of space exploration, most Penn State students replied positively.
"As many people as we have sent into space, the percentage of this happening again is pretty slim," said Megan Gerhart (freshman-division of undergraduate studies). "If you didn't take the risk you wouldn't get anything accomplished."
Curtis Swineford (junior-agricultural education) said he did not support using robotics in place of humans on future missions.
"There are some things that machines can't do. Computers won't be able to do everything," he said.
Nousek said it is ultimately up to the American public to decide the fate of the country's space program.
"It is our job as citizens to weigh the information and with the advice of experts conclude on whether to proceed as we have been or change strategy and stop space investigations," he said.
