Reasons to Discontinue Human Spaceflight
Human space exploration is a field of knowledge that has always fascinated scientist and philosophers for thousands of years. In 1957 this dream became a reality when the first successful space flight was launch by the Soviet Union. Recently space exploration has taken a new turn with robotics and space landings being preferred to human spaceflight. The reasons that have been outlined in support of this shift in the area of space exploration include the expensive nature of human spaceflights, the hostility of deep space to humans and lack of significant discoveries. Human spaceflight has been tested for decades with costly programs but yielded very little; it is time that the program focuses on robotics while our need to explore should centre on the oceans.
Deep space has been proved to be a very hostile environment for the survival of human beings. There have been cases of fatalities and near fatalities associated with spaceflight that have been caused by very slight accidents and incidents. For this reason, it is argued that the risks involved do not warrant the missions associated with human spaceflight. The new direction taken of robotics in space exploration should be maintained.
Another reason for discontinuing human spaceflight is the cost implication it has on the country. The select spacecraft needed to transport human beings to space safely have been very expensive to build. This high expenditure has never been really justified with the programs perceived as overhyped. Channelling this budgetary allocation to other programs could prove beneficial to the country.
Lastly, there have been little significant discoveries that are attributed to human spaceflight programs. Deep space seems to be a barren frontier, and initial hype of possible discovery of extraterrestrial life and a home in deep space favourable for human life has waned off. Decades of expensive trips to space by competing nations have only managed to elevate the national stature of the nations, but no significant groundbreaking discovery has been made.
In conclusion, the spaceflight program that was initially overhyped has not been able to match up to its expectations with limited benefits for humanity. Additionally, the risks to human life associated with the space environment as proven by fatal accidents in the past are reason to cancel the program. More effort and finances should be invested in other frontiers that have not been explored to a great extent, like the oceans of the earth.