Imagine that one day our world would be cancer free or that we had the knowledge to create life-changing technologies such as teleportation. Well, this can be possible! Many people argue that forty-three years after man first stepped foot on the moon, mankind has not benefited much from space exploration, so why continue? In my opinion, much knowledge has been gained through U.S. space exploration and it is just a matter of time before we can put this knowledge to use. The potential benefits of exploring space are many, including discovery of new types of minerals that could cure cancer or lead to life-changing new technologies. Also with Earth running out of minerals and becoming polluted, space exploration could lead to discovering a new habitable place for mankind to colonize.

Space exploration involves the use large amounts of resources and we have spent billions of dollars. People say we are wasting money and resources even if we made discoveries. However, it is believed that our earth will eventually become uninhabitable, so it makes sense to take the chance to further explore space, instead of later when it might be too late. King John from Portugal said the same exact thing to Christopher Columbus when he wanted to sail west in the world to further explore. King John had said that it was a waste of time and money. And look what Christopher Columbus discovered, America!

First, exploring space could lead us to finding new types of minerals that could lead to life-changing medicines. Picture a world with cancer and other life-threatening diseases cured. Finding these new types of minerals could have significant impact on our lives. It could lead to the creation of new technologies that would impact our lives greatly. This is something that is extremely possible if we explore space because even here on Earth, we are finding more and more different types of elements/minerals every year! As suggested very recently, mining asteroids could provide us with these new minerals and metals that we may not have on Earth or for that matter may both not have discovered due to certain extremes that asteroids may experience and be put under. It has been speculated that in 50-60 years from now, the earth will have exhausted its many minerals. Asteroids are enriched in minerals such as gold, silver, tin and many more metals that are valuable to us humans. We may also even find a new type of mineral that could cure cancer or lead to the creation of life-changing technology. These resources could be brought back to Earth and supplied again in times of extreme shortage of resources. Better yet, we could seek out to find another sustainable planet with these resources!

Furthermore, the exploration of space could help us find a habitable planet that humans can explore and possible colonize. The world is slowly running out of resources and becoming overpopulated. According to popular scientist Stephen Hawking, "Life on Earth is at the ever-increasing risk of being wiped out by a disaster such as sudden global warming, nuclear war, a genetically engineered virus or other dangers ... I think the human race has no future if it doesn't go into space." Overall I believe that if we were to find a young planet that is twice or more the size of Earth with plenty of water and minerals, we could colonize it and that may become our new “Earth”.

Lastly, we could find life on another planet. If this new species is human-like, but more advanced in their technology, we could learn some of their technologies. The advancement of technology that this species may have on us may take us greatly by surprise! We may also find new types of plant-life or other forms of life, like bacteria, which may help in discoveries of new foods or medicine. Discovering a new species of animal, differing from a human-like species, could still also lead to further analysis of how exactly life first came to be on Earth and how it compares to this ‘new’ planet.

All in all, space exploration is a beneficial idea in my opinion. Finding new types of minerals, a new planet, and even extraterrestrial life, would be valuable for mankind. If we don’t further explore space, we will be left with a dying Earth and nowhere to go. For that reason, it only seems reasonable for someone in the world to venture out into deep space. Why not have it be the United States to find something first? It’s only a matter of time before we will all need a new home! You may not have supported my opinion when I started, but now I am confident you will!

WORKS CITED------
Clarke, Stuart. "Mining asteroids could boost space exploration." Short Sharp Science:. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Dec. 2013.
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"Pros/Cons of Exploration - Future Plans for the Exploration of the Galilean Satellites of Jupiter." Pros/Cons of Exploration - Future Plans for the Exploration of the Galilean Satellites of Jupiter. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Dec. 2013. <http://www.users.muohio.edu/lefflenl/proscons.html>.

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