It has been more than a month since Curiosity, NASA's most advanced rover, was successfully and historically relocated to its permanent home. The rover continues to function perfectly, and in the coming weeks, will test various instruments in preparation for geological experiments.
In the next two years, sporting an array of cameras, lasers and other instruments, Curiosity aims to -a mong other things - investigate the role water has played on Mars, the Martian climate and whether or not Mars has ever supported life, but at what cost?
Curiosity's mission alone is projected to cost taxpayers more than $2.5 billion. Another NASA endeavor, the International Space Station (currently orbiting earth) has lead to more than $100 billion in U.S. expenses.
In short, space exploration isn't cheap; as a result, NASA's budget continues to decrease. NASA's achievements, however, have some Ball State students and faculty feeling that the capital given to this government agency is money well spent.
"Not only do you get the innate satisfaction of answering questions that you would really like to have answered, you have the drive and the spin-offs of the technology, which results from the drive to answer those questions," said Robert Berrington, a professor of physics and astronomy. "Whether or not you believe it, you can thank NASA for the reason why we have computers."
Sophomore pre-med and nursing major Anthony Amore said NASA should be granted more money.
"I feel that space exploration missions are extremely important in the discovery of extra-terrestrial knowledge," Amore said. "With all the money spent on war, NASA's budget just seems too small."
Berrington also thought NASA funding might be lower than it should be.
"A lot of people don't really realize the importance of what NASA does," he said. "It doesn't benefit them directly, but in the long run, it benefits them greatly. Given the economy, NASA has seen a lot of restrictive budget cuts."
Landing and operating Curiosity on Mars is an achievement, but the question could still be raised: Why a rover on Mars?
"It's now geared to what looks good on paper so that they can get funding for it, which is kind of hurting the other areas of astrophysics and astronomy," said Kevin Shane, a physics and astronomy graduate student. "I think it is a quintessential part of our understanding of our own solar system to go and explore Mars, but it's more political than based on science."
**FOR MORE INFORMATION: nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/index.html
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