Exploration vs Conservation
NASA has been all over the world news lately thanks to the success of its latest mission on the Red Planet.
The Perseverance rover landed safely on Mars on 18 February and has since been extremely busy.
A few days after landing, Perseverance recorded the sound of the Martian wind.
In March, it drove across the Mars terrain for the first time and later recorded audio of itself driving.
On 19 April, the Ingenuity Mars helicopter accompanying Perseverance took off on its first flight. Six days later Ingenuity bettered its own record, flying five metres above the surface for 50 metres.
This was further than it ever flew in testing back on Earth.
As a science-fiction geek, a lot of these feats excite me, and as much as I would love to live in a galaxy far, far away, I love Mother Earth more.
My role models include Sir David Attenborough, Dame Jane Goodall and
Steve Irwin.
I have loved nature and wildlife since I can remember. I try my best to keep up to date with the latest and most successful conservation attempts.
One name that comes to mind when speaking of conservation is Bill Gates, who is trying to raise awareness about climate change and finding ways to live in a world affected by it. The Gates Foundation donated more than $2,5-million in 2015 in a conservation attempt, and they spent $1,5 million on funding a farming solutions course at the University of Cambridge. They have also invested more than $5-billion in an attempt to support health and anti-poverty initiatives in Africa.
Where NASA spent more than
$2,9-billion on the Perseverance mission, one foundation has spent much more in the past five years to provide the Earth with a fighting chance against global warming.
I truly admire the work and commitment NASA shows for all its projects, but I find the Gates’s conservation attempts even more admirable.
Because of this, I believe funds should be considered for conservation on Earth before they are used for space exploration. I believe that we need to ensure mankind is alive and thriving before man can boldly go where no man has gone before.