With the impending disaster the decline of sustainability and global warming are set to bring upon humanity, it is essential that us U.S citizens advocate to Congress for an increased budget for NASA. As of now, the Climate Clock gives us about 7 years before global warming rises above 1.5°C. One may think, “1.5°C does not sound like anything”. Well, according to The Climate Reality Project, ”Going above 1.5 degrees of warming puts millions more at risk of potentially life-threatening heatwaves and poverty. It all but wipes out coral reefs that entire ecosystems rely on worldwide. Seas will swallow even more of our cities”. On top of this horrifying fact, we use more of the Earth's resources than it can renew by itself. More specifically, “If everyone in the world lived the way people do in the U.S., it would take five Earths to provide enough resources for everyone”(National Wildlife Foundation). To survive in the long run, we must settle beyond Earth so that we can ensure the survival of OUR SPECIES and FUTURE GENERATIONS. However, NASA's budget this year is $22.629 billion, which represents only 0.48% of all U.S. government spending.

NASA holds the key to success in making life interplanetary, but Congress has been decreasing it’s funds ever since NASA's budget peaked during the Apollo program in the 1960s. Ever since, space exploration lost political support and NASA's budget was cut significantly. There have recently been advancements in rocket boosters that are now able to propel spacecraft into the atmosphere, detach from a payload, and then land themselves safely back to Earth. Thus reducing the cost of space travel by millions. This feat was able to be accomplished all under the diminutive budget given by Congress. Now, imagine the type of advancements that would be made if funding was increased just 5%? Society could become interplanetary and allow for less humans on Earth, which in turn would increase the sustainability of Earth and decrease global warming.

Some of the current problems we face that would need to be resolved for interplanetary settlement include: the threat of radiation in space, the effect of low gravity on human life, the inability of rocket ships to carry significant amounts of payload and their lack of autonomy, the cost of space travel, the shortcomings of initial human exploration beyond low Earth orbit, and the lack of essential resources on planets like Mars. If NASA had increased funding, these problems could be more easily solved. Imagine a new world with no pollution, cleaner air, and the ability to “start over”. With one simple click of a button, you can change the course of humanity forever. Act now!