Legendary poet and writer Ralph Waldo Emerson once stated, “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” His words of encouragement about exploration and discovery are the basis of what space exploration is all about and why it is crucial we must continue our journey into space. In the current state of times, space exploration has been losing priority in terms of funding and importance with even the presidential administration putting it in the backburner. Nevertheless, space exploration has been and will continue to be an important part of our world and we must do whatever we can to support it. The rewards are beneficial to humans as well as the field of science.

President Obama has advocated a space policy in which private companies take the lead role of exploration and research. This has resulted in a significant decrease in funding for the public sector space agencies, such as NASA. However, the public sector has more experience in space exploration and thus provides the best opportunity for future success. Space exploration has been taking place under the public sector agency for over 53 years since NASA was created by the President and the Congress on October 1, 1958. Private sectors, on the other hand, have only recently begun to get involved in space exploration. Throughout their 53 years, NASA has accumulated a significant amount of invaluable knowledge through trials, testing, successes, and failures. This in turn makes NASA, a public sector agency, the preferred option simply because it knows what works, what doesn’t work, and how to effectively and efficiently go about in space exploration for the benefit of human kind. According to NASA Director Charles Bolden, “Since its inception in 1958, NASA has accomplished many great scientific and technological feats. NASA remains a leading force in scientific research and in stimulating public interest in aerospace exploration, as well as science and technology in general. Perhaps more importantly, our exploration of space has taught us to view the Earth, ourselves, and the universe in a new way.”
In addition to having experience, public sector investments offer greater economic benefit. The money for public sector investment comes from the government, or the people. However, the money for private sector investments comes from the private companies, who have their own interests at heart, both financially and scientifically. In the case of a public sector run space program, the public would be directly involved in the tasks of the program and would benefit from its options. This provides greater good for the greater number of people as the whole nation is benefiting and not just private corporations themselves. In the case of public sector investments, the public would be directly involved and stand to gain from its benefits. In this case, it would create tons of jobs for the many employed people present in the country. If they are no longer unemployed, they can contribute to the economy and make a bigger and better impact on the country. This is true for all public sector investments. In fact, a 2009 study by Environment Northeast indicates that increasing our state investment to capture all cost-effective energy efficiency could produce up to 17,000 new jobs…—a real economic and environmental win-win. In addition, an investment in public transportation capital and operations would create thousands of jobs—almost 36,000 for every billion invested—and would generate hundreds of millions in tax revenues.”
A public sector run space program also unites the nation. A public sector run program means a publicly run space agency, or one that the general public has input in. This involves the whole country in the affairs of the program and its successes and accomplishments. In turn, this leads to a stronger and more united country in all aspects. The country is forced to work together in order to get the best results for the whole country and its accomplishments bring the country together. As a national icon, NASA inspires nationalism in the American people, and its achievements are projected worldwide as an exhibit of America's scientific ability. A superpower nation with a space program was historically perceived as a potential threat to other nations. Looking back through history, the NASA space program has enriched the lives of people on earth, unknown to most benefiting every day from the technology derived from NASA inventions, space travel, and space exploration. The technology derived as a result of the knowledge gained from NASA space engineering includes: medical imaging, vision screening systems, smoke detectors, thermal gloves and boots, cardiac pacemakers, advanced plastics….to name a few. Such technology has gone a long way in transforming our society for the better and making us who we are.

In conclusion, public sector space exploration programs have a proven track record of success and should be the way to go. They are be better for not just the nation, but for the world and all of science. Following the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, NASA has and will continue to lead us to the pathless, allowing us to be the pioneers and carve trails for the others. We would be foolish to prevent it from doing so.