When I was younger, I was fascinated by space exploration. I thought the Space Race was the coolest thing to happen in human history and really thought that the government should’ve been putting more effort into getting more humans on the moon and perhaps even further into space. I was always so disappointed that I couldn’t see the stars from where I lived, and the lights in the sky were mostly airplanes and helicopters. And eventually, as all children who grow up near a city do, I had to learn about different types of pollution. If you’ve ever watched a rocket launch, you’ll see the huge fiery explosion that can be heard for miles, launching a huge rocket into the sky. Well, apparently half of that giant rocket is full of fuel, and only the very front is the actual ship. So can you imagine how much damage all of those fossil fuels, the fire, debris, and the colossal sound that can be heard for miles have on the surrounding area? And all of this is for one rocket and maybe a handful of people to get off the ground. Now, in my opinion, all that damage done to the already fragile planet is not at all worth the reward, at least not for now. One interesting fact about the space race is that it forced us to technologically advance faster than ever before, but other fields of exploration could push us just as much. If we were to redirect the money and energy from space exploration into something like ocean exploration, environmental conservation, or medical research we could be making leaps and bounds into creating a more efficient society. I was once fascinated by the stars but after taking a look at the damage we’ve done to our own planet I can’t help but think that we need to do as much research as we can down here before we start looking for more up there.