Davis / Period 2 - Senator Forer

S.W.____

A BILL
To increase the funding NASA receives in order to further promote exploration of the Earth and
Mars and eventually create a permanent outpost, terraform the planet and create a habitable
environment.
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of

America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE
This act may be cited as the Expedition to Mars Bill of 2015.
SECTION 2. FINDINGS
Congress hereby finds and declares that,
1)NASA is developing the capabilities needed to send humans to an asteroid by 2025 and Mars in
the 2030s.
2)NASA Aeronautics is helping solve some of big challenges facing the aerospace industry, like
reducing environmental impact, maintaining safety in more crowded skies, and revolutionizing
aircraft shapes and propulsion.
3)In Greenland, researchers have seen the rate of ice melt double since the 1990s, and warm water
licking at the edge of the island has increased glacier calving into the sea, which would raise sea
levels and flood coastal cities; researchers state this could be avoided by relocating humans to
Mars
3)The general consensus among experts is that the use of greenhouse gases would be the most
effective way to both change the atmosphere and raise the surface temperature of Mars.
4)By the end of the century, should the current emissions of greenhouse gases remain unchecked,
temperatures over the northern hemisphere will tip 5-6 degrees C warmer than today's averages.
5)Doubling NASAs budget would create 18,000 more job opportunities each year.
6)The use of plants to terraform Mars has been suggested; this catalyst would discharge the
required carbon dioxide into the air and begin the snowball effect. The implementation of this
method, however, could take anywhere between 100 to 10,000 years.
SECTION THREE: STATUTORY LANGUAGE
A) The Expedition to Mars Bill of 2015 will increase the yearly budget that NASA receives
from the government in order to promote further scientific research both in space and on
land, but directed towards the eventual goal of landing humans on Mars and establishing a
colony.
B) The budget will be increased by 2% each year, starting from the year 2015, in order to
account for inflation.
C) The House Committee on Science, Space and Technology will ensure that the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration will receive the proper funds yearly.
D) The newly created Fly me to Mars Fund will responsible for raising at least 10 million
dollars a year in order to counter the funds necessary to be collected from taxes.
E) A tax will be placed on the people in order to raise the money necessary to increase NASAs
fund by 2% each year.
F) If NASA does not receive the proper funding, scientific research which can help us escape a
global disaster in the near future will halt and we will only have several decades left before
the Earth sustains a global catastrophe which we are not able to escape.
G) The Expedition to Mars Bill will be enacted Starting January 1, 2016.

In 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
in response to the Space Race with the Soviet Union. NASA became the symbol of innovation and exploration of
the new ocean of outer space and a long tradition of expanding the physical and mental boundaries of
humanity (Dunbar). At first, NASA received almost 5 percent of the federal budget at the peak of its exploration.
However, NASA currently receives a mere 0.5% of the total U.S. budget, [which] does not reflect the hugely
important economic, technological and inspirational resource that this agency has been (Zeller). Most people do not
realize that it is solely based on NASAs research during the 20th century that we currently have technology such as
GPS, cellular phones, and are able to communicate instantly with people across the globe using the internet, and that
we have identified environmental problems. Therefore, it is imperative that the United States government, in
accordance with the Expedition to Mars Bill of 2015, double the funding NASA currently receives for its
exploration of the Martian surface because it will lead to a more stable economy, improve our understanding of the
deteriorating environment, and promote a permanent establishment on Mars.
Although it is rarely mentioned, an improvement in the American economy occurred during 1969 when
NASAs government funding was at its highest. Decades of extraterrestrial research occurred following the lunar
landing, which enabled the United States to develop new and advanced technologies people around the globe use in
their everyday lives, progressing society forward. Such expansive research occurred only with the benefit of the
government: The cost of NASA, as is true of almost any government agency, is worth it, because it can benefit the
economy directly through the purchase of goods and creation of jobs, and indirectly by inspiring people in industries
that spawn from invented technologies or materials (McBrien). Funding from the United States government
directly correlated with the increase of job opportunities for Americans in the late 1960s and 1970s. As of today,
NASA employs more than 18,000 workers - engineers, teachers, lawyers, contractors, among others - at any given
moment (Building a Better). Many workers, at the conclusion of their NASA contracts, become startup managers of
their own companies, and open up job opportunities. Therefore, if NASA receives more funding from the
government, more workers will be employed, more businesses related to radical new technologies will spawn
around the country, which will lead to an increase of jobs and an eventual stabilization of the economy.
Although the most widely known aspect of NASAs research focuses on the moon, our surrounding planets,
and the depths of outer space, a vast amount of work has been done by the administration to increase our
understanding of the Earth and the human footprint we leave behind. Current NASA scientists are trying to
understand the harmful effects of pollution and figure out solutions. According to extensive research done in 2012,
by the end of the century, should the current emissions of greenhouse gases remain unchecked, temperatures over
the northern hemisphere will tip 5-6 degrees C warmer than today's averages which will have catastrophic effects
on our environment (Carey). In addition, scientists at Yale University conducted a study on the effects of global
warming on the northern ice masses and discovered the possibility of rapid ice flow from Greenland or the
Antarctic into the sea those two ice sheets alone hold enough water to raise sea level by 65 meters (Jones), which
would cause coastal metropolitan centers, such as New York or San Francisco, to be completely eradicated off the
face of the Earth. In order to prevent global disasters and increase the speed at which solutions for these
environment problems are discovered, NASA needs the government to increase funding so that at least 2 percent of
the federal budget is devoted to NASA research.
Since scientists at NASA have realized the devastating environmental impacts we have left on our planet,
they are looking for a suitable home for mankind outside of Earth. With sufficient funding from the United States
government, NASA can create and execute a plan for settling Mars. Of course, a mission of this scale would require
billions of dollars worth of research, which is why the government should agree to give at least 36.8 billion dollars
(more than twice the current amount of 0.5%) to research, this mission could be accomplished. We could heat up
Mars to a suitable temperature at which humans could survive by the use of greenhouse gases would be the most
effective way to both change the atmosphere and raise the surface temperature (Nemenz). Using this knowledge,
experts suggest that in less than 100 years humans will be able to make the Martian surface habitable. By passing the
Expedition to Mars Bill of 2015 and raising NASAs budget, Americans will be able to find solutions to the worlds
current environmental problems while expand our human reach across the galaxy simultaneously.
Unfortunately, thousands of people state believe cutting what has been a horrendous waste of our societys
resources and applying the money elsewhere will improve the american economy, and create a more balanced
budget. Proponents also believe that NASA is wasting millions of dollars by sending it up into space for unnecessary
research. However, less than 1% on the tax dollar is used to fund these missions - an inconspicuous amount
compared to the amount of tax money that goes to other programs established by our government (Hanson). For
example, welfare programs receive almost 5 percent of the national budgets funds.
By following the above steps, the United States can only expect success and increased support for the
funding for NASA, and it will allow for further exploration of space, promote the stabilization of the American
economy, allow scientists to find solutions to our quickly degrading environment, and allow NASA to establish a
permanent outpost on Mars, eventually settling people there and expanding humanitys reach in the universe.