One Giant Leap For Mankind

By Mahika Khosla Sep. 24 2025

Juliana Shin Art

Whether humanity channels their scientific energy on discovering the wonders of the universe or preserving Earth is a question that has long stirred controversy. Yet to Sean Duffy, Secretary of the Department of Transportation and acting National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA) administrator, the answer is clear. On Jan. 28, Duffy announced that NASA will no longer continue studying global warming and instead focus their resources on space exploration. Like President Trump who recently ordered two important climate-related satellites to shut down operations, Duffy is a firm believer that global warming is nonexistents. Although Duffy’s reasoning behind the decision—denial of climate change—is erroneous, researching space science is a necessity and it is valid for NASA to exclusively focus on it.

In 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower created NASA to assert American leadership in technology.  NASA’s initial mission statement was to encourage and develop commercial space activities. Yet, NASA soon expanded its purpose to understanding the Earth as well by joining forces with the International Geophysical Year: a project that has discovered Earth’s radiation belts, monitored the planet’s physical properties and created solutions to increase freshwater availability. More recently, NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatories have provided crucial information about plant growth and carbon dioxide to scientists, gas companies and farmers.

“NASA’s investment in Earth science provides us insight to Earth’s systems, benefiting future generations more so than space science. Earth science should be our priority because we need to preserve the planet we live on or face extremely expensive and complicated consequences,” said Freshman Ayaan Gupta. 

Although climate change is real and studying Earth science provides insight into resource management and leads to informed citizenship, the U.S. has already funded 11 federal organizations with significant emphasis on Earth sciences. The U.S. Geological Services (USGS), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), for instance, address a variety of issues from hazardous disasters and the protection of marine animals to providing clean air and water to better human health. Hence, since there are organizations that exist to make discoveries in Earth science, it is reasonable to direct NASA towards space science: a field that is not as touched upon compared to Earth science. 

Apart from providing coverage to a more narrow field, NASA’s focus on space science is imperative because it improves human life in numerous ways, leading to the development of over 2000 “spinoff” technologies. For example, the modern phone’s camera was originally developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory who wished to create small robust cameras for interplanetary missions. Moreover, cordless headphones stemmed from NASA’s efforts in preventing astronauts from getting tangled in wires aboard the space station. With such technologies, humans are able to capture memories that they may forget later and participate in activities seamlessly such as exercises while still listening to their devices. 

“Space is something that we have yet to completely and fully discover, thus the more we search, more could come out of it,” said Senior Rachel Hoe. 

By providing new knowledge, space exploration fosters human curiosity and ultimately increases cooperation. In fact, NASA has joined efforts with 26 countries such as Japan, Canada, Spain and Russia: a country deemed impossible to collaborate with when NASA was first established. This has led to the International Space Station and the Outer Space treaty of 1967, joint projects which have benefitted humanity by resulting in medical technology advancements and agreed efforts in demilitarization.

Although NASA’s resources are limited, its mission to discover outer space should not be disregarded because space science cultivates technological breakthroughs and global partnership. It should be acknowledged that climate science is important, yet other federal organizations such as USGS are already providing abundant information on Earth’s natural processes. Ultimately, space research promotes universal knowledge and humanitarian efforts, making NASA’s focus on it critical.

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About the Contributors

Mahika Khosla

staff writer

Mahika Khosla is a senior at Leland High School and a Staff Writer for The Charger Account. Some of her favorite activities are watching Shark Tank, visiting National Parks, and rooting for the Warriors.

Juliana Shin

artist

Juliana Shin is a sophomore at Leland High School and an Artist for The Charger Account. In her free time, she admits to doom scrolling on Pinterest for drawing references or playing with dog, Simba. During other times, she prefers to sleep in and watch horror movies with her mom.