over the L exploring space is cool inarguably but it's also pretty expensive so why do we keep throwing so much money into orbit and why should we in the future why does space exploration matter according to NASA about one time every 10,000 years an asteroid the size of a football field smashes into Earth it causes tidal waves big enough to flood the coast but there are bigger asteroids out there too and that is what we need to worry about you see a large enough asteroid could unleash a firestorm we're talking into the world type stuff
filling the atmosphere with dust wiping out forest and Farms starving what it doesn't immediately kill keeping an eye out for these objects may save Humanity from an untimely death the US space program is responsible for tons of nifty stuff we already know about freeze-dried food right but there are so many more examples for instance in the 1960s NASA developed this plastic coated with a metallic reflecting agent when used in blankets this stuff reflects about 80% of a user's body heat back to them this helps accident victims stay warm and then there's n andol a flexible
resistant alloy that was developed for use in satellites today it's used in braces no seriously that's weird right does anybody else think that's just me all right there's gold out in them there Cosmos and silver and platinum and other stuff too private sector Ventures Envision mining all the way out on asteroids but space miners don't have to go that far the Moon is a potential source of helium 3 that's used in MRIs for instance and Rare Earth elements that you'll find in electronics and solar [Music] panels and now here's one that I know a lot
of people have been waiting for aliens we have to mention it about half of Americans believe that life exists somewhere else in the cosmos but so far we've searched for extraterrestrials in vain possibly because the Earth's atmosphere interferes with our reception that's why researchers are more eager for observatories like the James web Space Telescope which will search for the chemical Signs of Life in the atmospheres of distant planets I mean it's a start but an even more aggressive effort might finally help us to answer one of the biggest questions in human history are we alone
I don't mean dating status I mean you get it satellites are helping helping us to monitor pressing problems here on Earth from forest fires to oil spills but our population our rampant greed and our pollution have severely damaged our planet already according to a 2012 survey most scientists estimate that Earth has a carrying capacity of between 8 and 16 billion people and here's the thing they're already over 7 billion of us so this has led some futurists to argue that we should be preparing to colonize another planet and soon our survival might depend on it
but you know no pressure thank you for watching give us a like before the asteroids hit and let us know what you think of space exploration in the comments be sure to subscribe so you're never out of your element and stay tuned for more what the stuff [Music]
