The argument claims that the money invested in the "Space Race" in the 1960's was well worth the high cost due to the many technological advances and therefore, the government should commit to a Mars Landing by 2020. Stated in this way, the argument fails to mention several key factors on which it could be evaluated. The conclusion relies on assumption, for which there is no clear evidence. Therefore the argument is weak, unconvincing and has several flaws.
Firstly, the author claims that because of the many technological advances due to the "Space Race", a commitment to a manned mission to Mars will produce similar results. Although there are many similarities between committing to sending a man to the moon and to sending a man to mars, it false for the author to assume that there will be similar technological and humanitarian advances. The 1960's is a very different time period from today and as a result, it is unknown whether a manned mission to Mars will prove to be a worthy investment. Additionally, a large part of the "space Race" can be attributed to the competition between the USSR and the USA during the Cold War. The competition for becoming the leader in space technology was very fierce and was very politically driven, allowing for huge amounts of money to be invested in space technology. The politics of the Cold War no
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Without knowing the expected costs, it is difficult to know whether the investment in the Mars missions is attainable. In addition, it would be important to understand whether the government agencies responsible for space technology, such as NASA, believe that a manned Mars mission by 2020 is possible. It may be understood within the space technology world that not matter what the investment is, not amount of money will be able to produce a manned mission to