Imagine this: a world devastated, over-used, and tired, one that lacks the ability to support humans, and humans end up slowly starving themselves and the environment of things needed to survive.

In this world, funding for space exploration and scientific advancement are ludicrous wastes of money, therefore money is not spent for these programs.

Christopher Nolan explored this concept with his new film, “Interstellar.”

Throughout the movie, social commentary on the importance of advancing human knowledge of the universe and the lack of funding given to programs promoting these ideas takes the front stage.

The movie makes sure to point the finger at governments and public opinion, like that in the U.S., who have severely cut and dismantled their space program.

The movie’s world is a highly exaggerated version of the current conditions in which we live. The solutions given to fix these conditions are also unrealistic to what is possible.

Nevertheless, the movie poses a wonderful question. Why has funding for the space program diminished so drastically or at all?

We are at a golden era of technology and knowledge with new phones outdating their predecessors within a year. Despite this, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s budget has been making up less and less of a percentage of our overall federal spending.

NASA spending currently only holds 0.98 percent of the overall economy. According to The Washington Post, we are spending significantly less on space travel than we ever have in the past.

Not to mention, America has had to rely on Russia, to even send one of our own to space as we retired our space shuttle fleet in 2011, which Russia might not even be an option at this point as they have refused to send any from the U.S. to the International Space Station.

This is a sad state of affairs. Of the many ridiculous things the U.S. government spends much of its money on, space travel, exploration, and observation should not be considered one of them.

Aside from just advancing our knowledge of the place in which we live, much of what NASA has studied in the past has breathed hope into the possibility traveling and possibly even settling other worlds, whether they are planets like Mars, or maybe even planets outside of our solar system.

Even with a limited budget, NASA has made great strides in understanding space and time and how someone might theoretically be able to reach the farthest reaches of space within their lifetime.

In April, they found a planet near the size of Earth within the “habitable zone,” which is a zone where liquid water could have possibly pooled. Seeking out these planets is important.

While it is a doom-and-gloom scenario, knowing where these planets exist might be the key to furthering the human race.

Looking further than a settlement standpoint, these planets, most likely within our solar system could provide us with valuable resources that are quickly dwindling on earth.

It just seems ridiculous why America and the world in general seems at a standstill when it comes to advancing space travel and knowledge.

In the ‘60s, America and the world made many things seemingly impossible possible with the help of NASA. At its peak in 1966, NASAs spending took up 0.76 percent of the overall economy according to The Post.

Three years later, we sent a man to the moon with a computer with less computing power than a calculator today.

The possibilities of what could be done now with that money is awe-inspiring. What could be done now could change everything with how we see the world and the universe as well as how we might travel it. But, unfortunately, this is not the case.

Instead, the government will spend its money on much more important things like our military, which currently makes up 43 percent of global military expenditures. The second closest country to us is China with only 7 percent of the global military spending.

We had a drive or a sense of exploration in the ‘60s. While spending back then was mainly driven by competition with another country, the U.S.S.R., I believe many Americans had motivation and interest in breaking barriers and exploring outside of our planet.

We need to spark this interest in exploration again. There is so much unknown that is at our grasp, but we will not try for it.

“We used to look up in the sky and wonder at our place in the stars. Now we just look down and worry about our place in the dirt,” Cooper in “Interstellar” said.

Jarad Jarmon is senior journalism major. He can be reached at 581-7912 or [email protected].