N.D. Tyson

Neil deGrasse Tyson is known for being an intelligent astrophysicist. He wrote "The Case For Space: Why We Should Keep Reaching For The Stars." This prompt is designed for an academic audience with an interest in space exploration "interplanetary ventures". Dr. Tyson talks about the history of our space race along with our competitors the Russians and their launch of sputnik. He aims to show our enthused academic audience how extrinsically motivated our society is when it comes to space exploration. He comes to terms with how our extrinsic motivation lies only in developing the necessary technology to land a man on the moon before the Russians. Once we accomplished this amazing feat of landing a man on the moon, our endeavors decreased, lack of federal funding and interest amongst our government. President Bush and Obama helped to essentially kill NASA by restricting funding. Dr. Tyson makes a point in his article that many positive aspects have come out of  NASA funding besides landing on the moon and launching the Hubble for example he states that new improvements of technology have led scientist to develop new methods for precision lasik eye surgery and even kidney dialysis among the many improvements in technology, this was a flash point for me because it may one day affect the way I live. Being a type one diabetic my kidneys often undertake an onslaught of harmful proteins, and sugar that illegally pass through my kidneys often damaging them. I was completely unaware that NASA had such an impact of todays world of technology. In my opinion I think we should continue the funding towards NASA because Scientists and phyiscists  will have to solve bigger problems, innovate new methods and advance technology if they are expecting to venture out into the solar system. A positive side affect being society benefits from their advancement in technology.
Dr. Tyson's less formal piece involved a show called the "the astronaut session" a less formal experience meant for the audience of high schoolers. In this thirty minuite clip, Tyson's style changes from a persuasive and informational essay in "The Case For Space" to a interview style, gathering responses made by the astronaut who was on the show wether it was how they went to the bathroom in space, or the types of food they ate, to the beauty of the planet itself. Dr Tyson chose this style to help convey some of the information to his audience in a enjoyable fashion by using humor. The overlap between the two pieces can be found in the style to which Dr. Tyson tries to convey his message. Persuasion in government funding to help NASA and to gather excitement in the younger minds about the perils and heroines on interplanetary ventures that astronauts must endure.