Unlocking Word Meanings
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
1. exploration (n.) – the act of traveling to a place in order to learn from it
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
1. exploration (n.) – the act of traveling to a place in order to learn from it
Example: Russians have gone on space explorations to find out if people can
live in other planets.
2. reallocate (v.) – to
assign to a purpose that is different from what is originally planned
Example: He reallocated
his savings to pay for his father’s emergency surgery.
3. withdraw (v.) – to
remove oneself from participation
Example: The student withdrew from the music club to be able to focus on her studies.
4. atmosphere (n.) – air
or gas that surrounds the earth and other planets
Example: The atmosphere
is continuously damaged by smoke factories and vehicles.
5. flagship (n.) – the most important item or product
Example: The flagship
vehicle is displayed in the center of the showroom.
Article
Read the text below.
The 2013 NASA budget proposal from the US government plans to reduce NASA’s
funds for Mars exploration. The
proposal would also reallocate a
bigger part of the budget to human space flights and space exploration.
The US Congress is already likely to
approve the plan. This would mean NASA would receive a $17.7 billion fixed
budget next year, with Mars exploration funds reduced to only $360.8 million.
As such, NASA would be forced to withdraw
from its partnership with the European Space Agency for the Mars mission, or
ExoMars, in 2016 and 2018.
However, NASA said it is not going to
give up other Mars exploration projects. The agency plans to work with
partners for a new Mars exploration strategy, but information about this has
not yet been announced.
In addition, the Mars Science
Laboratory (MSL) rover—a robotic vehicle that will study Mars’ surface—will
land on Mars this year, while the Maven mission, which aims to study Mars’ atmosphere using a space probe, will still continue in 2013.
Although the agency’s funds for
exploring planets would be reduced by 21%, spending on human space
exploration would increase by 6%, and by 22% on space technology.
The reallocated funds would help NASA
pay for other big commitments, such as a new rocket and capsule system for
exploring the moon and asteroids. The agency would also be able to address
rising costs of its flagship James
Webb Space Telescope mission, which will be used to study how planets are
formed.
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Viewpoint Discussion
Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.
Discussion A
·
Do
you think space and planetary explorations are important?
·
If
you were to explore space, what would you like to find out? Please explain
further.
Discussion B
·
Do
you believe life exists in other planets? Why or why not?
·
How
will it affect us if life is discovered in other planets?