Evaluation of General Sources

In this post, I'll explain a bit a bout an argument concerning aerospace engineering. Interestingly enough, there's not much to argue about within the field, as most of it's just math and science; there aren't many instances where opinions matter for large decisions. However, there is an argument on whether or not we should even explore space in the first place.

Nils-Petter, Norlin. "Space Viking" 3/11/2010 via deviantart.
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Engineering and Technology Magazine

URL:
This website is run by Institution of Engineering and Technology, which distributes articles to around 150,000 people, so it's a fairly responsible company, not just some guy typing up whatever he thinks on a blog. Additionally, it is a .org domain, so it has the benefit of being a bit more trustworthy at face value, as compared to a .com.

Author:

This article actually has two authors (with opposing viewpoints). They are:Robin Hanbury-Tenison, an "author, explorer and campaigner"
and Piers Bizony, an "author, journalist and filmmaker"

Both authors are fairly credible, though neither really works in a specifically space-related field. Even though this is the case, it's OK because the question of whether or not we should explore space doesn't require any advanced knowledge space itself, though it would help.

Update recency:
I could not find it anywhere on the page. However, the debate isn't very time-sensitive. It's just an ongoing question that people may add their opinions to, but ultimately, there isn't much in the way of new, breaking stories that would affect it.

Purpose:
Each author attempts to convince readers of his claim, of whether to support or stop space exploration.

Graphics:
None. This text was primarily focused on giving readers arguments.

Position:
The website could have been biased, as it is the engineering and technology magazine, but the fact that it offered both sides of the argument, makes it seem pretty fair.

Links:
None. It seems a bit sketchy, but, again, the topic isn't something that a much of that would help. The whole debate boils down to a basic opinion of what the government should do with its money currently granted to NASA.

NASA - Why We Explore

URL:
It's NASA's website. They're pretty trustworthy/renown. (.gov - government website:very official.)

Author:
It's pretty hard to find this because the page is just a general statement from the organization as a whole about why they do what they do, though, again, because it's a government website, one could assume that the author is speaking for everyone at NASA, and if it were not the case, the problem would be fixed quickly, as the government has to be particularly careful about its public interactions.

Update recency:
September 30, 2013. Pretty recent, relatively. Again, space exploration is slow, so not much needs to be updated.

Purpose:
Primarily, this text attempts to inform the public about what the government is doing with the taxes allocated to NASA. I also think it tries to convince the public that it's a good thing, and that they should keep getting funding.

Graphics:
Again, no pictures, as it's mostly about the information.

Position:
absolutely the source is biased, because they are the ones who are currently exploring space (and it does cost money.)

Links:
There are links to other articles that offer more information about what NASA does, and what it has accomplished, which adds to the feeling that they want to inform the reader more about what space exploration does for people.