Question: Space Enthusiast: The fact that the government has ignored space science is reprehensible. In the past five years the current administration has spent less than 2.5 billion dollars on promising missions to explore the outer planets and understand the fundamental properties of our universe and the origins of life.

Politician: Your claims are erroneous and absurd. The current administration has allocated over 4 billion dollars for exactly the sort of scientific space missions you claim we do not support!

The apparent contradiction in the claims of the space enthusiast and the politician could best be resolved if which of the following was true?

1. Many space missions require billions of dollars and, often, decades of development and flight before returning any useful scientific data.
2. Politicians often select space missions for funding based not on the mission's potential scientific return but rather on an assessment of the mission's appeal to the public sense of imagination and adventure.
3. Without government funding, projects as complex as space missions to explore the outer planets are unlikely to ever come to fruition.
4. Often the budgetary allocations assigned to one agency or project are instead called upon to fund emergency needs of a different agency or project.
5. Many politicians support space exploration very strongly, albeit sometimes for selfish reasons ranging from creating jobs in their voting districts to seeking exciting ways of inspiring the public

Correct Answer: D
Explanation: The space enthusiast speaks of how much has been spent on space and the politician of how much has been allocated. This small change in words is key to understanding the question, and the correct answer.
Often the budgetary allocations assigned to one agency or project are instead called upon to fund emergency needs of a different agency or project.- Correct. This choice provides a link between these two terms and a reason why all of the 4 billion dollars in allocated funding may not make it to the launch pad.
Let’s look at other available choices.

Option A
Many space missions require billions of dollars and, often, decades of development and flight before returning any useful scientific data.- Incorrect. Out of scope. Time to deliver meaningful returns is not of concern to resolve this discrepancy of missing funds.

Option B
Politicians often select space missions for funding based not on the mission's potential scientific return but rather on an assessment of the mission's appeal to the public sense of imagination and adventure.- Incorrect. Not valid since we know both the parties are speaking about the same type of missions.

Option C
Without government funding, projects as complex as space missions to explore the outer planets are unlikely to ever come to fruition.- Incorrect. Out of scope. Doesn't answer where the funds go.

Option E
Many politicians support space exploration very strongly, albeit sometimes for selfish reasons ranging from creating jobs in their voting districts to seeking exciting ways of inspiring the public- Incorrect. Politicians' reasons to support are not relevant to the discussion. Whether it is out of duty obligations or out of expanding vote banks, it's not the concern.

“Space Enthusiast: The fact that the government has ignored space”- is a GMAT critical reasoning topic. This GMAT critical comes with five options and candidates need to choose the one which is correct. GMAT critical reasoning tests the logical and analytical skills of the candidates.

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