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Space Exploration Is a Waste of Money

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Billions of dollars are spent every year by the world’s space agencies, but does this money bring us any benefit, or should we pull the plug and spend it elsewhere?

All the Yes points:

  1. against space exploration
  2. Space exploration gives us no direct benefit
  3. The Earth itself is not fully explored yet
  4. A commercial space industry is taking over
  5. the new crisis on planet earth: finish your priorities before starting new ones
  6. Money is better used to help human lives in their own country
  7. NASA is very Hazardous
  8. Yes, because
  9. The resources and efforts focused on space exploration could better humanity.
  10. Its a waste
  11. space exploration is a waste of money
  12. Could have been used for more impactful endeavors

All the No points:

  1. Scientific knowledge has value beyond the measurements of cost
  2. The cost isn’t actually very high
  3. It is in man’s nature to explore his environment.
  4. Many discoveries have been made as a result of Space Exploration
  5. Space
  6. Its not a waste
  7. Plastics Industry/Internet
  8. NASA’s Inventions and innovations that help the world
  9. The Largest Benefits
  10. Man’s uncontainable curiosity
  11. Safety of Colonization

against space exploration

Yes because…

Science may well give us good things. We all know Velcro came from NASA. But why bother spending all this money exploring space and finding out there was water on Mars at some point in the last few thousand years (we have water in Earth) when these same great minds could be applied to finding better ways to power humanity’s insatiable desire for energy, to feeding the starving millions around the globe, and generally making life down here better before looking up into the heavens. It seems the authoritative powers have their heads way, way up in the clouds.

The needs of humanity should always come first. While there are people on Earth who need help, they should be helped, rather than seeing money spent on sending robots onto other planets. Humanity is the number one priority; keeping the human race alive is a necessity. Alternatively, space exploration is a desire. If we put our desires before our needs, then everyone loses out on a better standard of living. Sure, it’s great that NASA can elevate technology to the next level time and time again, so why not make technology that directly benefits us? And as there are millions round the world who are starving to death, when people spend more and more money on space technology they should realize they are the killers.

Also, why take so much time and money to learn about Mars or any other planet, when we know so little about our own? We should learn more about Earth and the ocean before wasting time and money on Space exploration.

No because…

Spends the time and money to develop these products for use in space, but usually there are many civilian applications for the same products. Production of these product leads to redevelopment, sales and distribution – all of which leads to more jobs; somebody has to build, sell, and repair.

One last point, we know that Russia and China have both put men in space and now even more countries are getting involved. Obviously we have seen the power of Google Maps (and that is only at the civilian level). Imagine now, that other powerful countries have satellites to spy on us and can position weapons directly above our country, dont you think it would be a good idea to be abloe to stave that off. If we decided to stop “wasting” money on space programs, we can say goodbye to many new developments that will be out of reach of garage scientist and we can expect to be overwhelmed with visitors in the skies above the US.

Did you know that to build a space elevator (a space-platform constructed with the intent of lifting substances into Earth’s orbit) would only cost $40 billion with 100% contingency, and half that for the baseline construction cost? There are endless possibilities, ranging from solar energy farms to revolutionary and cheap intercontinental transportation. Imagine a solar farm, capable of harvesting the solar winds; this translates to an unlimited supply of energy for not just the United States, but the entire world! The human race is changing, and expanding. Soon, the Earth will simply not be big enough and we need to start considering our future as a species.

There are issues that do plague us as a race. There is poverty and injustice in the world. While these issues exist and should certainly not be ignored, the funds put forth to space exploration have a quantifiable impact and are no less of a priority. These problems will likely not be solved by the evolution of invention and space exploration alone, but as technology improves so will the lives of every man, woman, and child regardless of gender, skin color, or wealth. Space exploration needs focus and funding, it is representative of our future, and will secure it. Space exploration is arguably the single-most important investment we could possibly make.

Space exploration gives us no direct benefit

Yes because…

There have been no direct benefits from space travel; the only ‘good things’ to come from it are indirect, and not the end aims. NASA weren’t aiming for velcro, but the moon. We got velcro, the moon gave us nothing except some pretty pictures of the planet below. Scientists and inventors could give us the same by-products for a lot less cost if the associated space exploration was removed from the equation.

All the by-products of the space race could have been developed by commercial companies aiming to make a profit by developing good products and selling them, at a fraction of the cost: the Post-it note is possibly as useful as velcro, but was developed by 3M at a fraction of the cost.

Furthermore, a lot of the ‘advances’ space exploration bring us is irrelevant to daily life: why bother spending money developing a pen that works in zero-gravity when a) a pencil will do and b) the vast majority of the world’s 6 billion people will never experience zero gravity?

No because…

However indirect they might be, the advances would not have come were it not for the space programmes of NASA, as there would have been no technological need. Space exploration gave impetus to projects that have been useful, as well as providing valuable scientific knowledge. For example, the laser-targetting of mirrors left on the moon by Apollo astronauts helps test and understand basic physics, which in turn leads to advances in very earthly things like electronics, hyper-conductivity, etc.

Anyway, space exploration absolutely does give us a direct benefit. When space technology has advanced far enough, we will be able to leave this planet in large numbers and live among the stars. This will solve our population/environment/resource/energy problems for a long, long time. It may take centuries, even millenia, but we will not get the technology without experimenting with it.

The Earth itself is not fully explored yet

Yes because…

Space exploration has always been a gimmick. The USA was doing it only to look better than the USSR and vice versa; it has never really been about the science.

There are far more valuable scientific endeavours to fund, such as the exploration of our own planet. The seabed, especially around volcanic regions, is relatively unexplored, as is Antarctica. One recent news story about a ‘lost tribe’ also highlighted the fact that we are not in contact with all indigenous peoples across the planet.

The scientific knowledge obtainable from our own planet, particularly organisms that inhabit locations with extreme conditions, offers far more value than that of space.

No because…

Potential organisms to be found in space (such as on Mars) offer exactly the same value to the scientific community, and perhaps more, as the conditions would be far more extreme than those found on the Earth. Also, though it is true that much of earth, including the ocean and Antarctica, are unexplored, it’s not as though we’re exploring space instead of our own planet. The effort being made to explore the ocean is just a great as that of Space Travel. Besides, learning about the ocean floor, while that is important, is no more important than space. What is there that we absolutely have to know about the sea floor? Basically, I think that the only reason that we are so interested in exploring our own planet is because it is “our” planet, and we are under the absurd impression that we must know our own environment before branching out into others, when truthfully, doing both at the same time is an ideal opportunity that we seem to be taking for granted.

A commercial space industry is taking over

Yes because…

Even if space exploration was a good target of funding in the past, it is now a growing target of venture capital and private ingenuity. For example, SpaceX’s reusable rocket that is expected to reduce launch costs for commercial satelites, Bigelow Aerospace’s investment in space tourism, and Virgin Galactic’s expected space-faring plane, among others.

Now that private companies are intending to supply space access on the cheap, it is useless to spend all that money on expensive platforms such as the space shuttle.

No because…

the corporations will move in whenever they see opportunity for solid profit, but it is always science, and often government funded research, that finds those opportunities in the first place.
for example you mention satellites which are an integral part of the global communications industry, which in itself would not exist without first having the invention of telephone wires, radio waves, etc., all which have led up to space satellites.

as for the prospects of space tourism again that is simply a result of the fact that governments have funded space research for all these years and finally it is getting to a point where it’s cheap enough and safe enough to send paying citizens up there.

corporations will not do anything that doesn’t guarantee profit so will they investigate whether there is water on the moon? whether it is possible in the future to colonize it? no. it’s too much of a risk so the government has to pay for it.

the new crisis on planet earth: finish your priorities before starting new ones

Yes because…

there are two major crisis going on at your home planet. global warming and the world wild economic crisis, both are severe. if the government doesn’t handle the economic crisis with care we all will end up poor. how can we feed the poor,fend for our selves and take care of really expensive space travels?

space travel is a unwanted business for now. how many of you’ll know that NASA lost count of there budget after the first billions of dollar after the first year? is this more important than caring for the needy? when so many people are dieing as we speak can we just neglect them and say “the money we just spend went for a good cause, and these few hundreds of people who died are nothing because if we don’t find a another planet to escape the cultures of global warming we all will die” is that fair for them?i say no and what will you say?

Global warming is the second most severe issue the earth is going through. we have to take care of our planet before we go roaming other planets. if the great legendary tribes of yesterday were here to see all this they would not believe that long time ago there used to be pure air to breath e and man and animal lived side by side.now everything is destroyed. if we take care of this problem with with care we would be able to overcome this disaster.

what if the space shuttle launch and then fall?then what?the government is going to have to pay more money for that.plus they might get sued.our government is dumb for going along with this.

First priority is to teach people to help themselves so that they can help us when it is time to explore space, so let’s prioritize. We would not have most of the problems of today if our parents taught us better than to steal and hurt others, so let’s teach the next generation so that they can explore space when they are well grounded.

No because…

Our goal here is to create a balance, not to give up one option for another.

It’s sickening to see all of these people going on and on about “saving the starving and impoverished”. Well then sell your computer. Stop commenting on here, go dedicate your life to helping the “starving and needy”. And how many tons of rice and grain do we need to keep dropping on these countries before they get their act together and FEED THEMSELVES. I know it sounds heartless, but it’s their fault. I don’t care if they don’t have money. Man lived for thousands of years off of the land and many (dumb) animals still manage to pull it off. Why do we have to send some christian missionaries over to dig them a well? Why can’t they dig their own well? Why can’t they plant their own grain? Why can’t they hunt their own game or raise their own livestock? Why can’t they move OUT of the areas of drought? Why is it OUR problem? You feel guilty because you live better? We shouldn’t help people that will not help themselves. And something is going to happen and we will ALL be dead or starving on this planet because we refused to move on and advance the survival of our species; all pissed away on supporting some people that would probably just as soon let us starve if we were the ones without food and they were the rich ones.

Most humanitarian organizations simply give poor countries money to fend for their sick and hungry when they can instead teach them how to plant crops that survive in their harsh conditions and educate people who are illiterate and turn them into doctors or farmers. When money is just thrown at their feet, what will happen if the money runs out? When they send people to give them prepared food and medication, what will happen when they leave?
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime.

Money is better used to help human lives in their own country

Yes because…

Imagine you own a house that you have ruined over the years and never bothered to fix any of the integral parts of it, like the hole in the roof, the foundation, running water, garden, and it has become unsanitary, you need 1 Million dollars to fix it up. Instead you plan to abandon this house since you don’t like the neighbourhood anyways, and you want to buy yourself a new one.

You’re really picky and won’t settle for anything less then a perfect new home, no matter the cost. You hire a Realestate agent, his fee to search for your dream home is $1 Billion Dollars, and the potential new home you’re looking in that perfect neighbourhood will cost you more then 100 Trillion dollars. You’re conviced to go with the latter option, cause you’re under the immpression that some really interesting girls live there, but you’re agent has yet to confirm anything of this information. His search still continues….

We know that us humans exist but we don’t know if “space creaters” exist so why bother. If there are things out there they don’t hurt us. We people in your country we are like family and you have to help family.

No because…

Really? This is actually your analogy?

Well, to begin there’s usually more than one person living in a country. Secondly I’m assuming the “1 million dollars to fix it up” means government spending on education, healthcare, policing not to mention military (which is considerably more than scientific space exploration if you live in the US). So your suggesting that governments spend doubly-doubly-doubly-triply-quadruply the amount they spend on those areas on space travel. Needless to say, this simply isn’t the case anywhere. Thirdly, “some really interesting girls” is by far the best analogy based metaphor for scientific knowledge I have ever heard. Not joking, thank you for that.

However flawed your analogy is the title “money is better used to help human lives in their own country” is interesting. But here’s the problem with that argument, the by-product of space exploration is scientific knowledge that has helped an unquantifiable number of humans since the beginning of space explorations. How do you propose to purchase MRI machines without the digital image processing NASA developed[http://techtran.msfc.nasa.gov/at_home/hospital3.html]]? And how are you going to stop your troops from being blown to pieces by land mines without using a NASA Reusable Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM) scrap propellant[http://techtran.msfc.nasa.gov/at_home/landmine.html]] based device? There are numerous more examples that you can Google for yourself. The knowledge that space exploration provides is crucial for developing areas from medicine to the military. Without it development would stall. To attack space exploration in this manner is to attack the purpose of scientific research in general. Science may be done for science’s sake occasionally, but the knowledge generated always benefits humanity.

NASA is very Hazardous

Yes because…

Go and search space shuttle disasters on Google you will find tons of information on how NASA failed on some of its missions risking the lives of there astronauts. Nasa scientists have lost contact with the latest unmanned spacecraft sent to Mars, the $165m Mars Polar Lander.

In September, the $125m Mars Climate Orbiter mission also failed, after an embarrassing mix-up over metric and imperial measurements.

The history of failed missions to Mars stretches back 40 years, so are they a waste of taxpayers’ money, which would be better spent on more earthly needs?

Is the cost of space adventure unjustified while poverty exists in many parts of the world?

No because…

NASA, yes, is hazardous. In space flight missions at least 18 people have died, and millions of dollars have been spent on rovers that have, yes, been unsuccessful. So that means we should give up? Of course not. if at first you don’t succeed, try try again, right. And NASA has succeeded. And while its very true that being an astronaut is a risky, hazardous job, more people die from car crashes in one city in one month than people have died expanding exploration for the last forty years! And so what if failed mars missions stretch back for forty years. Poverty stretches back to beginning of history. If you want to hold of on exploration until we end poverty then I hope you don’t care if we ever explore again. Additionally, all of the hazards of Space exploration are made public knowledge, if you take the time to look, and the Astronauts, which are really the only ones threatened, are fully aware of what they’re signing on for. Their willingness to risk their own lives only serves to emphasize the imprtance of continued exploration in the Universe.

Yes, because

Yes because…

Thinking that the budget devoted to space exploration is wasted money , we believe that this kind of exploratin is a wild dream that we cannot achieve and the huge amounts of money are gone in smoke rather than to spend these amounts to relieve poverty in the Third World and medical researches should be encouraged instead these explorations. In addition we have to explore our planet and solve its problems before thinking in SPACE INVASION.

No because…

The Space exploration program is in no way “wasted money”. Anything we learn is cool because there are ninjas. You see, while we have ninjas here on earth we lack the destructive and mental capability demonstrated by the space ninjas. Wielding their flammable cupcakes, the ninjas will descend upon the earth and kill the enemies of those they work for. Unfortunately, these ninjas can only survive in Neptune’s atmosphere. But we best be usin’ some money to go to space and get them cuz there’s this dude named Daniel who needs a damn cupcake in his face.

Last thing, I wouldn’t apply to it as “Space Invasion” until we find actual life on a planet besides our own, which will never happen unless we explore, therefore, until we explore space more, your argument is invalid!!!

The resources and efforts focused on space exploration could better humanity.

Yes because…

How much money is devoted to space exploration? Hundreds of Billions. They are paid through grants and funding to and from government agencies, paid to companies to develop or innovate current models or ideas, and in turn, those companies pay for the materials and the manpower to manifest those ideas. This time and dedication could be focused on ending famine or building developing countries. It could be used to increase the efforts to combat terminal illnesses or to battle pollution. We could have a workforce teeming with brilliant scientist working on how to ameliorate the efficiency of our consumption of energy. Money could be allocated for education.

We need to focus our resources and efforts to one problem at a time according to priority. At least a tenth of our resources and efforts should be used by a taskforce for one goal/problem at a time. Education should be our first priority to get everyone on their feet to then help the rest of the world in a cycle of progress, so exploring space can wait until we are healthy on the ground unless there is some reason that exploring space is going to improve our condition within the next ten generations more than education would improve our condition, that would be hard to argue in favor of exploration.

No because…

The future is in the stars. The discoveries that await humanity warrants excitement unlike anything else. If this website that I am posting this to, this laptop that I am typing on, and this internet we all are using is the product of the discovery of America, then the possibilities are endless if we look to the heavens.

Its a waste

Yes because…

Space Exploration is a waste of resources. Instead of decreasing resources by space travel and such, we must deal with problems on Earth first. Why bother spending all this money on exploring space when we could be helping our own planet that us humans live on. NASA is very damgerous. So many accidents and problems happened in the space shuttles such as explosions, pieces falling off, and missing the gravity on Earth. That is even more money to fix those problems. Space Exploration is a waste of money and a waste of time. Also, we know we exist, but we don’t know if anything out there exists. Spend time and money on our planet also know as our home.

No because…

space exploration is a waste of money

Yes because…

you can use the money for japan who just had a horrible earth quake. What if a disaster happens in the U.S? if we dont have money to fix it hten we will just have to deal with it.

space exploration is a waste of money. but in some points its not….

No because…

If we have to use the money for something i would strongly approve that we use it for space exploration. Lets say the world is on its edge and we have to get off of the earth then we could take rocket ships and we could live on the moon. If we continue space exploration we could probably find a planet that has water or oxygen. The movie wall-e was a great example. the grown ups and children had to go into space and live in a giant space ship because the world ended. that is most likely to happen to us if the earth just becomes a dump.

Could have been used for more impactful endeavors

Yes because…

Imagine only if we would have pursued alternative energy resources with the effort, time and money we had spent in the space program. Where would we be by now?. Probably in a better position to explore space with better, cheaper, more reliable technology.

No because…

Scientific knowledge has value beyond the measurements of cost

No because…

Knowledge is invaluable. Furthering our understanding of how the universe came into being, and ultimately how we came into being, cannot be measured as useful solely in terms of cost. What price to pay for knowing that in the future, humanity can be saved because there are other planets out there capable of sustaining life?

Scientific knowledge has intrinsic worth. Space exploration is just one aspect of science that seems to have little impact on our daily lives. Who cares if the Higgs-Boson exists? Very few people. But governments have funded a new particle collider at CERN to find it because they recognise the importance of finding it to understanding the universe.

It’s sickening to see all of these people going on and on about “saving the starving and impoverished”. Well then sell your computer. Stop commenting on here, go dedicate your life to helping the “starving and needy”. And how many tons of rice and grain do we need to keep dropping on these countries before they get their act together and FEED THEMSELVES. I know it sounds heartless, but it’s their fault. I don’t care if they don’t have money. Man lived for thousands of years off of the land and many (dumb) animals still manage to pull it off. Why do we have to send some christian missionaries over to dig them a well? Why can’t they dig their own well? Why can’t they plant their own grain? Why can’t they hunt their own game or raise their own livestock? Why can’t they move OUT of the areas of drought? Why is it OUR problem? You feel guilty because you live better? We shouldn’t help people that will not help themselves. And something is going to happen and we will ALL be dead or starving on this planet because we refused to move on and advance the survival of our species; all pissed away on supporting some people that would probably just as soon let us starve if we were the ones without food and they were the rich ones.

Yes because…

The argument that humanity will need to find a new habitat to survive is a stretch and paranoid. Humans are already dying due to poverty and the lack of food etc. The millions of dollars of government funding that goes to space exploration could instead be used to save the humans who are already dying in our world. No-one is going to argue against the value of knowledge but there is a greater value in spending more on food supplies which has a certain result of feeding the hungry, whereas certain results are not present in the theory of discovering a sustainable planet.

The cost isn’t actually very high

No because…

Compared to other areas of government spending (e.g. military), the cost of space exploration simply isn’t ridiculously high. There have been space vehicles built in the private sector for as little as $25m, a drop in the ocean compared to US spending in Iraq, and the net benefits outweigh even these figures.

Yes because…

Although the cost is not high relative to other government expenditure, it is still an additional cost that the taxpayer is burdened with. If this debate is saying that space exploration is pointless then it means spending money on nothing so is definitely a waste. Even if it’s a small amount it is still an amount that could be spent elsewhere.Everyday in Delhi B.P.S buses are are getting blasted due to the default in the engeenering.So we shouldspend money on it not for the space exploration.We should spend money on the coton bags and jute bags.We should spend money on Afforestation .We live on the earth so I request everyone to spend money on the Earth not on space

It is in man’s nature to explore his environment.

No because…

Without the urge to ‘see what’s out there’ the continents would still be populated by the indigenous races. North Americans would all be Native Americans, Africans would all be black, and Australia would have only Aborigines and kangaroos. Let’s take this argument to its extremities: Suppose no one had ever wondered if there was another little village somewhere in the world. Then every group of civilised people would have to grow in their own shell of ignorance. The printing press would have remained in Germany unless some other nation happened to stumble on the same process. The same would apply to…well, the list is just too long and life is too short.

Yes because…

Indeed it is our nature to explore our environment – but that environment is not zero-gravity, extremes (and not the bearable extremes we experience on earth) of temperatures and terrain.

Indeed, there is still a substantial area of our own planet we have yet to fully explore. Why rush off to space when we’ve not seen all of our own planet yet?

If people had just stayed in their own locations they would find ways to become highly advanced in regards to those locations. lIkely, it wold get to the point that if they tried exploration they would be able to benefit most anyone that happened upon their civilization, and vice versa. Think about it as you would from ancient events in Eurasia. The the chinese were only able to help Europe so well because they were isolated from them for so long, even though it did really only lead to much conflict and war, but that was only because of the Europeans greed.

Many discoveries have been made as a result of Space Exploration

No because…

Many discoveries and products have been developed from the knowledge gained from space exploration. For example, NASA created Velcro which is now used in many clothing items, bags and so forth. Non-stick pans and surfaces were also created as a result of space exploration. Now we can cook without worrying whether or not our cakes will stick to the sides of our pans. Overall, space exploration has provided us with new knowledge and as a result of this, many new and intriguing inventions have been made.

It’s sickening to see all of these people going on and on about “saving the starving and impoverished”. Well then sell your computer. Stop commenting on here, go dedicate your life to helping the “starving and needy”. And how many tons of rice and grain do we need to keep dropping on these countries before they get their act together and FEED THEMSELVES. I know it sounds heartless, but it’s their fault. I don’t care if they don’t have money. Man lived for thousands of years off of the land and many (dumb) animals still manage to pull it off. Why do we have to send some christian missionaries over to dig them a well? Why can’t they dig their own well? Why can’t they plant their own grain? Why can’t they hunt their own game or raise their own livestock? Why can’t they move OUT of the areas of drought? Why is it OUR problem? You feel guilty because you live better? We shouldn’t help people that will not help themselves. And something is going to happen and we will ALL be dead or starving on this planet because we refused to move on and advance the survival of our species; all pissed away on supporting some people that would probably just as soon let us starve if we were the ones without food and they were the rich ones.

Yes because…

Although these discoveries have been made, do you really think that velcro and non-stick pans are more important than feeding the starving, solving the current economic crisis or dealing with the environmental issues? Though these inventions may be useful, we can survive without them. A normal pan still cooks your meals, buttons and zips can do up your jumpers or clothes. These items are simply a luxury we cannot afford and we do not need them. The thousands of starving people cannot survive without food so why spend money on products which we do not need.

Space

No because…

No one has ever said that space was not meant for us to cross, who is to say that the oceans were meant for us to cross into America? How many men died crossing the ocean to the Americas and other contintents? Much more then seven I can bet you, but I am not saying their death was pointless and for waste. They knew the risks, and they took it for the sake of knowledge.

It is also not meaningless, how is it meaningless? Many many many technologies have come out of it. (See The Largest Benefits)

Beyond the side effects, which were revolutionary in and of themselves, we may need Space more than we think. We all know, unless we’re dillusional, that our planet won’t last forever (found out through Space exploration, BTW), and that how long it lasts relies heavily on our surrounding environment. The more we know about out own Galaxy, and even just the Universe, the safer we can potentially make out planet. Besides, if we’re not carefull, we’re going to be emigrating to one of those planets out there sooner than we think. Where would we be if Earth became uninhabitable and we, having cut our Space program, were unable to find a substitute?

Yes because…

Its not a waste

No because…

Space travel has given us a lot of new things for example the micro chip, the CAT scan and so on. You might say that we could just put together a group of scientist to figure it out, but and idea has to come from something, and they wouldn’t just make a CAT scan if someone told to to make something to scan a brain, and even if they would, it would take a lot more time. Also, space travel could benefit our future, if we ended up making settlements on the moon or mars, we might be able to mine there and get rare minerals, or a huge supply of a mineral, boosting economy. Think of America, if someone had put a stop to earth’s exploration due to poverty, we wouldn’t have one economically strong country(USA) to help the poor.

Yes because…

a false answer, those things would have been developed WITHOUT a space program.

Plastics Industry/Internet

No because…

Plastic were invented by material engineers working on the space program. it is a large, profitable, and useful industry. Parts of your computer are made of it. Innovations in computing were needed. More efficient fuels were researched. The Internet was a joint military and NASA project. Obviously you are taking advantage of them right now.

Yes because…

Its a waste.

Space Exploration is a waste of resources. Instead of decreasing resources by space travel and such, we must deal with problems on Earth first. Why bother spending all this money on exploring space when we could be helping our own planet that us humans live on. NASA is very damgerous. So many accidents and problems happened in the space shuttles such as explosions, pieces falling off, and missing the gravity on Earth. That is even more money to fix those problems. Space Exploration is a waste of money and a waste of time. Also, we know we exist, but we don’t know if anything out there exists. Spend time and money on our planet also know as our home.

NASA’s Inventions and innovations that help the world

No because…

It’s pretty simple. This is were research happens. Test, trying things out. See what works. What can be improved. Patents on new innovations to create a more sustainable and efficient world.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_spin-off.

Yes because…

see these things would have been created and tested and made and bought without leaving the ground.

The Largest Benefits

No because…

Space Exploration has given us many,many technologies that are essential.

Satellites were some of the first venturers into space and are another critical part of our society.

Weather Forecasting (Satellites. Very important for hurricanes and dangerous storm systems, have saved lives and help us prepare for the worst.)

Velcor and non-stick pans! (Mostly a joke, but hey, they work!) (General Technology.)

GPS (Very critical if your lost somewhere, has saved lives!) (Satellites.)

Long range television! (Satellites.)

Long Range Communication (Phones,Cellphones,etc.) (Satellites.)

Internet. (Satellites, and power lines of course.)

(Much much more.)

Now onto the somewhat psyhcological and green-wise part of why we need Space Exploration.

If we stopped warring with eachohter and wasting precious minerals that we have on this Earth -on- war, we would have a lot more resources to spend on more important things such as daily life, and hey, space exploration wouldnt mind some more attention either. If we spent our time looking for other planets, and other areas of expansion. We would be a much more healthy planet and society. Our Earth is also nearlly completely explored except for the oceans depths which are frankly impossible to get to the bottom too. The pressures are far far too powerful and some even say its more dangerous to trek to the bottom of our oceans then it is into space. Our bodies and steels cannot handle the intense pressure they have for more then a half hour. (The window of an exploratory sub cracked and the crew nearly died before they had to immediately go back up.)

Look at the casualties of war and the waste of resources and land. Oil spills are causing massive damage to the eco-system, the recent gulf spill has me worried that the entire balance might just be at stake. We have seen that solar powered cars can convert it to electricity and has just as much if not more power then gas cars. (Instant accelereation* and some have gone to 100 mph.)
* You have to rev your engine on a gas car to get gas into the engine before accelerating. With electricity the power is instant.

Solar Power is infinitely renewable (Until the sun dies.) and infinitely powerful, why waste money on oil rigs? Your going to get alot more money on solar power and less expenses with minor maintence.

There are so many more things I can name at this time, but here are just a few as I must go eat for now.

Yes because…

Man’s uncontainable curiosity

No because…

To put it bluntly, if aliens were discovered on the face of Mercury, wouldn’t you be interested in hearing about it? I know I would.

Just as man could help but wonder if the Earth was really flat, or if there was anything outside the ‘Known World’. We now feel the same about space, human kind has always needed answers, questions temp us, pull us together and satisfy us when we find the answer. The question’s being asked at the moment are: ‘How did the universe begin?’ and ‘Is there life outside of Earth?’. These questions drive so many people that calling space travel a ‘waste of money’ seems to be an insult to so many people’s lives and careers!

Yes because…

There are many things in our world that have not discovered yet; do cures to AIDS and cancer ring a bell? And what about over coming poverty? The point is, space exploration is extremely expensive. We should find a solution to what we don’t know in our world before exploring a different one. We simply don’t have the money or resources. Besides, if it’s unemployment you’re worried about, more people to devote their lives to over-coming the problems we know about, and not digging up more for us to “solve”.

Safety of Colonization

No because…

Space exploration can lead to humanity’s safety in continuance if/when space exploration have developed more efficient ways to travel. Mars has been dubbed the Earth due to it’s availability to terraforming. The Safety provided of moving to Mars will give a sure securance if Earth was stuck by devastation of the cosmos.

Yes because…

efficient ways to travel? how much fuel to you consume in one trip to the store on mars? and if your worried about living on mars then what you have given up on protecting the earth and find ways to save where you live?

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Srujan
2 years ago

No you told wrong space exploration used for future think bro once we can spend billion dollars on earth but again it will be destroyed by humans only better to spend on space human are the destroyer haow much you spend no use

John Cena got more braincells
2 years ago

The amount of money NASA receives is a small amount a really small amount. NASA’s Budget is 22 Billion US dollars compare that to the Defense budget and the federal budget Which combined is 5.8 Trillion dollars. Why not explore space? Space has resources that can power whole cities that are environmentally friendly. instead of harming our planet with fossil fuels and trillions of dollars of harmful gasses why not spend couple billion to mine asteroids or our own moon that barely cost?

John Smith
3 years ago

Use of space exploration for things near/around our planet is great, but anything beyond that is currently not reasonable to pursue in my opinion, and let me explain why.

Things like satellites are great for communication, GPS, and mapping. I agree that space exploration in that sense is very advantageous for people, and it would make sense to pursue it. However, going beyond that and talking about exploration and colonization of other planets doesn’t make much sense to me considering the technology we have right now. Even if we were able to get a spacecraft to a distant planet our current technology is not at the point where we could feasibly do much with that accomplishment. It would be a great accomplishment no doubt, but it’s not very useful to us considering the end goal of colonization. It makes more sense to wait until the technology is progressed to a point that make those goals more attainable.

Here’s an analogy to show what I mean. Before the airplane could be made, people first needed to invent the engine. This new method of transportation made what was previously a several months long journey across the United States into a trip that can take a single day. With the technology we have now, people trying to physically explore/colonize places other than earth is probably comparable to people trying to build an airplane in the 1600’s. The goal of powered fixed-wing flight would not be realistic considering the technology 400 years ago. King Louis the 14th could have made France’s number one priority to be the development of a flying machine, but even with all the money in the world and the brightest minds of his time, he would not have been able to develop a powered, fixed-wing aircraft in the mid 1600’s.

It may be possible some day, but with the technology we have right now, it’s not really feasible to colonize another planet. It would make much more sense to divert our efforts elsewhere until new developments are made that could make long distance space travel and colonization a more attainable goal.

Last edited 3 years ago by John Smith
COOLGUYDONTLOOKATEXPLOSIONs
3 years ago

Space exploration could save the world; If the world is in a nuclear crisis we would need to evacuate to another planet so we would need to find one and test stuff on it so we could actually use it. So first we’d need to find a planet and bring like some kind of animals or bugs with the humans to test them and see if they could survive the harsh conditions. We would also need to bring prototype space bases to test them and see if they work out or not if we don’t do these steps humanity will possibly end.

dodo
3 years ago

This article has lots of spelling and punctuation errors.

Hamza 13 years old
3 years ago

imagine the total budget of america as one dollar or a hundred pennies (just for estimation) NASA gets about half a penny military gets about 16 pennies social programs gets about 60 pennies and the rest is kept by the government but what do we get for that half of the penny
some sattelites like SMAP are helping to improve life here on earth SMAP costed 900 million$ to make and for that money you could feed the entire africa for less then a day
SMAP monitors the soil moisture levels so you can predict droughts and floods and Africa is using this technology so that instead of a 1 time feed we can help the people to become self sufficient so that without any problem they can grow their own food this increases their productivity so as for a one time benefit they can grow crops and can be self sufficient
the second reason is extinction protection the biggest threat to humans are perhaps humans
humans made nuclear bombs which could annihilate life on earth so we should look forward for new places in case something catastrophically bad happens here on earth
third reason is economy of the 20 billion$ that NASA gets its not like they are putting it in a rocket and sending it to space it goes towards the salaries of the most skilled engineers and thus it gets back to the economy when those engineers use that money
and the final reason is Exploration and imagination
Some people might say why should we waste time exploring space when we have so many problems here on earth just like once our ancestors said why should we spend time focusing on agriculture when we so much trouble hunting and gathering
we should look for new heights to climb and we are good at doing hard things
living on mars would be hard really really hard but thats the thing we are good at doing hard stuff the first person to set foot on mars is alive right now he could be in junior high or high school he could be reading this comment he could be you.
Thats all i have to say and i am very against the people who think space travel is hoax

John Smith
2 years ago

Mark Rober sent you? Cite your sources please.

John Cena got more braincells
2 years ago

Mark Rober :/

Hello
3 years ago

This is my personal opinion, and you may disagree or agree with it. I think space exploration isn’t a waste, however, we should help earth before we explore another planet. Earth is breaking down, and we have to help it before it is too late. If we go explore Mars and spend money on going to find information on a dusty red ball before we do something about our polluted 80% unexplored home, earth isn’t going to last. When we have finally done something about it, more money can be given to space exploration because our planet is finally stable.

ZSam
3 years ago
Reply to  Hello

A large percentage of the country votes frequently to spend more tax money to do the exact opposite of this, however, and yet the percentage of money that is spent on space exploration is a fraction of what is spent on these industries – and more money is lost on giving them tax breaks while they continue to pollute the country. Before we start even THINKING about ho the space budget is any kinds of waste of money, we need to look at that, not to even mention the space budget is also a fraction of the military budget, which spends significantly more on research that leads to the most minor of advancements to military tech that will never be even used.

So before you worry about the .4% of the budget that is spent on space exploration, open your eyes to the much, much higher percentage that is being wasted while you pretend that only, if only there was some sort of program around that would help repair our polluted country – when there are dozens that are swept under the rug because it’s not desirable for the ultra wealthy, who could themselves spend a tiny amount of their wealth to provide NASA’s budget for years. Not to even mention Elon Musk spending his own money to invest in space exploration.

All of these points should be things that are extremely obvious and yet they seem to go over the heads of those complaining on here. The only responses you seem to get are these whataboutisms that only lead to “but hat money could be spent differently”

And yet, it isn’t, despite a much larger amount of money being available TO spend – on things that would help improve the planet dramatically. As a final point – space exploration and research DOES help improve the planet, and it has proven to do so.

A Nom A Mouse
3 years ago

You say the cost of space exploration is not very high when compared to the amount of money spent on the military. The cost of space exploration is incredibly high when compared to a sack of rice.

There is nothing wrong with space exploration but, we as a people need to take care of ourselves and this planet first.

To say we wouldn’t have velcro or other inventions without space exploration is not exactly correct. Most things probably would have been invented at some point as a natural process of human invention.

Username
3 years ago
Reply to  A Nom A Mouse

Its a fact that earth will not be here forever. Whether you conserve it or not, earth will eventually be unable to sustain all this population. Space exploration is nothing wrong so it means it should continue.

Omar
3 years ago

Space travel is really fun and interesting but is it really worth the time and money that is being spent on it? I think there are lot of other things which can be done by that money which will benefit the world and its people. Space travel is really a waste of time and money in my opinion.
Billions of dollars are being spent on space travel. This is a complete waste. That money can be used more effectively on improvements of living of people. For example how are we not taking of the poor and the global economy but we have time and money to spare for space travel? We should learn to prioritize the global conditions first. I am not saying we should stop space travel but give a pause to it.
Global warming is another problem globally which people don’t really care about. They think that space travel can be a solution because they could find a way to live in other planets while the earthy is dying. This could be good but how many people can we get there? And the chances are really low that this would happen so I would say work with your chances. We can easily plant more trees and cause changes in the nature. We could design vehicles which effects the atmosphere less. New technology can be tested which would help the Earth.

Space travel could bring us new technology which would benefit the world economy. It also brings new resources for us which can be used effectively.
Even though it does have some good effects the money which is being used for it can be used for the betterment of the world health and humanity which is far important than space exploring.
When the world is having less problems we could do space exploring but for now the best thing to do is to pause it and that’s why I think space travel is a waste of time and money for now. 

wrong_employer
3 years ago

NASA doesn’t only do space explorations, actually a significant amount of money is spent on helping the Earth. Instead of giving poor people money, food, just to see them beg again, they plant the seed for poor people to grow their own food and build infrastructure, or, in other words: to be self-sustainaining. Not to mention how they contribute to the economy, every dollar spent on NASA adds eight-dollars to the economy. Think real science, no vaccines, covid, 5g bullshit.

Advanced3
3 years ago

Typical humans, destroy your planet and simply think you can move to another, like a virus. Humanity will off itself long before we have the technology to colonize another planet. Even if it ever happens do you think your middle class family will stand a chance at getting a ticket as the Earth is dying, i highly doubt it.

Lara
3 years ago

There are definitely more ways than yes or no. It would much rather be yes AND no. I would like to add something that will be to agree with this article. Yes it is not necessarily a “waste” as such, but more of the fact that the money could be used for something more important. I definitely agree with the fact that if our earth turns to dump like in Wall-e, we could escape using the materials that would be found because of space exploration, but there are some things that could help prevent the earth from ending like that in the first place. Like for example, putting the money to cover poverty issues, or to feed the homeless, or to purchase homes for the homeless. Billions of dollars are floated away each rocket that is tested, of which could’ve been used to provide homes, food, and lives to people without them. However, I am not saying that money shouldn’t be used on space exploration. My, who wouldn’t want to explore the universe! Who knows what’s out there, and sure it might cost a little bit of money to get out there, but its totally worth it!

I bet you’re probably confused with where my comment is leading to, but what I am trying to say is… Go half! Equality is endlessly important in this world, so that no one can never feel alone. This could also mean saving half of the money (earned by many) to go to one side with space exploration, and the second half to go towards the other side with solving worldwide issues! I’m not saying that money will save the world, but I think if the right people have the big money, they could definitely create a positive impact on our earth, or even the universe.

martha
3 years ago

of course! it is a waste of time and money and prioritising. All the satellites up and all the whiff 5g enabling us to do this, or them, is making the planet get warmer, its wasting the money governments say they don’t have then spend on this exploring outside of our planet when you have destroyed it, do not let us be in contact with nature and want to explore space to see if we can live there, with suits and non gravity. You that are for this are all weirdos, fucktards, destroy earth then go to space, spend loads of money that we people pay for you to go put all that space pollution so then we do not get the earths natural resonance so that you can go , haha you think you can go live out there, when there are people dying, you say atm, in hospitals due to a virus you put out so that we continue making money for you to go and the rest of the fucktards being brainwashed by you are here excited to see the launch so that they will go to one day – yeah right! Wale up! get together, or just stay out there take your satellites and leave us alone weirdos. We’re the ones paying fo this and we’re the ones that will never go to space yet we look at them in amazement instead of living life on earth as it should taking care of ourselves, our neighbours and our environment which is: Planet Earth. There’s loads of need here on Earth: erase poverty and hunger, injustice and corruption – once we have earth sorted – maybe then we can go explore – for now this is all a muppet show – wake up. Lets change all the worlds major political, economical system cause that’s what they’re doing: control of money done through the people to make them the money, brainwashed, covid19, chip, vaccines and 5g, guys 5g will make all this bs possible. we must go back to nature, we are :)

wrong_employer
3 years ago
Reply to  martha

Isn’t space part of nature?

tom
3 years ago

All these arguements for space exploration are made by the over-educated comfortable people who are willing to let 60% of humanity starve in abject poverty. Even animals and cavemen know SURVIVAL is the first prioity, not satisfying curiosity. Those who argue for space exploration rather than food, shelter, and medical care for all are inhumanly arrogant. Are they the new SS? Are refugee camps our modern concentration camps? Have you no shame?

Yours Sincerely
3 years ago
Reply to  tom

0.4% of U.S tax dollars are spent on space exploration. Clearly this is not being prioritised at all, unlike what you say. This is NOT being argued as more important than fighting poverty. By the way, I’m pretty sure refugee camps don’t have industrialised murder machines in them. I may be wrong but those are my thoughts.

dodo
3 years ago

it is not a waste because you could know what is out there in space and if we could survive.

Breanna H
3 years ago

I believe space exploration is a waste of money because you need tons of fuel just for one trip. And think of all the fuel being released into the universe, that can not be good.

Isla F
3 years ago
Reply to  Breanna H

you can say the same about cars, planes, boats etc. but oh no we can’t mention them because they are used in everyday life and would drastically change life if they were gone and we don’t want that now, do we

Kiara
3 years ago
Reply to  Isla F

And…. Rockets need wayyy much more fuels than cars

dodo
3 years ago
Reply to  Breanna H

true

Tao
3 years ago
Reply to  dodo

To begin with, the points supporting the position that space exploration is a waste of money, illness, trauma, and even death has happened because of the idea to send people to the moon. Allow me to explain. NASA has experimented with so much metal costing more than $238 billion. And not only that but tragedies killing young, innocent and courageous astronauts in groups of three, and many families were miserable. For example, Apollo 1 killed three astronauts in a devasted fire and had wasted 2.8 million kilograms of metal and gas. That is just one of the many reasons why space exploration is a waste of money.

Second of all, why look for other planets and try to live on them while you haven’t even perfected the first planet we have found, Earth? After all, climate change is taking over the planet. Researchers believe that by 2050, Earth will become hot and sea levels will rise by 25 metres the least, and there will not be able to have enough food. and yet NASA does nothing but creating metals? That is outrageous. The heat, the fire, all contribute to global warming. NASA needs to spend the money not on creating metals then sending them to space releasing chemicals such as CO2, and spend it wisely on global warming.

Xmod
3 years ago
Reply to  Breanna H

You do realize that this fuel, or propellant is so tiny compared to the scale of the whole universe, despite the might of the word tons using it when comparing it to the scale of the cosmos is as good as comparing zero to it. Even so, cryogenic liquid fuels like hydrogen when combusted with oxygen to produce thrust to lift a rocket produce dihydrogen monoxide, water. There are only some fuels that could have potential threat to only us here on Earth in terms of carbon dioxide pollution, like methane as the fuel since when burned produces carbon dioxide and water.

Ethan
4 years ago

Many people here seem to think that money is ‘wasted’ on space exploration. That money is not being pumped into space, it is merely being used to pay the workers, and pay for materials. That money is going back to the people to be spent on other things. This is how the economy works. One could make the conclusion that Space exploration is good for the economy, causing more jobs (less poor people).

Additionally, the technology developed leads to new industries such as many human health related companies. This also causes more jobs, leading to less poor people.

Bob
4 years ago

It is a fact, one day earth will not have resources at the ready for our consumption in a manner that can sustain our 8billion-ish population. When this day comes, all the coal, oil, water, soil, nutrients etc etc.. will not have disappeared, they will be in our coffins, in our skyscrapers, in our roads, our dumps, they will for the most part fundamentally changed. over time, they will return in most cases to usable resources once again. I am being intentionally vague about this description as i have not done proper research as to the consistency of this theory (example, a fruit would decompose and break down much faster than weather, heat and elements would break down a concrete slab.) but knowing that a hurdle such as this will occur, not to mention our sun will one day, (very certainly not any time near for us or our even imagined distant offspring) but some time in our species future, they will have to deal with the sun exploding outwards and consuming most of the planets neighboring and including earth. and by deal i mean, leave or die. There seems to be a lot of “space exploration is not a NEED, or its a “waste of money” and other simple minded reasonings to black list something they dont understand, or dont want to. Yes, space exploration is very expensive right now. were still rather infantile when it comes to this field. part of the reason is, we have just started scratching the surface of reusing materials, (particularly rockets) to leave our planet and return without having to rebuild and re-do everything over for the next trip. i do not deny that CURRENTLY, our space program is expensive. But as we slowly eat away at what our planet has to offer us, we should and can be doing the needful, and exploring our options. “Space exploration is a waste of money” based on this statement, I say, FALSE. it is NOT a waste of money, i see the long term value, and importance of space travel. I do, also, generally understand and appreciate the need for effective, and concise goals. These goals are not as easy to obtain when you are in a situation where you are still writing the book on ” how its done – Nasa edition” If we could effectively and technologically “explore” space… we wouldn’t be wasting money anyways, we would be efficient because our techniques and skills would be honed and conditioned for this type of expedition and money wouldn’t be “wasted” ( i would say, invested ) on research and development. It is also some sort of misconception that the government is supposed to support and spend money to govern, police and protect the citizens of the country, when in fact that is the states job, or more specifically, each citizen, and his or her families job to do so. and it is disappointing to see money spent elsewhere on questionable ventures, just as haphazardly and without pause, as nasa and our space industry has though at least with nasa there is enough reason, and valid points to conclude that yes, large amounts have been used in the past for funding a “seemingly” pointless organization, but when you look at the big picture, and consider POSSIBLE future threats to mankind, whether they be real or not, preparing for colonization or some sort of relocation plan out in the final frontier, is, not a waste of money.

Bob
4 years ago

Why are we discovering space when we have not even discovered earth to it’s full extent. Space for all we know is infinite. Now we are wasting resources on space research when there is and earth right in front of us we have not even discovered. We are also in a climate crisis and not spending money on helping the environment. Instead we spend money on trying to possibly to get to an planet that we might not even make it to and possibly not even livable.

Samuel Kachow
4 years ago
Reply to  Bob

Space exploration has contributed to countless technologies that has benefitted life on Earth. Space could very well be the solution to all of Earth’s major problems.

Terrence
4 years ago

It is a fact, one day earth will not have resources at the ready for our consumption in a manner that can sustain our 8billion-ish population. When this day comes, all the coal, oil, water, soil, nutrients etc etc.. will not have disappeared, they will be in our coffins, in our skyscrapers, in our roads, our dumps, they will for the most part fundamentally changed. over time, they will return in most cases to usable resources once again. I am being intentionally vague about this description as i have not done proper research as to the consistency of this theory (example, a fruit would decompose and break down much faster than weather, heat and elements would break down a concrete slab.) but knowing that a hurdle such as this will occur, not to mention our sun will one day, (very certainly not any time near for us or our even imagined distant offspring) but some time in our species future, they will have to deal with the sun exploding outwards and consuming most of the planets neighboring and including earth. and by deal i mean, leave or die. There seems to be a lot of “space exploration is not a NEED, or its a “waste of money” and other simple minded reasonings to black list something they dont understand, or dont want to. Yes, space exploration is very expensive right now. were still rather infantile when it comes to this field. part of the reason is, we have just started scratching the surface of reusing materials, (particularly rockets) to leave our planet and return without having to rebuild and re-do everything over for the next trip. i do not deny that CURRENTLY, our space program is expensive. But as we slowly eat away at what our planet has to offer us, we should and can be doing the needful, and exploring our options. “Space exploration is a waste of money” based on this statement, I say, FALSE. it is NOT a waste of money, i see the long term value, and importance of space travel. I do, also, generally understand and appreciate the need for effective, and concise goals. These goals are not as easy to obtain when you are in a situation where you are still writing the book on ” how its done – Nasa edition” If we could effectively and technologically “explore” space… we wouldn’t be wasting money anyways, we would be efficient because our techniques and skills would be honed and conditioned for this type of expedition and money wouldn’t be “wasted” ( i would say, invested ) on research and development. It is also some sort of misconception that the government is supposed to support and spend money to govern, police and protect the citizens of the country, when in fact that is the states job, or more specifically, each citizen, and his or her families job to do so. and it is disappointing to see money spent elsewhere on questionable ventures, just as haphazardly and without pause, as nasa and our space industry has though at least with nasa there is enough reason, and valid points to conclude that yes, large amounts have been used in the past for funding a “seemingly” pointless organization, but when you look at the big picture, and consider POSSIBLE future threats to mankind, whether they be real or not, preparing for colonization or some sort of relocation plan out in the final frontier, is, not a waste of money.

Goldmary18
4 years ago

Yes because space exploration causes our earth more and more damage every time NASA tries to build another spaceship to go outer space how? Some of you may ask by making more and more fuel every time to fill a whole space ship which is basically enough to keep a city running for a couple of days is damaging the earth .that is why we only have like 12 years to leave that’s how space exploration destroys the earth

Craig
5 years ago

The problem with this whole argument is money. Greed, power and money are the exact things that are holding us back from being a truly evolved civilisation. Humanity as a species one day will have to leave earth to survive no matter how well we look after the planet. It may sound obvious and I’m sure some people will disagree with me but we should not be paying for anything that helps or advances the human race. Cures for disease, world hunger, exploration of space are all things that we need to survive as a species. One day hopefully the whole world can come together and realise that the future is not charging people money for things they need to survive and instead pooling our resources to better humankind. This is just the basic side of the argument, and I’m happy to go into more detail with anyone that really wants, but reality is the only reason there is a cost involved at all is because we have put a cash value on everything. Everything we use is a natural resource and the real question should be.. Why is money even involved? Let’s just do what we need to do as a species to survive.

Kelly
5 years ago

I find it really hilarious that space exploration is more important than the survival of our planet and its peoples. Food, housing, drilling for water in some countries. What is really going on? Are the rich just looking for an out because they have continually ruined this planet and are not really concerned about the well fare of others.

Eric
3 years ago
Reply to  Kelly

I know your post is a year old, but the benefits of the technology developed by NASA and DARPA during the space race were life-changing. Computers, cell phones, the camera on your cell phone, thermal blankets, an electrolytic silver ionizer (one of the great water purification systems used by millions around the globe), WARP 10 LEDS (used everywhere in hospitals and great for growing plants), CAT Scans and Radiology. I can continue to go on, but you can literally google this stuff yourself. Our planet will die no matter what we do because of the giant fucking burning hydrogen ball we call our sun next door. For a Mars mission NASA, DARPA, and a third party company might develop powerful carbon scrubbers that we could use on earth to try and bring down carbon amounts. Space exploration is a race against our own extinction, not a rich man’s endeavor. Also, NASA built a satellite that scans the surface of the earth to predict drought, when to rotate crop fields and where new fields should go. All the info is publicly available to the world and has helped several countries in Africa produce better and better yields from their crops. There are rich people in this world who want and are progressively fixing issues. Don’t blame humankind’s ignorance of the past (the industrial revolution)on the rich. You can blame the rich for all your life’s problems but that won’t do you any good.

ClassifiedScienceGeek
5 years ago

A lot of people might think this is a waste, but science and technology these days is so ‘epic’ that it’s bad NOT to. And imagine, a whole new universe with life other than us. How could we know about it if we DIDN’T pay for space exploration? The thing is, if we DIDN’T pay, we WOULDN’T! Elon Musk, Neil Armstrong, and everyone else would definitely agree. So, heck YES we should spend money on exploring space! And I know people might be like; “But what about the poor? And what about helping the needy and building more hospitals? Those astronauts are GREEDY!” But some people that DON’T pay for space exploration can do that AS WELL AS exploring the universe.

Mabon
5 years ago

we CAN’T explore space well at the moment as we don’t have the technology to move fast enough. we are exploring things at the moment that even if you sent childeren their childeren would not reach them

Anonymous
5 years ago

no we should use the money to explore the seas because we no almost nothing about what’s under the seas.

PatentPending
4 years ago
Reply to  Anonymous

That’s because we don’t have the technology to withstand that kind of pressure, we would need a sort of super material, Wich we may discover through space exploration.

Bruce M
6 years ago

OK …so why should we want to go to Mars anyway? We could screw up another planet! Better look after this one first. The thing is we have made such a mess here already. How many could live there and how many of us would have to pay “astronomical” $ to get them there and to provide all the huge $ to keep them alive up there. First we have to make this planet earth very prosperous in order to pay the bill. 1) We have to make peace reign here. 2) feed all the poor here 3)get much smarter than we are now 4) I guess in order to reach that point we will have to ignore the dummies who have given us so much trouble in the past. So, if we eventually arrive at (Heaven on earth) …. well at that point, who wants to leave. There is a heaven “up there” but it is not Mars; read the famous text ( most read on planet earth – the Bible) and find the answers.

Ashley Daven
3 years ago
Reply to  Bruce M

Yes, I agree with your point, and though people may be saying that this stops exploration, did you know that there are private companies such as SpaceX and Virgin Galactic that can ensure that exploration still happens, isn’t that enough. We still have a whole world to take care of, and we need to help it first. So I completely agree with you.

pokettz
3 years ago
Reply to  Bruce M

As a species we need to expand so space exploration is a perfect way to do that.Discovering things In space might be a solution to the problems here on earth.so making a home on mars is a good way to expand and plus earth is part of space.

CommonSense
6 years ago

Go hug a tree. The inventions made as a result of space exploration could have been developed for a fraction of the cost. Velcro. Really? You needed a few billion dollars to come up with that idea? Those dollars could have been spent on other things, you say that people have always found a way to provide for themselves, that we shouldn’t waste our time trying to feed the less fortunate. I do partially agree; however, what if their government is the one stopping them from doing so? Many communists countries are poor, it’s not the people’s fault that they can’t get clean water or food. Another point is that our own planets isnt even fully explored yet. From youth, we are taught “work before play”. The U.S. is prancing around in space when their work isn’t even done here. Our nation is trillions of dollars in debt, and they waste way too much money on pictures of Earth and Mars dust? Sure, it would be cool if there were other life on Earth. But even if we found a plant sprig on Mars, since when did people become so interested in seedlings? I’m not against space exploration at all. I love exploration. I’m against the staggering costs and time put towards it.

pokettz
3 years ago
Reply to  CommonSense

no NASA only gets 20 billion dollars it might be a lot to you but not a lot in space exploration.if you split the money the USA use’s on things NASA only gets less than half a penny

Jebediah Kerman
6 years ago

We need space exploration for Climate Science, unless you are a pseudoscientist who doesn’t believe in climate change.

joe
6 years ago

can anybody give me some authors, experts, writers, etc. that are notably anti-space exploration. i need them for a paper but cant find any.

mia
6 years ago

Space exploration should be continued in our country, and around the world. This will explain why I think this, and why others think this as well. There are many reasons we should continue space exploration, but i can’t fit them all in one essay so here are some more examples. One, this creates jobs for people. Two, if stop funding it then the little kid who wants to be an astronaut will never get to be one. Finally, if we stop human exploration but continue robot exploration the human brain and common sense will be taken away.

Ashley Daven
3 years ago
Reply to  mia

I would just like to say, we do not necessarily need to stop space exploration but private sectors can manage it such as SpaceX and Virgin Galactic. While the government can put money to use, in better ways such as sustaining our environment.

rose
7 years ago

Listen, in order to advance our civilization, we must reach past our comfort zone. Yes it’s expensive, but so is curing cancer or AIDS. Space Exploration is simple a matter of if you get bored about Earthly problems or not. For me, I’m tired of listening about terrorism. global epidemics, wars, corruption, lies, and everything that the government gives out. What excites me, what interests me, is the idea that we are not alone in the universe. The idea that there is a civilization that is probably as advanced, if not more, as us and the idea that we need to be prepared if they ever find out we’re here. In terms of cost, computers used to cost thousands of dollars. While some computers still do, I don’t know anyone who doesn’t have one. Our phones are tiny computers! Just think about how there are somethings that use to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and now it’s something everyone has. Soon enough, a ticket to space will be the same as a plane ticket.

WaywardSon
7 years ago

When Neil Armstrong first stepped foot on the moon it wasn’t just a victory for him and Buzz or even just America. People are so divided but in that moment mankind did the impossible. Flew higher than any animal born with wings, farther than any animal had traveled. Mankind went where life itself can’t go. Space exploration has done a lot but for one moment it gave every man, woman, and child of any race or religion a victory never felt before. The moment where we finally knew that nothing is impossible. And you can all rub it off and say that’s nothing but even you know that the moment they stepped on the moon it was nothing short of “a giant leap for mankind “

Blaine
7 years ago

This article is very damaging to science. NASA didn’t just give us Velcro…..It was an astrophysicist who was studying gas clouds between stars because he noticed he could see Atomic nuclei in the gas clouds. This fascination lead him to understand why. He figured out that it was powerful magnetism between the stars that exposed the atomic nuclei. You are asking yourself why this study of gas clouds was important…well at the time it wasn’t, until and engineer took this concept of exposing atomic nuclei with high powered magnets and applied it to the human body. Through this Magnetic Resonance Imaging was born, Better known as the MRI. This new machine that would greatly benefit our health care came from looking to the stars. I can keep naming example after example after example…studing and exploring the stars and other planets will always make life better here on earth.

Smart
7 years ago

It is absolutely a waste of time and money on space exploration because there are lots of thing on Earth whom we don’t know therefore the first task is to know about our Earth on which we are living and the second thing is that there are millions of people who sleep without supper therefore it is better to stop wasting money on space exploration. I am not saying that it has not given us benefit and information about the planets ect but the first thing is that to look after towards our own earth.

yolo
6 years ago
Reply to  Smart

Firstly, without space exploration, you probably wont be able to call your mother at home via mobile phone. This is one broad view. Let me specify the importance of space exploration into one example. Why do the astrophysicist studied Sun, like the solar flares, sunspot etc. ? Through study, they found out that all these phenomena create huge magnetic impact that can undermine radio signals on Earth and by acknowledging cycles or whatever processes happen there, lots of problems and waste of money through not realising this effect can be avoided.
I’ll just stop here because firstly, it is enough with just this info to tell that other things like pulsar, dark matter does benefit us in some way we could not see and secondly, to recap that you may want to take back your words that the budget on space exploeation is no waste at all.
And also, budget for suppers for poor are probably even with budget of research which sooner goes to different branches where astronomy are just a single branch in the entire research fields. Yeah, I agree that we should take care of poors, but space exploration doesnt always mean to cut budget from other e.g. from welfare portion.

JUST SEE MY COMMENT
3 years ago
Reply to  Smart

THIS REPLY IS FOR yolo
putting up satellites for calls and other connectivity is important but that doesnt mean space exploration it clearly has “EXPLORATION” which is derived from the word explore which means to see beyond what there already is but why should we when the earth has not been explored first we have to see things which we know have more of a chance at being unsuccesful than succesful why ?? and why are we exploring space?? to find another planet to destroy and why dont we save some money for the people who dont have homes? how will the homeless people even go to another earth-like planet if they cant even afford to buy one here at the original one because as far as it goes for money to transport so many people wont be free obviously and it is not necessary that all satellites/rockets have succesful landings and launches

reptilians
7 years ago

Yes, space exploration is a waste of money and resources because we are base low-life creatures that don’t deserve to explore the celestial heavens. We just deplete more of Earth’s resources through space exploration. Waste of oil, fuels, gases, metals, etc… We, the people should just be realistic, live on earth as it is, deplete its resources, slowly but carefully. We should not waste any precious dime on black stuff.

Xauuuuuuuuhve
7 years ago
Reply to  reptilians

Who said we are “low-life creatures that don’t deserve to explore the celestial heavens”? Really, while we would deplete Earth’s resources by going into space, there are exponentially more resources in space that might aid us in exploration MORE. For example, there are giant balls of gas call stars that could give us energy to power spaceships, bases, etc. There are also lots of precious metals in asteroids, which could offset all these economic problems that we have on Earth. “We, the people should be realistic, live on Earth as it is” practically is a suicide note. Think of this allegory: imagine you are in a house, and that house is burning down. Would you stay inside in the house’s basement and say “It’s fine,” or would you run out of the house like your life depends on it? Really, it’s far more realistic to go into space and establish colonies or something for the well-being of our species, as opposed to sit in our burning house and say “It’s fine.”

some body
6 years ago
Reply to  reptilians

You say that space exploration is waste of and we shouldnt waste resources right? well what will happen when those resources run out? Space exploration is highly likely to give us more energy sources and the state the world is in right now we need to take risks

Ashley Daven
3 years ago
Reply to  some body

I agree with you, we need to take care of our resources, and we can continue space exploration, but not the government, smaller private sectors can take care of this. Then we can focus on sustaining our world so that our resources don’t run out as quickly.

Leo
7 years ago

Guys lets be honest with ourselves it would be great to say that we could use the money from space exploration to help out third-world countries but it simply won’t happen. The money would just go to something else that the government is working on such as education or the road systems. But even then what is the use of roads and an education if there are no jobs out there. This is one thing that space exploration does well it creates hundreds if not thousands of jobs which is important for the economy. Also in my opinion it takes a one sided mind to see only the cons or only the pros. People say that space exploration does not receive enough returns to be considered useful. So I say to those individuals who believe that space exploration is a waste of money you see that device you are holding and the thing called the internet that is allowing you to look this up, or duct tape, flash lights and so on. I will leave you with this. Based on what you are saying that things that are not giving returns are useless and should not exist. So you are saying that since cancer treatment is a 50 to 50 chance of working and that this is not a good enough return because people are still dying. Does that mean we should give up on cancer treatment… No that means we keep pushing forward.

carmine spaziano
7 years ago

No, space exploration should be first and foremost.A planed trip to mars in this time should not be even be considered.Let technology catch up with our need to explore.Look at us now,we are on the brink of cold fusion.We have large coliders finding eliments never before seen.The idea of folding space is within our grasp.A mission to a distant planet would be an exersize in feutility at this time.There is no way a person could servive a year in a confined space,the mental stress would be overwhelming.Building and or paying a shit load of people to design such a craft is a waste.Wait 10 or 20 years.I do beleive one thing ,putting money into our space prgram is a good thing.Satilites and robotic probes should be funded.As far as sending humans out in deep space,no.I envy the young people,in the near future,they will be able to breach the upper atmosphere.all because we had the funding for space exploration.

Lucy
7 years ago

Scrub one mission and our homeless and hungry veterans would not be homeless or hungry…Some missions need not happen. I understand the satellite tech side of it…but there are other missions that should be scrubbed and the money used to build housing for homeless vets.

memes are good
5 years ago
Reply to  Lucy

You are wrong because half of the NASA missions are actually helping the earth, just like SMAP. That mission helps measure soil moisture, and its intended purpose is to help people grow their own crops because soil moisture is important.

alore
5 years ago
Reply to  memes are good

but that doesn’t mean that they are wrong, yes some missions are helping our planet, but there are also some that could be canceled or postponed to help with other things like homelessness and poverty.

Doin Fake names EVERYWHEEREE
3 years ago
Reply to  alore

I agree with you alore, we should. And, even though the government may not be funding this other companies that specifically focus on space exploration, can. The government should focus on life-threatening issues, that need to be solved, and are urgent.

Spencer Lohr
10 years ago

Why is space exploration awesome? OTHER PLANETS.
What exists because of the space program?
Artificial limbs
Invisible braces
scratch-resistant lenses
space blankets
aircraft anti-icing systems
memory foam
freeze drying
advanced solar cells
And many more! —> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_spin-off_technologies

CommonSense
6 years ago
Reply to  Spencer Lohr

Any other scientist could have come up with those same inventions without spending billions of dollars. Seriously, no one thought about scratch-resistant lenses till they thought about space? Please.

commonercommonsense
3 years ago
Reply to  CommonSense

although you are correct in the statement, and i agree that some of there inventions would have been found in the future. I feel like the real question would be how long would we have to wait for these “uninvented” invention to have been invented? would it be years? decades? we dont know the answer to that obviously, but we do know how the world would have been affected by not having these inventions. How many lives would have been drastically worser if these inventions weren’t “invented” yet? The answer to that would be a lot of lives.

Spencer Lohr
10 years ago

Science = Better technology = better life on earth

Anthony
10 years ago

Space exploration allows for funding for new technology to be tested, implemented, and used for everyday life’s. Jobs for educated individuals and less for food stamps…tough decision.

dude
10 years ago

Space exploration is a waste of money, but the civilizations who are stupid enough to ignore this and leave their domain will one day be the ones descending from the sky and owning the entire galaxy, plus Earth will run out of stuff and we will need to take it from asteroids. Calling space a waste of money is like calling discovering America a waste of money

maggied
10 years ago

“Some people ask: ‘Why should I care what happens in space? Don’t we have enough to deal with right here on Earth? ‘ Well, consider the dinosaur.” –Bruce Betts

ILOVEDEBATE
11 years ago

just so you know space exploraion isnt just about going and seeing the moon i is about finding ways to improve our planet and if we finally destroy our planet because of all the pollution where will we move to survive being knee deep in poo? secondly what is the point of building house for the poor if the earh will collapse in on them due to lack of space exploration?

JUST SEE MY COMMENT
3 years ago
Reply to  ILOVEDEBATE

U talk about pollution when one of the major reasons of pollution happens whenever a space rocket or satellite launches the amount of sudden pollution is so much and fuel is not only burned up in the earth’s atmosphere its burned up after entering space also.i m not saying we should totally stop but we should lessen

Jeffin
3 years ago

MAJOR lolol look up the facts

Stucker
11 years ago

It is a fact, one day earth will not have resources at the ready for our consumption in a manner that can sustain our 8billion-ish population. When this day comes, all the coal, oil, water, soil, nutrients etc etc.. will not have disappeared, they will be in our coffins, in our skyscrapers, in our roads, our dumps, they will for the most part fundamentally changed. over time, they will return in most cases to usable resources once again. I am being intentionally vague about this description as i have not done proper research as to the consistency of this theory (example, a fruit would decompose and break down much faster than weather, heat and elements would break down a concrete slab.) but knowing that a hurdle such as this will occur, not to mention our sun will one day, (very certainly not any time near for us or our even imagined distant offspring) but some time in our species future, they will have to deal with the sun exploding outwards and consuming most of the planets neighboring and including earth. and by deal i mean, leave or die. There seems to be a lot of “space exploration is not a NEED, or its a “waste of money” and other simple minded reasonings to black list something they dont understand, or dont want to. Yes, space exploration is very expensive right now. were still rather infantile when it comes to this field. part of the reason is, we have just started scratching the surface of reusing materials, (particularly rockets) to leave our planet and return without having to rebuild and re-do everything over for the next trip. i do not deny that CURRENTLY, our space program is expensive. But as we slowly eat away at what our planet has to offer us, we should and can be doing the needful, and exploring our options. “Space exploration is a waste of money” based on this statement, I say, FALSE. it is NOT a waste of money, i see the long term value, and importance of space travel. I do, also, generally understand and appreciate the need for effective, and concise goals. These goals are not as easy to obtain when you are in a situation where you are still writing the book on ” how its done – Nasa edition” If we could effectively and technologically “explore” space… we wouldn’t be wasting money anyways, we would be efficient because our techniques and skills would be honed and conditioned for this type of expedition and money wouldn’t be “wasted” ( i would say, invested ) on research and development. It is also some sort of misconception that the government is supposed to support and spend money to govern, police and protect the citizens of the country, when in fact that is the states job, or more specifically, each citizen, and his or her families job to do so. and it is disappointing to see money spent elsewhere on questionable ventures, just as haphazardly and without pause, as nasa and our space industry has though at least with nasa there is enough reason, and valid points to conclude that yes, large amounts have been used in the past for funding a “seemingly” pointless organization, but when you look at the big picture, and consider POSSIBLE future threats to mankind, whether they be real or not, preparing for colonization or some sort of relocation plan out in the final frontier, is, not a waste of money.

Stucker
11 years ago
Reply to  Stucker

Edit:

*mentioning the sun expanding and consuming the planets? i was refering to the process of a star dying, where it expands outwards then will collapse in on itself.

*when i talk about effective concise goals, im basically saying, yeah look at a year here and there, it looks like nasa is spinning their wheels, but really the growth of space flight technology is so slow compared to the potential of space flight, that we have a long way to go, and naturally starting out with any sort of venture, you have to spend a lot of money at first to get off the ground (pun sort of intended lol)

Addition:

*LIVE LONG AND PROSPER.

Matthew Tackett
6 years ago
Reply to  Stucker

To not explore space because of financial issues is ridiculous. I seem to recall that the discover of the America’s needed backing. Was it worth it? To not put forth the cash will hurt humankind. We must continue to expand or as a species we will slowly begin to die. Our solar system alone has many possibilities. We are explorers by nature. Earth does need to be fully explored. But for the future of our species must expand beyond the cradle and reach out into the universe.

COOLGUYDONTLOOKATEXPLOSIONs
3 years ago
Reply to  Stucker

wow how long did you spend on that, prettey amazing.

RandomPerson
11 years ago

Shall I tell you what is a real waste of money? In 2010 the USA spent 665 billion on it’s military, only 0.5 % of the US budget went to space exploration. Now before you complain that the money spent on the space exploration could be used to stop worldwide suffering, then take another look at the statistics. And tell me which one is more wasteful?

So you are complaining that investing in exploring alternate sources of minerals, alternate planets to live on, developing technology (internet, GPS, mobile phones, etc.) is worse than spending money on murder and destruction?

cece jonablone
11 years ago

there is no point to send someone up there where there is lack of oxygen and water to die

hzetkd
9 years ago
Reply to  cece jonablone

and how much does it cost to build one for one person?

Really
11 years ago

Exploration and discovery is waste of time and money! I mean who really benefited when columbus found out the world was round?

Mobius1
11 years ago
Reply to  Really

Columbus did know that the Earth was round; every mildly educated person at the time knew that.

A lot of people benefited from the discovery of the Americas including (but not limited to) the British, the Irish, the Italians, and above all the Americans. The trade that went on brought the potato to Europe, introduced various gourds to the east, and brought horses and cows to America.

One asteroid in our solar-system can be worth over one billion US dollars. There is an incalculable amount of material and intellectual resources just in our local area. And you can multiply that by the number of stars in the universe.

Poo
11 years ago

we dont need to spend a lot of money to unknown planet which we can or cant survive, even if we will b able to get there using light year speed, extremely fast, it will take 100,000 years or some

POOBEAR
11 years ago
Reply to  Poo

you are sooo right. I’m doing this paper in class, but I’m going to need some FACTS, NOT OPINIONS. Just so you know. Not hatin’ on your creativity, though.

So?
11 years ago
Reply to  Poo

So what are you planning to do when the Earth runs out of ressources? When overpopulation increases even more? When our planet is unbelievably polluted? Nowadays with modern technology, we have disproved many things that everyone thought to be impossible. Who’s to say that we cannot disprove this as well?

And Space exploration, isn’t simply about discovering new planets. Space exploration is responsible for the creation of the internet, satellites, GPS, Weather Forecasting, and much more. And correct me if I’m wrong, but that took less than 100, 000 years.

Spencer Lohr
10 years ago
Reply to  Poo

Poo, you know nothing. Alpha Centauri, one of the closest stars to earth, is only 4.4 Light Years away. So basically, we could get there in 4.4 years with light speed, because that’s how that works.
Next time you are going to comment on something, make sure you know SOMETHING about the topic.

Scared
7 years ago
Reply to  Spencer Lohr

We will never travel at the speed of light. It would use too much energy.

Xauuuuuuuuhve
7 years ago
Reply to  Scared

“Never” is a rather strong word to use. There were multiple other things that people claimed humanity “will never” do, like place a man on the moon, circumnavigate the globe, or fly in the sky using heavier-than-air craft. Sure, humanity might not be able to travel at the speed of light NOW, but that’s due to our current level of technology. But what if in the future we gain the technology to travel at the speed of light? It could also not be that far away, due to the fact that technology is increasing exponentially. So saying “We will never travel at the speed of light” is rather a large conclusion to jump to suddenly.

Nicolas
6 years ago
Reply to  Poo

The closest possibly habitable planet is at 4 LY from here and light years isint a speed its for exemple 4ly is traveling for 4 years at the speed of light

The interstellar
3 years ago
Reply to  Poo

You know that your a son of a bitch because the space exploration is the most beautiful thing in the universe and we can travel at the speed of light but not with a warp drive we are we have to surf the space time what do I mean ? We have to get a anti mass matter and cover it around the space ship and vouala we are traveling at warp 10×

Andrew
3 years ago

Language man

Eric Clapton
3 years ago

WOW

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