You think that the billion of dollars we've spent on space exploration is worth it?

Question

The money could be better spent on solving sickness and hunger on Earth. There is no way that humans could survive the million or so light years space travel. Ocean exploration should make better sense after all it is a source of food. Only the astronomers and space scientist get excited every time a detect another stupid moon in Pluto, at tax payer's expense.

Answer 1

I get so sick of seeing variations of this question.

The people that ask this question are sitting at their computers, watching television, talking on their cell phones, and enjoying their extended lifespans, as compared to 50 years ago.

All of these things are a result of the space program. Electronic miniaturation came about as a direst result of the need to make a computer fit into the space of a shoebox back in the 50s. Clean rooms, a vital neccessity in the manufacture of electronics and medicines, were developed while defense contractors were building missiles and warheads in the 40s and 50s. Cellphones and even household cordless phones are the size they are due to miniaturization. Lasers exist today as a result of the space program's research into this technology.

Velcro was invented for the space program, as were most plastics, as well as Kevlar, carbon-fiber plastics, fiberglass, titanium alloys, communications satellites, GPS positioning,...the list is virtually endless.

Answer 2

Please see the last chapter of Arthur C. Clarke's The Exploration of Space for a detailled refutation of all your points. I am very confident that you will basically change your opinion if you do.
But here are some minor points:
1. the space program has had many trickle down technologies that have benefited humanity in many diverse ways, from medicine to botany to weather prediction.
2. Long distance space travel is not unrealistic, nor even something of the "distant" future.
3. You are correct about only a minority of scientists "getting exciting" about minor astronomical discoveries, but that's why we call those people astronomers. Their field is quite distinct from astronautics.

The opposite of your argument could be made to show how not spending money on the space program could be fatal in the long run (no back up planet for when this one's resources are gone or for when the terrorists finally have their day). Additionally, spending money on space programs produces results (going to the moon, etc) whereas spending huge amounts of money on feeding non-sustainable cultures means that you're just going to have to do the same thing tomorrow (no results).

I'm not against philantropy and aide, I'm just saying that we shouldn't eliminate the space program so that we can give the money away. Besides, in all likeliness the money will go to some african thug who claims to be the president of a starving people and uses it to buy mansions and cars. Even in the case where it does go to good, feeding the people, we should still have limits on it.

Answer 3

What makes you assume that the government would have spent those billions of dollars on anything more constructive? MOST of what government does is counterproductive and/or involves a tremendous waste of financial resources. At least the exploration of space is cool.

That said, the manned space program has wasted a tremendous amount of money, in my opinion. On the other hand the robotic space program and ground-based astronomical telescopes, are relatively cheap fun....having spent only a small fraction that has been spent on putting people in space. And, hell, the people are only there to put on a good political show...most of the real science is done by robots.

Answer 4

Money will not solve sickness and hunger on a worldwide scale. Drought, war, ignorance, and politics cause sickness and hunger. If you were to take all the money spent on the space program and used it to feed people and give them medication, twenty years later, or possibly sooner, you'd still have just as many sick and hungry people.

I think money has been wasted on the space program only due to politics and the fact that it's under funded. When you don't do something right the first time it ends up costing more in the end.

Answer 5

there will always be hungry people on this planet.
you are so short sighted that you can only see the near-future.
It's not about finding moons around Pluto it's about finding other habitable planets, or other life

It's more than throwing bags of grain to starving people in Africa only to have them stolen away by their own government and sold on the black market to buy guns and RPG's

we have been curing diseases for hundreds of years only to have new ones emerge. do you really think we will cure all illness? Illness is the nature's way to keep the population under control.

Our population growth is out of control I don't particularly think 60 billion people can live under water do you? I don't want to live on the ground floor of the 75 million, 400 story Pacific Hilton if there is an underground earthquake do you?

I'd rather take my chances on the 100 billion dollar space station, or a 4 trillion dollar outpost on Mars.

Answer 6

I think that space exploration in general is definitely worthwhile. There is great value to society in the colonization of other bodies in our solar system (Mars in particular). Think of it as an insurance policy for the human race. A big asteroid could strike Earth and humanity would still survive.

We actually have the technology today to begin the colonization of Mars. Moreover, compared to overall government expenditures such a program would be relatively cheap.

This is doubly true of the very small amount of NASA's funding that goes towards pure astronomy/space research. How can we know what value our descendants will place on Pluto and its moons? Maybe they have valuable minerals!

Our government does lots of things which are *much* more expensive and *much* more useless to humanity. (The war in Iraq for instance...)

Answer 7

We've gotten more from space than we're getting in Iraq, which has cost over $200 billion in just a few years. Even if we don't do much in space proper, technologies spin off which are very useful on Earth, and some of which may help solve sickness and hunger.

Answer 8

Sickness and disease are just part of the natural selection process, by curing disease and sickness we let those faulty genes to be passed on to our children thus, like the cancer gene and many more genes that could be eliminated through selective breeding, sure it sounds harsh but it is harsh times we live in, so by spending money to cure a problem that already has a cure is a waist of money, why not spend it on space exploration, what is it that your so afraid of out there.Funding of the space program would be a better goal than spending it on nukes and other weapons of mass destruction, it is smarter idea to spend it on space exploration than on war.

Answer 9

OK, let's forget about all the spin-off benefits you are or will enjoy during your lifetime. Just where did all this money go? Down a Black Hole? No, we haven't gotten to one of those yet. Hmmm, maybe shoved into a room in "Area 51"? Well, that could be, but I still doubt it. Oh, I know, it went into our ECONOMY. People got it. Obviously not the people you'd rather get it, but people got the money, nonetheless. Those people then spent the money in a way they saw fit to better their lives or the lives of others. I don't wanna get off on a rant here, but...

Answer 10

For all you people who think your tax dollars have been wasted, please take a few items created by the money wasting people at NASA out of your home. First, get rid of you cable for your television and go back to what you can get through the airwaves only...i.e. nothing that comes to your cable company through satellite transmissions. If you have even simple things like sunglasses with a UV and/or scratch resistant coating, throw them away. Those are inventions of NASA too. Yep, anything with Velcro..gotta go. There are so many things that improve your daily quality of life, but you're just too uninformed to realise it. The list goes on and on. And those companies that NASA gives, yes gives, their creations too would definitely say NASA is a great organization. Anyone can go to their website and click on the technology link that wants to share their inventions with companies that can mass produce them.
But, for all those who cannot fathom the importance of NASA, your cave up in the hills is waiting for you to move back in. Have fun, and don't bother to come back and visit technological civilization.