Is space exploration worth the money we spend on it?

Question

Ok, I hear a lot of people talking about this so, I want to know if it's really worth it.

Answer 1

Given what we learn, and how little it costs compared to say, ummm, fighting a 4 year war in Iraq, then I say yes, it is absolutely worth every cent.

For example, the total cost of building, launching, landing and operating the two robotic mars rovers for the initial 90 day primary mission was about US $820 million. That is what the US Government is currently spending every 4 days in Iraq alone.

The rovers are still functioning over three years after landing, mission funding has been extended to at least September 2007 so the total cost is greater than the $820 million, but you can see it is chickenfeed compared to what the US Government spends elsewhere.

Most missions are flown on a shoestring budget anyway and
what we learn may one day save our skins as a species.

Answer 2

Just think of how much resources there are out there! If we found a planet that could support life, we could ensure the survival of our species. Also, even planets that we wouldn't be able to inhabit contain rare minerals and precious metals that will inevitably run out here on Earth. Space exploration also has benefits for the near future as well: they test systems that are affected by gravity in space, such as computers and plants, to see how these things are influenced by the clutches of our home. They also manufacture extremely precise lenses for microscopes and telescopes in space to avoid the affects that gravity has on the manufacturing process. Space exploration may also shed new light on the origins and make up of the universe. If we even find minute traces of other life elsewhere in the universe, just think about how enlightened and exstatic we would be! Humanity needs to be united under a common goal, and space exploration is where it's at!

Answer 3

Yes it is.
All the money spent on space exploration is still here on earth. People are paid to produce all the things we send into space. They spend that money on all the goods and services that their families use.
The computer you are using is a product that did not exist before the space race which identified the need for light weight computers. That is just one of thousands of products that are in use on earth that would not have existed if not for space exploration. I have no crystal ball to predict what things will be found useful but I know that without research we wont find any new things.

Answer 4

Absolutely not. If all of the resources that have been spent on spent on space exploration would be applied to our planetary problems, our world could be a better place. Humans are so screwed up, they have no business messing around in space. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should do it.

Answer 5

Yes. Weather, communications and Earth's resources satellites have already paid for the space programmes many times over, and the greatest benefits are yet to come.

Answer 6

Oh yes. We get new technology, new understanding of the universe (especially since we might need to expand off the planet eventually), and it stimulates the economy (for every dollar that NASA spends, seven are spent in the US economy). It's a great investment in our future, and one of the smallest we make, seeing how it has the smallest budget of ANY gov't agency. Not to mention the education opportunities.

Answer 7

Yes...space exploration is totally worth the money we spend on it....it is one of the many mysteries that keeps deluding mankind.....no mystery remains unsolved....

Answer 8

Yes it is really worth the money, for every dollar spent three dollars are returned, so you do the math.

Answer 9

we now more about space than our own seas .. so i would say look at the earth then look at space .. but like a child they spend all our time looking at others . and never know them self's. so when we grow up we will look into our self.. ( the earth)

Answer 10

yes