Is space exploration a waste of money?

As you can see from the below link: Topic: Space industry worldwide Find the most up-to-date statistics and forecasts about the space industry worldwide. www.statista.

com Approx $424Bn was spent globally in 2019 on space exploration. Given that as many claim "There is no planet B" whould this money be better spent on protecting the planet we have through R&D in sustainable technolgy solutions to reduce or eliminate carbon emmisions, rewilding the planet, and undoing the damage that we as a species have inflicted on this planets biodiversity. To me space exploration is largely an ego driven vanity project that bears little or no value, and I would perfer to see this money used on more worthwhile investments and research.



What do you think? Is space exploaration worth the effort? Marcos the black said: As you can see from the below link: Topic: Space industry worldwide Find the most up-to-date statistics and forecasts about the space industry worldwide. www.statista.

com Approx $424Bn was spent globally in 2019 on space exploration. Given that as many claim "There is no planet B" whould this money be better spent on protecting the planet we have through R&D in sustainable technolgy solutions to reduce or eliminate carbon emmisions, rewilding the planet, and undoing the damage that we as a species have inflicted on this planets biodiversity. To me space exploration is largely an ego driven vanity project that bears little or no value, and I would perfer to see this money used on more worthwhile investments and research.

What do you think? Is space exploaration worth the effort? Click to expand...

I always cringe a little when I see a ground control crew congratulating themselves in their little rarefied bubble. It's hard for me to get excited about a drone (they tried to make it sound more impressive by calling it a helicopter) taking a 15 second flight 3m above the surface of Mars. SEAMÍ said: I always cringe a little when I see a ground control crew congratulating themselves in their little rarefied bubble.

It's hard for me to get excited about a drone (they tried to make it sound more impressive by calling it a helicopter) taking a 15 second flight 3m above the surface of Mars. Click to expand..

. Yeah. I think the chest beating is all part of that ego I referred to.

It's both national and individual ego.. and now it's also entrepreneurs who are getting in on the act.

.. Marcos the black said: As you can see from the below link: Topic: Space industry worldwide Find the most up-to-date statistics and forecasts about the space industry worldwide.

www.statista.com Approx $424Bn was spent globally in 2019 on space exploration.

Given that as many claim "There is no planet B" whould this money be better spent on protecting the planet we have through R&D in sustainable technolgy solutions to reduce or eliminate carbon emmisions, rewilding the planet, and undoing the damage that we as a species have inflicted on this planets biodiversity. To me space exploration is largely an ego driven vanity project that bears little or no value, and I would perfer to see this money used on more worthwhile investments and research. What do you think? Is space exploaration worth the effort? Click to expand.

.. Are you serious? Earth could be hit by a planet killer asteroid.

If we don't see it coming then we can't zap it. Just one reason why space tech is vital. Vega1447 said: Are you serious? Earth could be hit by a planet killer asteroid.

If we don't see it coming then we can't zap it. Just one reason why space tech is vital. Click to expand.

.. Someone should make a film about it.

Marcos the black said: Someone should make a film about it. Click to expand..

. You may have noticed that there aren't many dinosaurs around anymore? Marcos the black said: As you can see from the below link: Topic: Space industry worldwide Find the most up-to-date statistics and forecasts about the space industry worldwide. www.

statista.com Approx $424Bn was spent globally in 2019 on space exploration. Given that as many claim "There is no planet B" whould this money be better spent on protecting the planet we have through R&D in sustainable technolgy solutions to reduce or eliminate carbon emmisions, rewilding the planet, and undoing the damage that we as a species have inflicted on this planets biodiversity.

To me space exploration is largely an ego driven vanity project that bears little or no value, and I would perfer to see this money used on more worthwhile investments and research. What do you think? Is space exploaration worth the effort? Click to expand..

. So you favour a more Down to Earth approach? Marcos the black said: As you can see from the below link: Topic: Space industry worldwide Find the most up-to-date statistics and forecasts about the space industry worldwide. www.

statista.com Approx $424Bn was spent globally in 2019 on space exploration. Given that as many claim "There is no planet B" whould this money be better spent on protecting the planet we have through R&D in sustainable technolgy solutions to reduce or eliminate carbon emmisions, rewilding the planet, and undoing the damage that we as a species have inflicted on this planets biodiversity.

To me space exploration is largely an ego driven vanity project that bears little or no value, and I would perfer to see this money used on more worthwhile investments and research. What do you think? Is space exploaration worth the effort? Click to expand..

. Yes absolutely - the spin offs from Space exploration have been hugely beneficial to Mankind. One thing though is that with the advance of AI & Robotics/Drones etc that in the future manned space flight will be more rare as we get machines to do it for us - and much cheaper too.

"Hey, Columbus, exploring the ocean is a waste of money." Anytime we examine the unknown we chance that we might learn somethig really useful or indeed necessary. On the other hand, politicians and political parties spending money on PR and spin is both a waste of money and dishonest.

A lot more money is spent of exploring these wastes of space than on exploring space. Marcos the black said: As you can see from the below link: Topic: Space industry worldwide Find the most up-to-date statistics and forecasts about the space industry worldwide. www.

statista.com Approx $424Bn was spent globally in 2019 on space exploration. Given that as many claim "There is no planet B" whould this money be better spent on protecting the planet we have through R&D in sustainable technolgy solutions to reduce or eliminate carbon emmisions, rewilding the planet, and undoing the damage that we as a species have inflicted on this planets biodiversity.

To me space exploration is largely an ego driven vanity project that bears little or no value, and I would perfer to see this money used on more worthwhile investments and research. What do you think? Is space exploaration worth the effort? Click to expand..

. Space cheats cheat us all ? Those mooching astronauts have been bleeding is dry for decades. Space exploration is absolutely vital to human progress.

What we learn will shape human history for millennia. InsideImDancing said: Space exploration is absolutely vital to human progress. What we learn will shape human history for millennia.

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Provided we're around...

Four words: Luxury Automated Space Communism Why wallow in the mud when we have worlds to gain comrade. We should always be looking outward, exploring the space we inhabit and push the boundaries of our knowledge, wether its the depths of the oceans, the tops of the mountains, or the limits of space. In any event, NASA and the space community has given us a lot of things we use every day now and frankly take for granted, eg GPS.

How did we find our way around before GPS? They have given us camera phones, wireless head phones, freeze dried fruit, instant coffee, air purifiers, baby formula and the venerable computer mouse amongst others. Here are a couple of abbreviated lists (albeit with some overlap). 25 Everyday Items That NASA Invented NASA inventions have improved our lives in surprising ways.

finance.yahoo.com Inventions we use every day that were actually created for space exploration Unlike inventions we no longer use, these inventions are employed daily to save lives, improve environmental sustainability, and keep humans healthy.

www.usatoday.com SEAMÍ said: I always cringe a little when I see a ground control crew congratulating themselves in their little rarefied bubble.

It's hard for me to get excited about a drone (they tried to make it sound more impressive by calling it a helicopter) taking a 15 second flight 3m above the surface of Mars. Click to expand..

. I guess it depends how seriously they take it and how self-aware they are - if they think of it as equivalent to winning a beer-drinking game or a hungry, hungry hippo game then sure, let them celebrate. They're getting paid all this money for it, may as well celebrate when it actually works.

If they actually believe they've done something of significance for the world - or are paving the way for anyone else to any real extent - they are living in a world of delusion. Vega1447 said: You may have noticed that there aren't many dinosaurs around anymore? Click to expand..

. Just the DUP? InsideImDancing said: Space exploration is absolutely vital to human progress. What we learn will shape human history for millennia.

Click to expand...

We might have a collective human history if we first focus on fixing this planet...

ShoutingIsLeadership said: We might have a collective human history if we first focus on fixing this planet...

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The planet is doomed in the long term, there are multiple extinction level events just waiting to occur. And they could occur at any second. Thankfully there are millions of habitable planets.

We just need to figure how to get to them. They say it is impossible, I don't believe that. I think lots of things are impossible right up to the point that we make them possible.

But I do agree, the focus needs to be on this planet now, but it doesn't necessarily follow that ending space exploration will lead to better outcomes on climate change, certainly not on a one to one ratio. Space science has led pretty directly to us finding out that MM climate change is a big problem. NYCKY said: We should always be looking outward, exploring the space we inhabit and push the boundaries of our knowledge, wether its the depths of the oceans, the tops of the mountains, or the limits of space.

In any event, NASA and the space community has given us a lot of things we use every day now and frankly take for granted, eg GPS. How did we find our way around before GPS? They have given us camera phones, wireless head phones, freeze dried fruit, instant coffee, air purifiers, baby formula and the venerable computer mouse amongst others. Here are a couple of abbreviated lists (albeit with some overlap).

25 Everyday Items That NASA Invented NASA inventions have improved our lives in surprising ways. finance.yahoo.

com Inventions we use every day that were actually created for space exploration Unlike inventions we no longer use, these inventions are employed daily to save lives, improve environmental sustainability, and keep humans healthy. www.usatoday.

com Click to expand...

Yes yes but apart from all that ,what did NASA ever do for us? The nearest star Proxima Centauri is 4 light years away which at the speed of light would take four years to get to. There has to be a huge breakthrough in science to even contemplate light speed travel, i'm not sure humans will make it out of this system but spacecraft might get there.