Is Space Exploration worth it?

CABAL

CABAL

Active member
NASA's plans to send a manned mission to Mars have been criticized countlessly as "too expensive and pointless." In the far east, China's Manned missions have also been criticized as a "military threat".

Is space exploration is worth the money putting into?

Personally I do believe space exploration is important, probably the most important aspect of humankind's evolutionary step towards becoming an active participant in space rather being confined within its own planet. Imagine the technological advancement and infinite possibilities. NASA's innovations have proven how useful space can be by experimental research and development.

If space exploration is seen as pointless, then therefore Albert Einstein, Mathematics, and quantum mechanics would be seen as pointless as well.
 
Definitely not useless. I would prefer that we have some colonies on other planets and eventually other starsystems so something as insignificant as a big rock hitting Earth doesn't wipe out the entire human race. Hell, not renewing the '94 Clinton ban and commiting the US to manned Martian exploration are the only things I like Bush for.
 
Ironically I think, the space exploration achieved so far, which I think was worthwhile, nevertheless confirms that in terms of a new earth or home or liveable planet, there's nothing suitable out there except maybe Gliese 581c and it's 20 light years away (120 trillion miles).

Then there's the argument of minining moons or planets for their minerals but the costs outway the benefits.

So although I enjoy science fiction and the idea of one day flying to the moon as a novel holiday experience, I can't say that space exploration is benefical anymore. The off-shoots from Apollo programme have been great and maybe that is the only benefit from further exploration - that it will result in new inventions as engineers and scientists create products and technology or come up with solutions to achieve a mars manned-flight landing.
 
Ill start this off by saying, considering how I want to make a career out of Aerospace engineering, I may be somewhat biased on this topic.

Is space exploration worth it? My awnser would be yes. The gains in technology that we have had due to space exploration are staggering, and cover litterally every part of people lives today. There is still much to explore and much to study, and space exploration truly helps science push the envelop of our understanding. There are is one thing im going to disagree with Padre on. It is the question of Gliese 581c. While it is 120 trillion miles away, that is actually fairly close in galactic terms. On top of this, Gliese 581c is actually not the only prospect for habitable planets, it just happens to be the newest to be discovered. There are plenty of closer star systems and planets to be explored for the possibility of colonization. Mars and the Moon both could be used as temporary colonies or bases, using something like a biosphere, that could propel space exploration even further. The ability to construct and launch a ship while in space or on an extremely gravity-low place like the moon could enable us to increase the range of our craft exponentially. Mars is the closest planet to Earth in the Solar System, and there are many unawnsered questions on mars that could significantly change our view of the world and the galaxy as a whole. Id like to think of our missions to mars and to the moon as steping stones to the next planets in line. And perhaps the most important part is as we attempt to go further and further, technology will continue to advance.

My two cents,

WNxRogue
 
Well Padre there are no planets in our solar system that God made hospitable to us, but with the right technology and a few centuries we might be able to at least partially terraform Mars. Or live in bubbles with huge fields of hydroponics for sustenance. Besides, if we don't push the boundaries in our own solar system, we will never develop the technology to escape the inevitable burning of Earth - however many billions of years in the future that happens.
 
major liability said:
Well Padre there are no planets in our solar system that God made hospitable to us, but with the right technology and a few centuries we might be able to at least partially terraform Mars. Or live in bubbles with huge fields of hydroponics for sustenance. Besides, if we don't push the boundaries in our own solar system, we will never develop the technology to escape the inevitable burning of Earth - however many billions of years in the future that happens.
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Exactly. We can attempt colonization of mars or even the moon in the methods you stated, namely biospheres, and use the knowledge that we gain to push our limits even farther. This is just like the exploration of earth in my view. Who would have guessed in 1000 that we would find another continent across the sea. Who would have guessed in 1880 that we would land people on the moon. This is just the next big step for humanity.
 
Definitely worth our while.

The farther humanity can expand into space and onto other worlds/moons/asteroids, the less need there is for people to fight over all of the stupidity we fight for today; resources will still be fought over, but that is due to their being a finite amount of certain things.

There will always be issues, but having an option to simply leave and start anew elsewhere provides all sorts of opportunities for people, especially the members of wealthy, unpopular religious or political beliefs. I say wealthy, because it will be expensive to travel. Unpopular depends on the country you are in, but I am fairly sure everyone reading this post will be able to mentally plug in some specific groups that fit these parameters.
 
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