When we see photographs of starving children, it's hard to say that we should spend billions of dollars on space exploration. But that's just what we should do. Children don't need to be starving, but we do need to explore space. Right now, we have enough money to feed every person on Earth. Children are starving because of mismanagement of resources and simple human greed. Those are problems we can solve right here on earth. That shouldn't stop our need to find out what's beyond our own solar system.
We may never make contact with whatever other species there may be out there in space. Even so, there are still two very practical and positive consequences of space exploration. One is a certainty and the other is a possibility. The certainty is medical research. Yes, we can conduct research here on earth. But much of the research done in space, for example, on the effects of gravity on bone marrow, is making a difference in medicine here on Earth. When we do research in space, we also learn more about space exploration. Also, many of the inventions that were developed for space travel have been adapted to good use on Earth.
The possible consequence of space exploration is finding another planet human beings can colonize. Overpopulation is a huge problem on our planet. People are living longer, more healthful lives, and that's a good thing. But it means there are fewer people dying and more people being born. Eventually we'll have less space, fewer resources, and major distribution problems. If we can find another planet to live on, we can relieve the problems of overpopulation on our planet.
It's a tragedy that there are human beings suffering on Earth. However, if we wait until everyone has a perfect life, we will never explore space-and that, too, would be a kind of tragedy.
The word "Space adventure" has captured a large number of people's heart. Many men have been attracted by the unknown world and have desired to live in space at some future time. The universe is the last and infinite unexplored region for human beings. However, space researches do not accomplish only by yearning. These researches cost hugely. Another way to express this is that spending money always has its opportunity cost. In other words, money spent on some venture could have been used for financing some other alternative venture. Some people believe that money spent on space research benefits all of humanity. Other people believe that there are better opportunities for spending this fund.
This first group of people claims that space researches have helped all of humanity's lives extremely. They point out that researches on space have informed us about much environmental damage which we have caused to our planet. Similarly, they declare that the present satellite system is due to the researches done in the past in space. There are also numerous new materials and inventions that can be traced directly to space researches.
These people hope to spend more money on researches, visit all the planets, and build space colonies.
On the other hand, there are people who assert that money spent on space is a complete waste because it does not have sufficiently direct benefit to all the humanity. For instance, there is a sizable portion of the humanity does not have any access to food, education, sanitation, health care and especially peace.
Personally, I find that I cannot align myself completely with either group. I have some reservations about both positions. No one can deny that weather satellites and communication satellites are useful investments. But unrealistic researches like exploring Mars or Venus does not have any good bearing on most peoples' development at the present. Some scientists may be interested in the composition of those planets, but the opportunity cost is extraordinary. In my opinion, it may cause lack of social infrastructures, if states inject immense funds into space researches in the limited budget.
