Question Is the exploration of space worthwhile? What possible application does it have? The money spent on space exploration could have spent elsewhere on more 'worthwhile' causes like cancer research or the third world. When you think about this, the exploration of space seems like a waste of time and money.

Accepted:
December 5, 2005

Comments

Does something need to have "application" in order to be of value? Idon't know what sort of application the symphonies of Beethoven or theplays of Shakespeare have, but these works of art are of greataesthetic value. Space exploration is (at least in part) about thepursuit of knowledge. We explore space in order to come to a betterunderstanding of our home--the universe of which we are, it seems, avery small part. That seems worthwhile to me. (And of course it's worthbearing in mind that many inventions of great practical applicationhave come about as the result of experiments conducted merely in theinterest of scientific discovery.)

That said, your point iswell taken; there are certainly more pressing needs at the moment. Andthe (roughly) one trillion dollars it would cost to put together amanned mission to Mars could be used to feed and take care of a greatmany people in need. Who knows how many diseases we could cure orfamines we could avoid with that sort of money? To answer yourquestion, then, space exploration is worthwhile, but there are other causes and projects that are even more worthwhile.