- If the discovery of another habitable planet would save humankinds extintion in the future, surely the extra funding on space recearch and exploration would be more than justified.

Apart from the material benefits on velcro etc that came out of the space race, we also have a generation of inspired kids who failed to become spacemen but now do all kinds of helpful sciencey things. It’s a good example of good coming out of bad: progress and possibility coming out of dick-swinging.

Yeah, I like the internet and I am deeply grateful for waterproof and breathable fabric (which I think I’m right in saying are both products of space research). But I still think it’s skewed to have such innovations arise from what basically amounts to a spirit of machismo and one-upmanship.

And in terms of value, I think it might be possible to balance the leaps ahead in technology and connected advances which have benefited a great deal of people with the amount spent on those missions.

Equally, before we are too harsh on space exploration, we should consider what ‘use’ the arts are when there are people starving too… See this connected post: ‘On Beauty and Justice‘. Personally, as an ‘arts’ project, I still think the moon landings are right up there with Shakespeare. Right out the bounds of human possibility. Beautiful. Well crafted. But not to be repeated now.

I’m not sure space exploration and research can be justified when there remain people on this planet who have existences instead of lives.