Space, the final frontier. But is there anything actually out there? Since it was founded in 1958, NASA has spent roughly 450 billion dollars, peaking in 1964-66 when it consumed about 4% of US federal spending. That’s a lot of money, so where’s our moon base?
It’s true that a lot of space technology has military and commercial application. Satellite technology, for example, forms the backbone of the GPS systems that we all use to navigate. But are we kidding ourselves if we think we can use space technology to one day leave the planet?
Humanity has been adapted by billions of years of evolution to live on Earth. Stephen Hawking may think we should all pack up and find another planet, but it’s not that easy. Maybe we should spend more time trying to protect what we actually have, and less dreaming about the stars?
Is space exploration a waste of money? Or is it humanities last, best hope? Let us know your thoughts and comments in the form below and we’ll take them to policymakers and experts for their reactions!
189 comments Post a commentcomment
No
can i know why no ?
In the long run absolutely not.
Agreeing Europe should temporarily focus more on immigration/refugees/poverty and unemployment in southern states etc. If we dont conquer the space but fix those issues there will be time for space exploration later.
yess u r correct
No
Definitely not, without space exploration, humanity will become extinct in a planet wide disaster.
No it won’t
It should be more service minded. And visionary on UN level
I would call it ONE level i.p.o. “UN”. 😉
But I do agree with serving part and, without the money part, using the best serving visionary idea. I think at this point concurence as money being the motivational judge is a waste of resources, yes.
Not to mention that evolution also means: NO MAN left behind, otherwise isn’t called evolution, in my humble opinion.
Nop, i’d say it’s one of the best goals of the EU!
Who pays for this group is what I want to know. Is Debating Europe a waste of money? I say yes.
And still you are here.
Yes I am. I ask questions. I aim for changes. Not doing anything and accepting “immutability” it’s not really my thing mate.
Oh.. I just saw your profile pic. That explains a lot.
He is here so he can tell them that they are a waste of time which I agree with.
You do. Your participation generates Facebook advertising revenue. Looks like the joke is on you.
buuuuuuuuuuuuuurnnnnn
Michael, I love it when people talk nonsense about stuff they know nothing about. Check this out: https://www.debatingeurope.eu/faq/
Moreover, facebook doesn’t pay anyone to have a group, big or small. Facebook ads work the other way around Sherlock.
No, it’s essential to our survival
Space exploration is the only way out for mankind,
Discovering America was probably considered a waste of money at the time. And space exploration could become profitable for business
Yeah it actually was. That’s why the Italian Christopher Columbus had to go to Spain for funding!
You’ve just opened Pandora’s box :P
Amphib Ian some times it worth the risk
Yes it is. Most of it is faked anyway.
And the earth is flat, right ?
“Waste of time”. Ever wonder where does lithium ion batteries or solar panels came from? …
Lol true btw at least these people are trying to find out a solution to the mess we created, there are millions of people who sit around doing nothing. I can’t believe that some people agree with this article it’s like saying the world is flat.
We should strive as fast as possible to build bases in Low Earth Orbit, all La Grange points, Moon, Mars and Asteroid Belt. Our destiny is out there, so we should shape that destiny or others will do it for us.
No.. planet Earth cannot take more People..
No.. planet Earth cannot take more People..
No.. planet Earth cannot take more People..
Sience may well give us good things.Do not forget it keeping the human race alive is a necessity😊
No.. planet Earth cannot take more People..
No.. planet Earth cannot take more People..
No.. planet Earth cannot take more People..
No.. planet Earth cannot take more People..
Hum… advancing science is never a waste of money! Internet? Satellites? Weather? Etc… all como from space exploration. Even if some things are not applicable right now they will be in the future. This is Human evolution. The alternative is to revert back to the dark ages. Is this even a question?
We should spend much more on space exploration, and scientific research in general. ESA should have a much bigger budget, to do greater things.
No waste of money. Understanding how the Universe work will someday prove essential as the discovery of basic physics laws did.
It is not a waste of money. It is investment in the future. Space exploration is the next frontier when a civilisation becomes sufficiently technologically advanced.
I think this is not a waste of money, as it creates new knowledge that will, in lots of occasions, find to be useful on the earth too. NASA lead to a significant number of patents and applications that we enjoy nowadays, and to industries with added value and difficult to replicate.
On the other hand, at european level, we can question a lot some of the delays in the programs, the budgets that are not respected… There is a lot to improve too
To boldly go where no-one has gone before….
nope… foreign aid is
and salaries of our eurocrats
Space exploration brigns lot of new technologies that we can apply to our daily life. Of course is not a waste of money…
building bombs is. you literally spend money on something to explode, to cease to exist, for the purpouse of destroying things that money built.
space exploration, on the other hand, you spend money on the possibility of making a dent on the edge of human knowledge. totally worth it., to be honest.
Yes and no.
If we consider the money is a mean to perform/engage an action, some research to mitigate or rehabilitate our environment, or improve our resilience regarding the climate and environmental change would be more useful for human being.
But these challenges don’t provide dreams.
But at the same time, it is the space exploration/observation that induced some improvements in the technologies and in the behaviors by understanding better the interaction the humans and the biotopes. It helped also the collaboration at the international level, but know we heard every continent wants its own spatial program and the space exploration is promoted by billionaires. We’re searching solution for a problem that will happen in thousand of thousand years, when we have big problems here, on Earth.
The urge looks like the European exodus after we discover the America. The lack of political and economical solution to provide (to share) enough well-being and wealth for everybody induce the exodus. But it was the America : Indians (to kill), very good fertilized soil, a lot of animals, minerals, oil/coal, air and water.
Don’t forget the sun will destroy the earth in 5 billions years, and the probability to be touched by an asteroïd is very low, but the decrease of our civilization due by a bad interaction between us and the environment could happen soon.
I’m not sure the space exploration is an prioritization.
Law, medicine, economics etc are the things that allow us to live. Space exploration is one of the few things making living worthwhile
Yes! If we can’t even feed everyone, and never even been to the deepest parts of our oceans, why are we wasting money, and other resources, looking for what’s out there? useless!
Of course its not a waste of time, you dimwits! And people using the argument, that we should focus on making the world greener and end poverty, please realise that the funds for both is there already, but a lot of it are tied up in tax havens and huge conglomerates around the globe and that space exploration is extremely important to the future of the human race. So stop voting like sheep, listening to all the bullshit politicians spew out and make sure both can happen at once.
NO
No. Quite the opposite.
Space exploration is a need but do not forget other issues
So we have tons of money spent on research for ways to kill people more effectively (chemical and especially nuclear weapons cost a hell lot of money) and you ask about space?
If we compare with military expenses, it makes sense.
Yes, absolutely. We should all live like Amish people.
It is not. It’s like saying that the Cern in Ginevra is a waste of money or basically every other field of basic research. This kind of challenges are the only way to drive long-term improvement in technology, because in order to solve this problems we built instrument and know-how which are the basis of new technology. The only other way to drive such improvements is military research, but i think we can all agree this is not a good thing. Besides, do we consider ourselves as monkeys or as humans who constantly try to learn new things and push our limit? Dammit even if space exploration has not direct application it is anyway a great achievement for every human.
last best hope? Thanks for the B5 intro quote. All alone in the night. Yes, the stars are our destiny.
Gold disconnected money have no real value to be considered wasted. Humans we always look at the stars and we should keep doing that.
Space exploration is about science. It is not a waste of money, since it contributes to develop and foster cooperation. This question will become even more relevant in the next years with the International Space Station…Currently, there are tendencies to use outer space for strategic and military purposes, especially because it is linked to matters of national prestige. However, maybe governments/the taxpayer won’t spend any money on space exploration, but rather the private sector will. Peace through trade and commercial interests (maybe going hand in hand with scientific missions)…sounds like globalization could take place in space too.
In long terms space will be the future of mankind even if we don’t notes right now we are talking to each other thanks to space technology. ..who could predict these in the 40s and the 50s? So space isn’t a waste of money it’s just a long term investment with great interest for the brave
Space exploration is good. But since it is paid for with tax payer money any resources mined should go to the public, not given to corporations to exploit like I read in articles about space exploration being used for corporations to mine meteors.
No. Many patents were found in these projects that benefit us today.
No no! Exploring space should be the main goal of humanity!
In many cases social welfare is a waste of money. Moving the entire EU administration from Brussels to Strasbourg every month is a waste of money. Giving 3 billion to Turkey (extortion) so that they don’t let hundreds of thousands of illegals cross the EU border (instead of focusing on EU border control) is a waste of money, since they do it regardless of the deal. Space exploration IS NOT waste of money. It is our future and our destiny. Once Europeans explored the entire Earth, now its time to explore our star system and hopefully one day our galaxy.
My problem is not that we waste the money on space, but that we have yet to find the best ways to spend our money on anything. Our ability to prioritise things, fund things at the right time, and stand up to what is a waste of money, is poor. People have made comments here about how money is already wasted and they are right. We have such poor systems to decide what is truly important – that far too much money is wasted. Space, maybe a waste – how would we know and choose?
NO !
No that is the future of humanity… Any intelligent civilization out there in in even begcome a space one or will / be extinct/ed as dinosaurs
Of course not, we have to find another planet to live after all we’re destroying Earth. We don’t have more than 100 years.
Yes ofcors!
when you have people in your country starving and with more problems yes
How do you call spending money on something that doesn`t exist :D
when you cant solve the problems in your own planet
Yes.
No!
No! But have to be cheaper!
Is space exploration a waste of money?
Well lets see shall we?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vPeD-rYLR8
Space, like many other stories we hear of, is exploitation of the tax payers of the our union.
Who benefits from space exploration? The tax payer pays for it, but, is it a good investment? The sum of money taken for this programme, invested securely for the European tax payer, would see far greater volume elsewhere. We are once again being taken to the cleaners by those who run this ignorant show.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaIxX1TH4CE
It is very refreshing to follow a pioneering entrepreneur like Elon Musk- who seems less to worry about (EU) social engineering, a unitary state, comparative advantages, kissing every other politician he meets, pc or his safe retirement- but personally risks all to advance human exploration. How different & inspiring!
https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/sci-tech/2017-08-14-spacex-launches-super-computer-to-space-station/
I think it is. It all started as part of the Cold War. So many people have lost their lives because of it… Why don;t we just concentrate on improving life here on Earth?
Karolina, think again? Doesn’t (some) “investment” in improving life here on Earth include science in general and modern space exploration in particular?
Ref: EU- Press release- Brussels, 7 March 2017
“The latest addition to the Copernicus satellite Earth observation family will halve the time needed to provide precision land-use data to benefit farmers ……………”
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-17-446_en.htm
Space exploration has already offered immense services to humanity. You only have to think of how easier and safer our lives have become thanks to satellite applications (from GPS up to weather forecasting). Deep space exploration can further help us de-codify the mysteries of nature and also protect earth from future threats like asteroids or dangerous radiation. One could mention many more examples. So, as conclusion: space exploration is no waste of money, it is worth it, and Europe must invest more on it.
Yannis Karamitsios
A minute here. Who has it helped? It has helped corporation to fleece the citizen time and time again. It is not good value for our money. ‘We can see a better return elsewhere. And let the corporation fund their own experiments, they are the ones making all the cash from it.
Definitely NO! We need a strong astronautics & space program in Europe. Vive l’ESA & le CNES !
Yap!
Cancer and children’s malnutrition are far more,more important for Humanity! !!!
I agree with Karolinaaaaaaaaaa!
I think space exploration is much too expendive and the money should be spent on more important things
yes of course it is waste of money if we spend this money in way of god we can be safe from hell but what we will get from exploring space?
its not binary. Do both and more. On no front can we stop searching. It just human to want to know more and do more
Use the money, brainpower, and resources to feed the poor, provide drinking water to the near one billion without it, provide basic health care, and start cleaning up this planet – that enough of a mindboggling challenge for you/us? And please don’t say we can do both.
I’m sorry to say but this smells of populistic and unprofessional bullshit, sort of what I could hear from communists. Feeding the poor is not done by some brainy people being paid to carry food for starving people. Policies aimed at bettering economics and social life work by producing changes in those disadvantaged segments by themselves. Eg : the poor going to a training course, the companies incentivised to hire people, to act more cleanly towards the environment. Thus scientists and space industries don’t have much in common with actual economics. Instead research and development has proven to be and science in general and overall predictor of the success of a society.
Sorry, but of course we should/can do both. All the money currently hiding in tax havens by greedy fuckers around the planet are more than enough to address all the issues at the same time. A egalitarian society, equal rights, food for everybody, and balance with nature is all good, but it doesn’t help us if a solarflare or an asteroid wipes us out. Plus, haven’t you ever looked up to the night sky and just wondered just what is out there, what is there to discover for humanity next.
I do wonder, but not enough is being done here, but space, like arms, are bigger business, a bottomless pit of money burned, and the rich getting richer. (And some of the companies are involved in both space and “defence”.)
If we transfer 50% of the world military exspensrs to fixing The planet we due Can do both. To many Boys ont there playing with Guns and destroying The planet in The meanwhile
Space exploration is not a waste of money, it’s our future. Only the very narrow-minded can think we don’t need it.
Do you thnk poor families and homeless people give a fuck if you think they’re narrow-minded?
Do poor families and homeless people actually NEED or benefit from the space programme? Unless it provides a roof over their heads and a hot meal then I think not
There will always be poor people (especially because we’re multiplying at exponential rates), don’t use it as an excuse. It doesn’t mean science and progress should stop.
by advancing science we will be able to help people even more.
Space exploration is the only way out for mankind and earth life , it’s a race against the clock inbetween mass extinction events, and it’s the reason why life crafted such a costly specy as Man. Even religions try to teach us that the way to eternal life is in reaching the skies through coopération and enbetterment, it’s not meant to be understood as a personal eternity in a mystic heaven, but our specy and it’s whole biotop known as life survival through spreading and escaping the unavoidable extinction from natural events promised to any “one only settlment” specy.
No, they need more.
Lol no
Not of course.
i agree
no, we need science and to make our own investigation!
It is just a welfare and job-works program for the educated..plus, unlike the MIC its aims are non violent. better than war because the spin-off inventions can be used commercially. Just make sure defense contractors cant participate!
Yes wast of maney becos better we wait for alien to pick us up first
When Kennedy backed it, it was a brave new direction for science. When Trump promotes it, it is only going to put Nazis in space. Simple
Ooooo! Space Nazis!
Somehow , w€ aready Are!
No … If somewhere in the universe there is intelligent life with older than our civilisation they overcome asteroid threat to their planet or will get extinct as dinosaurs….
It s not . And European space agency has not a very big budget (One third of NASA s budget ) and they are doing a great job . Space research brings many many benefits for Europe and for the world .
When you’re telling families they can’t have a pay rise to a ‘living wage’ and you can’t find homes for homeless people then yes, space exploration is not only a waste of money its a fucking insult.
No!!!!!!!!!!!!
This question is a waste of time, the big question is: are other superpowers doing it? Ifso, if the EU wants to stay competitive in the global arena and, who knows, aspire to one day achieve the global supremacy currently owned by the US (with China as clear cut nr1 contender) then it must compete in all aspects of global matters, including space
ЗАСЛУЖАВА СИ И ФИНАНСИТЕ И СРЕДСТВАТА ЗА ТЕЗИ ПРОЕКТИ, ЗАЩОТО ТОВА Е НАЙ-ВАЖНИЯ ВЪПРОС ЗА ЧОВЕЧЕСТВОТО…
И ТРЯБВА ДА СЕ ЗАПОЧНЕ ДА СЕ РАБОТИ ПОВЕЧЕ И ПО-БЪРЗО ЗА ТЕЗИ ПРОЕКТИ, ЧОВЕЧЕСТВОТО ТРЯБВА ДА МИСЛИ НАЙ-МНОГО ЗА ТЕЗИ ПРОЕКТИ…
Go mine a passing asteroid of Platinum, then it won’t be ;) > https://www.space.com/30074-trillion-dollar-asteroid-2011-uw158-earth-flyby.html
Waste of money are the wars.
Space exploration is useful for humanity.
the EC and EP are huge waste of money
Yes it is, peace and organizing our system is not a waste
Your destin is hollywood…
No, is not.
You could as well ask the question: “Is science a waste of money?” or “Didn’t the bible had all the answers? so why do we need to waste money in all that science thing?” Then, have a look at the computer, tablet or phone on which you are writing those questions…
I know where you are coming from (and getting at), and it all seems dandy until we realise that it’s a circular argument: l’art pour l’art, that is. Hint: you take it for granted that the current state of affairs (“Internet”, “electronic devices”, etc) are “good”. Peace
Taip ! EUROPA DEBATUOSE !
Kas gali MUMS uzdrausti kalbetis nemokamai !? – NIEKAS.
NO we need more of it. Is so mutch Good stuff comming from The space science
Its the next frontier but too many people are small minded
Sam ti waste of money
Sam ti waste of money
Of course not.
It’s the only way out for earth’s life and mankind, or we succeed, or we pass. It’s one of the very few things that aren’t a useless egotist waste of money, time and work in human activity.
Absolutely not. It is the best long long term project ever.
No, we need really Invest on it
I imagine people in the 1400’s discussing if it was worth investing in exploring the seas
Not a waste of money. A shame that tax payer money is not used to abolish poverty, for free education, healthcare and a universal basic income as a priority. Since tax payer money is being used, if mining of asteroids for precious metals is part of the plan the public should reap the profits not private corporations.
it is not happening, at least for now, maybe just studies. There are, indeed, some private companies investing in that, but that is their private money.
If they pay for it, they deserve it. If we pay for it or subsidise it, we deserve our fair share. And that goes for all corporations getting subsidies or grants on the earthly plane ;) Tax payers should get a Return On Investment
asteroid mining is comming pretty soon .
No.
Space exploration is one of the most important things. Spending money on huge government bureaucracy, social welfare and so on is a waste of money.
Of course not.
Lol.
Rosetta (ESA) !!!!!
Of course not
That is absolutely not a waste of money. Of course, there are many narrow-minded whiners who will insist otherwise.
Are you nuts? Ofc not
Our home is tiny in this vast universe. Its tiny in the vastness of the Milky Way. Its small in the solar system. There are hundreds of ways in which life on Earth might be extinguished. Even if we fail, we would be foolish not to try and master space. Not only that but to unite around a goal that is bigger than all of our Earth-bound squabbles could be the thing to save us in the long-run.
Sure !
No. But massive military spending and political games are.
Never. So many other inventions and discoverys have come out of this.
Should be the solution to exponential growth
No. Keep on
Space exploration is not the need of the hour..we have much superior issues to look onto like many environmental issues..why bother spending money in knowing more about planets when these great minds can be applied in finding better ways to help the world and basically making life easier down here before looking upto heavens.
Some is beneficial, some is a huge waste.
Satellites for weather, GPS, etc are not a waste of money, but trying to send robots to every moon in this solar system is a colossal waste of money. And the people who are thick enough to think we can ever live on Mars need to educate themselves on the effects of radiation and the cost of interplanetary shipping.
it takes so much money and we have only have explored 5% of the ocean
space travel is worth the money. We might actually find terrestrial life and could you imagine if we find a sister earth we could go to. Would you realise the significants of it. If we could put money forward to these programs, they would increase tech and then humanity will be saved when we all are basically going to die.
Do not forget it keeping the human race alive is a necessity😊
A lot of things we take for granted today were developed in some form or another during the space race in order to ensure success.
And the same question was being asked back then.
How can the search for knowledge be a waste of money ?
Space is our way out to future, stop exploring it is a sentence of death to human kind.
I need your ideas guys. We will discuss about this subject and me and my group will defend ‘space research is a waste time and money’ What’s your suggestion what can we use for our defence? Because all of us think that spending money and time on space is necessarily. Poverty and starvation are our main title of our defences but what can we add?? Pls guys we need your perspectives and your thoughts.. thanxxx :)))
research and space is not a waste of money
we can have two stands here: it is considered a waste of money if we have a look on the huge number of problems on Earth: poverty, diseases, shelters …
Medical research is a priority regarding the fast development of viruses and diseases recently.
on the other hand, space research is a vital necessity taking into consideration that it made it possible to predict weather, catastrophes, communication, …
I don’t think so
I think it’s fine they just need to be more money wise.
Solve all the problems of this planet first. The rest can wait.
Actually…what if a huge meteorite is coming our way, without space exploration we would never know and before we know it boom human specie extinct.
No. Because we will need another planet we can go and inhabit and set out to destroy when we have completely destroyed this one .
On the contrary – it is one of the most sensible and valuable investments in the future of humankind.
Space exploration is culture. Culture is never a waste of money, it’s what makes us human.
If we had any of the culture that makes us human as you mention it, we would’ve first ensured humankind wellbeing on global scale instead of wasting money to bring a spoon of sand from Mars. All this while there are still people with no access to fresh water.
Павел, culture is never about basic survival, yet we wouldn’t survive without culture.
Gustav – agreed but show me a hungry or uneducated person willing to listen to Bethoven? If we’re to survive as species we have to sort out the foundations first and then go a step above. Culture should be for everyone, not for the entitled aristocracy while others struggle to make ends meet.
Павел, culture doesn’t have to be the fine arts. It can be sports, popular music, teve. Some like it, some don’t.
Totally agree I mean just like Stephen Petranek said “exploration is in our DNA” if we don’t explore we would still be living in the stone age.
First of all let’s understand that money isn’t actually a limited resource (as mineral resources), it’s the equivalent of human work value and it’s renewable. Afterwards, just as some people’s role in the economy is to innovate, invent or create useful or less useful things, beneficial or destructive ones, there should be people who have the role to at least give this quest a try. Searching for other extraterrestrial life forms, attempting to travel through space or to find another inhabitable planet doesn’t exclude or limit others role to improve life on Earth. Much more effort is put to develop more and more powerful, damaging and resources consuming weapons, but who’s gonna let the pistol down first…?
A question asked by someone who doesn’t think…
HI Betti, we’re a debating platform. We ask deliberately provocative questions. Keep debating!
Debating Europe – Okay, I get it. But space isn’t in Europe. And it’s not a debate question, or provocative. It’s just sad and silly that someone framed the question like: “Are children a thing of the past?”
If we could have back the money expended in space, would we like the world without gps, leds, digital thermometers, eco survailance, among so many others?!
Let me ask my GPS-enabled, satellite-linked hand-held communication device. Just a Sec.
complete waste of money, nothing and nobody will ever make a difference, where does all this money come from to fund it? unimaginable amounts of money have been wasted, if these people spent this money on everything that is wrong in this world then earth would be a better planet overall,
i might have to disagree what if we have already screw up our world so bad and it is beyond saving and what if there is no space exploration there won’t be technology and solution and answers to right every wrong on earth
I totally disagree with you. Without space exploration there will be many technology left undiscovered and one of these technology may one day solve a disease or a problem. I highly highly disagree with the part where you stated “Maybe we should spend more time trying to protect what we actually have, and less dreaming about the stars?” because if we (our human kind) don’t dream for the “impossible” then we would still be living in the stone age. As in trying to protect our planet, the more we know about new information the more we can protect it effectively. Finally there is no telling of what unexpected threats might come to earth so we need to make sure that human survive whatever happen to earth and we won’t be the last of our kind.
i might have to disagree what if we have already screw up our world so bad and it is beyond saving and what if there is no space exploration there won’t be technology and solution and answers to right every wrong on earth
what I mean is why spend billions of pounds sending things to the furthest parts of the universe ,ie light years away, there is no point of seeing if there is water on a distant planet , ridiculous , cancer will kill us all way before anything is even remotely found
whats the point of going to distant planets millions of miles away to find out what they consist of and if there is any form of life, nothing will save this planet, only mankind changing they way we live and breath will prolong the inevitable outcome, cancer will kill us all first, that’s if theres not a cure already, dont find any of the royal family dying of the disease do you .