Is space travelling a huge waste of money?

[noname223]

I am not an expert tbh. I don't know a lot about it. But I know they spend billions on new technologies for travelling to space. I think there are different reasons. Many are curious about the space. Could we find aliens or new life? Honestly I doubt it. I think it is way more likely the aliens travel to us and not the opposite direction. Our technology is not that advanced. If Russia or China dominates this technology we are fucked. We need our satellites or I think some weapons can only be used from the space. But I am not an expert. I barely know anything.

Another good reasoning is probably the following: We can only get better in some science fields if we explore more planets. I don't know much about new knowledge we can get through that. I am not sure how important it is. Maybe someone here has some insights.

I sometimes think it is a waste of money. Mabye not the science part but the shit Elon Musk wants to do. Some rich fuckers who claim they would care about poverty or climate change waste their money with space tourism. I know some people say the gaze on this blue planet can be life changing. It can make you realize how vulnerable we are. But space tourism will make it only worse. Some many people starve every single day. And you don't know anything better to waste your money on. Okay maybe it is better than spending 400 k on a virtual apartment in the metaverse.

I just think some people have a little bit too much money and a little bit too few brain cells. But maybe they are only selfish and not stupid.

 

[Alex6216]

Yes. Space is literally a pipe dream and is a massive waste of money and time which could be spent fixing the trouble on the Earth.
I know the amount of money space is spent on is not as much as compared to the military and entertainment but I also view the other two as unnecessary and think they should be reduced, maybe military should not be reduced too much since it does have its uses I guess.
Our bodies aren't designed for space, the lack of gravity is horrible for ones bone density (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-13461-1). There's no nearby planet with easy access to food and water or even breathable air. The nearest solar system would take 20+ years if you travel at the speed of light which is impossible to do, and this solar system isn't habitable.

Could we find aliens or new life? Honestly I doubt it. I think it is way more likely the aliens travel to us and not the opposite direction.

No we wont, there is no planet near us that we even think has life, and the ones that might have life will definitely only have primitive ones, no life form will ever see us or think of us and vice versa. Even if we do, why does it matter? These space animals have nothing in common with us and would be no use to us, they're as useful as a lion was for the Europeans when they pillaged Africa.
This space stuff is bread and circuses, there's a reason those with a lot of money and influence are more focused on VR crap.

 

[Seeking_Peace]

Yes, technology isn't there yet. $ would be better used to preserve Earth with force.

 

[Pluto]

I agree in the specific context of attempt to inhabit Mars. If we have the technology to do so, we could just as easily redirect resources towards building a city in Antarctica instead. But better yet would be to focus decisively on ending our onslaught of our own ecosystem here. Protecting the forests, phasing out fossil fuels and so on is just a matter of money and politics, as the current predicament is a result of corruption, manipulation and misinformation.

Space tourism is a bit more ambivalent, as it may end up just another industry that takes care of itself. Some space-related projects, such as reducing the cost of satellite launches, potentially benefit people in the 3rd world via improving internet access or maps or whatever.

On the other hand, projects like the Voyager spacecraft cost absolute peanuts compared to the trillions we pour into wars that kill one another, bringing improvements in our understanding of the cosmos and breathtaking imagery of our planetary neighbourhood. It represents a genuine achievement by our species. NASA's budget is notoriously tight. This is not something I would target as a waste of money.

If we put all our funding towards caring for the planet, caring for people and improving our peacetime technology, including space exploration, that makes a lot more sense than our current prioritisation of football, murder weapons and celebrities. I might actually want to live on this planet if it functioned in a humane and rational way.