Manned Space Exploration Value

Going to Mars is currently not a good use of resources. It's like spending billions to travel to the middle of the Sahara. Sure, there will be technologies invented as a side effect, but that will also be the case if we spend those resources on something that's also directly useful (like solving the energy problem, quantum computing, self sufficient robots, AI, etc.). Arguably, going to the moon wasn't a good use of resources either.

How would spending billions on the space race help?

Surely it's just a money problem?During the space race America spent 2.5% of its GDP anually to land on the moon. I doubt they're willing to spend that now. And cheaper designs come with higher risks

I think you should read this: https://launiusr.wordpress.com/2012/02/08/why-explore-space-...I had similar views until 5 years ago and questioned almost every new investment/endeavour by people that required significant upfront capital investment but I think this letter has changed a lot of my thinking

The money is not "burned up" - it is spent right here on Earth. It's paid to extremely skilled engineers, technicians and scientists.The technology developed for doing such a difficult task will inevitably benefit all of humanity. It did so for Apollo. It will again in the future.https://launiusr.wordpress.com

If it funds space exploration and development, why not ?

Probably an unpopular opinion around here, but honestly I think defense, healthcare, and food security to be more practical than human space exploration. I know that major advances in computing were made during the Apollo mission, but that was 60 years ago. What have you done for us lately?

I cant understand what can we possibly achieve from this type of explorations. NASA spends lot of money each year to excite us but nothing really achieved. Personal thought: Isn't worthy to spend this money for alleviation of poverty in this planet?

I have trouble understanding the enthusiasm about space. Space hostile and empty. Why not simply send space probes and rovers at a fraction of the cost and spend the money more wisely, for example in projects which research aging, cancer, overpopulation and disaster management in face of global warming. Why do we need to make the exception for space and get drunk with nostalgia and romantic ideas of exploration, when the rest of science is usually about sobriety and utility. Where is the sober c

"Let's spend trillions and throw it into space"The technical issue is not the matter. It's the sheer amount of resources for which the overwhelming majority of the human race will never see a benefit from in their lifetimes.