What should we prioritise?

Ever since the Apollo missions were successfully completed and the Soviet Union lost the space race to the United States, there has been a question when it comes to space exploration. It has become even more relevant in recent years in response to new proposals to send astronauts to the Moon and to Mars. Some people are asking, ‘Is space exploration really worth it, considering its cost?’

There is also another concern: our Earth. Some people have challenged our efforts to colonise Mars and the Moon. They state that our Earth and its problems need our immediate attention and that the funds which we spend on space exploration every year can be redirected to areas where we can find solutions to the serious problems that our Earth is facing today.

There are prominent people in the area of space exploration who have strong arguments against these concerns. Firstly, they argue that space exploration has allowed us to study our Earth from space. Such an advantage will allow us to predict future problems and address them in an appropriate manner. Secondly, they believe that space exploration is not an exclusive field that deprives other scientific fields of vital resources; rather, it helps them grow. For instance, scientists at the International Space Agency conduct multiple scientific experiments in space, which are difficult to conduct on Earth. Thirdly, the advocates of space exploration ask why their field, and not other fields such as entertainment, is often under attack when the discussion revolves around allocating resources. To them, it seems that critics do not see the benefits of space exploration and therefore find it unnecessary, which means their criticism is not based on facts.