In this day and age, allocating massive financial resources to space research has been done annually in many countries. Some people are of the opinion that we should emphasize the importance of improving the quality of living rather than space exploration. Although this school of thought is valid to certain extents, I personally believe that a striking balance would be an optimal approach.
On the one hand, there are two primary reasons that explain why some people endorse the investment in living standards. Firstly, investing money in the improvement of lives would minimize several pressing issues. Since many countries are still in a state of poverty and lacking basic amenities, leading to poor living standards and eventually numerous health issues. In these situations, vast sums of money would be needed to organize poverty eradication programs and incentives for individuals rather than space exploration. Furthermore, the existential threat of climate change may demand drastic action from governments. The deterioration of the environment has led to multiple adverse risks that can bring the loss of biodiversity and well-being problems, highlighting the need to trace sustainable agriculture, and ecosystem restoration. Therefore, investing in alternative measures to tackle various environmental issues would alleviate dire consequences on human lives.
On the other hand, allocating money to conduct space research would also be worth it for humanity. The first reason would be that space research can alleviate the shortage of natural resources. Since the population sizes have consistently surged at an uncontrollable rate, the demand for resources, especially oil and natural gas, has become more heated than ever. These metals and other natural resources, although rare on Earth, might abound on other planets. In that case, conducting outer-space research would be a promising adventure. By the same token, the need for other home planets would result from these studies. For example, through many studies of Mars, many scientists believed that this place would be a potential backup for humankind as it bears a close resemblance to the Earth. As a result, people’s re-settlement off the planet would soon happen, reducing the pressing of overpopulation on the Earth.
In conclusion, while I concede that addressing numerous current concerns and climate change would be vital to enhancing human living standards, it is also important to acknowledge the potential merits of space discovery, such as the provision of natural resources and the study of a second planet for humanity in the near future.