There is a widely held belief that conditions on Earth are expected to worsen in the future, which drives some people to think that more money should be invested in research on other planets as alternative living places. Despite the possible advantages, I firmly disagree with this idea.
Personally, I believe that space research often requires a large amount of money and human resources for its development and launch processes, yet it cannot yield realistic and predictable outcomes. In this case, the authorities may face a number of unexpected risks of wasting budget and technological failure. As a consequence, funding for space exploration missions can lay a considerable financial burden on them and waste valuable resources on Earth. For instance, planets that are suitable for human beings are proven to be scarce in the galaxy, so finding such planets is a challenging task requiring countless years of research. Thus, the authorities should not pour a large sum of money into this impractical objective.
Although I acknowledge the benefits of space exploration which aims at saving human life in the future, I still contend that money should rather be spent on solving current problems on Earth. The investors should allocate money to improving public services and infrastructure, and reducing poverty, which are urgent issues and more practical to tackle. Many countries in the world, for example, are confronting serious food and water scarcity, widespread poverty, and poor transportation systems, needing immediate solutions. If the budget is spent on space research instead of dealing with these problems, many residents’ lives may be negatively affected.
In conclusion, I understand that funding for space exploration can help humans find alternative planets for living in the future concerning the degradation of Earth. However, I am in favor of the idea that money should rather be allocated for other purposes, due to the unpredictable and risky nature of space research, and the urgent need for tackling problems on Earth.