Band 8+: Many individuals say that spending on space exploration is a waste of money. This, instead, should be better used to solve current problems on Earth. To what degree do you support or oppose this idea?

It is often said that space-related investment is heavily dependent on expensive resources, such as money, while it is beneficial to use them on tackling recent Earth problems. Personally, I strongly disagree with this perspective due to its long-term advantages for the later period when facing critical hardship in food management and the future world’s economy.

I must admit that space development can generate numerous employment opportunities when this science field is adopted internationally. This is because investing in space exploration creates the demand for scientists, engineers which supports job creation and fosters interest in science among the young people. Therefore, space research may lead to technological innovations which can indirectly deal with economic losses from climate change and natural disasters. To illustrate, space satellites have been used for weather forecasts which predict numerous disasters , such as tsunamis and hurricanes, and leave people enough time to relocate to farther places. As a result, this development reduces the risk of local financial instability where the aforementioned phenomenons occur. However, this cannot be true for some cases when space exploration does require time to conduct more investigations, thereby it is much slower than just coping with the direct issues like social inequality, war and poverty in poor countries.

Another point is that this field provides opportunities to prevent extreme food shortages affected by climate change on Earth. This is because an increasing number of droughts has led to excessive use of fertilisers, which deteriorates soil quality. For example, international corporations like NASA have been in search of life on Mars to cultivate potatoes, and avoid using Earth resources. Thus, this encourages human long-term survival in case of natural disaster and climate change.

To conclude, I believe that it is advantageous to invest in space-related activity if it is in moderation and balance between addressing the current issues and further research of space.