Human curiosity in the field of astronomy is still relevant, that’s why people are still trying to explore and learn about it but the research in the field of space science involves high costs. There are strong arguments on both sides of whether to continue space travel or stop giving much importance to it.
On the one hand, over the last century, human advancements in the field of astronomy have provided us with insights into the characteristics and nature of space. A lot of research has been done during this period related to other stars, planets and much more. People are also interested in finding a habitat planet for humans. A lot of telescopes and space probes like James’s web telescope or voyager 1, which is the first human-made object to enter interstellar space, have been sent into space just for the study of other planets and stars. Because of these investments, it’s become possible to have visual data of other galaxies and even blackholes. Biological advancements have been made in space with the help of satellites like the international space station, where humans can study the behavior of other organisms or the human body. For a bright future, space studies will play a crucial role. And as the travel to space become frequent, the cost related to it will be reduced for example reuseable rockets have been made which could be a great invention for space travel.
Conversely, however, people who oppose more funding for space programs aren’t against space research. The main argument is the increasing cost of space exploration as a single space project can cost up to 150 billion dollars and it still does not ensure success. A lot of space programs ended up failing because of the high cost related to them. Moreover, humans are trying to habitat other planets which is far more difficult than protecting our own environment. These space projects have zero effect on an ordinary citizen, but his tax money is being invested into these research projects, which isn’t going to help him anyway in the future. Higher health care and education costs, rents or even staggering cost of groceries are the reasons why people are against these projects.
Overall, I feel like opponents of high funding for space have stronger arguments at present. It seems like most people can’t even afford basic living and governments should divert funds toward the people who are in need. After all, space will always be there to explore but there are some other sectors where government should move the focus like renewable energy or environment protection. There are some space organizations working on bost cutting of these research programs.