It is a common phenomenon that more astronomer is searching for other planets in the universe where life exists. Some people believe that governments should invest money on seeking the life in other planets, but others insist that solving domestic issues and improving basic facilities are the priority tasks. I agree with the view that public funds should be used to improve people’s life quality.
Seeking for more resources is the most important reason that governments should support space research. As we all know, some kind of resources will exhaust in the future, such as water and mineral. People have to discover more available resources from other planets for coming generations. Moreover, population on earth is increasing dramatically every year. Scientists are uncertain if the earth could take such a huge amount of population. Finding a new living sanctuary is necessary for human beings. Space discovery is really helpful for collecting information and evaluate for that program.
However, some politicians argued that public funding should be used to solve the practical issues, such as poverty and illness. Considering the limited state budget, not all countries have the enough funds to support space research, governments have to focus on addressing domestic problems. For example, famine has hit many countries in Africa for years, and millions of people living in dire straits. Comparing with the visionary space discovery, governments have to spend a large amount of money to rescue people from property and famine first. In addition, illness is another serious issue in many developing countries like cancer. Under the circumstances of government financial emergency, a relatively completed and developed medical system should get more financial support from the government instead of space discovery.
In my opinion, governments should pay more attention to address urgent issues rather than space exploration.