It is often argued that the government should finance in solving the public issues instead of spending it on search of new planets. Although I agree that the government’s investment in public services play a very vital role, I think that proper funding for discovering life on other planets is also crucial for mankind.
On the one hand, the government should definitely allocate a large part of its budgets on tackling public’s problems. Some basic services like schools, hospitals and roads are still problems for a huge section of the public. Lack of these basic necessities are ruining the overall quality of life. The government should satisfy the primary needs of the society and thus need proper funding, while space exploration is not curing diseases or solving the basic problem of mankind. For example, when political parties ask for votes they always put the problems of public in first place rather than discovering new life in another planets , thus wins the election promoting that agenda. That’s why the government should adequately finance public services in the first place.
On other hand, space exploration and discovering life on other planets is also important for mankind. Various innovation and technology are introduced like satellites and GPS system are the outcome byproduct of space exploration race. Humans have always been inherently exploratory beings. Becoming a multiplanetary species could protect the future of the human race and help humanity reach its full potential. Humans have consistently exceeded their potential. If the government mission of finding species in new planet succeeds then , it will be the one of the most important event in human history since the big bang. This types of expenditure in this sector, pushes the science and technology to evolve more.
To conclude, though I agree that government should allocate a large part of its budget on such urgent needs of the society like public services, I think that Though space exploration and search for new life have no impact on the life of public on daily basis but it is very important for the overall progression and evolution of the human species.