Is it really necessary to send humans to those places just to get the knock-on benefits? Couldn’t we do those things directly, without going there?
It seems to me that, today, those who have the money to spend on these endeavors would only do so if there were perceived short-term benefits to themselves. That means they plan to exploit the resources, or increase their own power somehow.
I know the good engineers that make this happen are doing it for the challenge and in the pursuit of knowledge, and I know that’s why we poors support it, but that doesn’t “pay the bills.” What is the motivation behind the money? Why are they really doing this?
I’m getting more cynical as I get older, I witnessed the moon landings when I was young and I was thrilled. Humans are not made to live in, or to travel though space. Space, with its vacuum and high radiation levels is extremely unwelcoming. We better stay on Earth and fix our beautiful planet! But, it is again a space race, if NASA or Bezos or musk don’t get there first, the Chinese might. OMG! The Chinese! So we invent a lot of reasons why humans must live on the moon or mars - whereas our robots are doing a pretty good job in exploring these planets or the universe.