Space/Science — HabitableZone

Space/Science » in reply to What we have gained ALREADY from space research.

Spinoffs are the weakest argument

I've consistently maintained that the materialistic argument has little power to motivate the public. The huge Achilles Heel in that approach is exemplified by your list: Not one item requires manufacture in space, and only the handful involving unmanned satellites requires operations in space, and then only in near-Earth space.

That small point is key: It means that almost every one of those innovations could have been thought of and developed on Earth without involving the space program. Further, spinoffs don't argue for exploration--NEO is sufficient, depriving us of a motivation to explore farther.

Spinoffs are spinoffs, they're not the main event, and they're too easily separated from space exploration. I think the approach might even be actively counterproductive because it waves a red flag in front of clever people challenging them to come up with alternative, and always cheaper, ways of providing those benefits.

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