This question is a very frequent question. It is asked by thousands of Americans. Why should we send spend money on space travel? And if we do approve of space travel, then next question is about manned space flight. Why should we send humans to space while tasks can be accomplished by remote rovers or even autonomous bots?
When the cold war was over, a lot of people had this question: OK. We have beaten the Soviets to the moon. Why should we still keep spending so much money on space travel?
Space Research has affected our lives on earth so much. Check out this link. And you would be amazed in the number of ways it does. And robots and rovers can never replace humans (atleast for now).
When Vikram Sarabhai envisioned our own space program, he did it with the betterment of people in mind. In the latest issue of SCIAM-India, there is an interview of Prof. Jurgen Mlynek, President of the Helmholtz Association in Germany.
Q: “Almost all space powers - China, Japan, India, the USA - are working on moon projects. Why is Germany not doing it?”
A: “Well, I think it is a question of priorities. If resources are limited, you have to make a choice. Either you use unmanned satellite technology and robotics or you go for manned missions. But at the end you have to answer the question - what are we going for and what kind of technologies do we want to develop. With China, I get a feeling that manned space missions are also a question of prestige. While visiting the Indian space agency in Bangalore, I had the feeling that your pro gramme is focused toward the needs of your own people and you are interested in education, water, the growth of corn and the prediction of droughts. The Indian space mission is very much about the needs of your country and of your massive population.”
The higher we raise the bar, the benefits that we reap for life on earth are greater. That is why I personally feel that we should aim higher. I hope that in my lifetime, a man is put on Mars, a permanent human presence is established on the moon, India’s builds a module for the ISS and India contributes actively towards all international space projects.
