Money Spent On Space Exploration Can Be Better Used To Reduce Poverty On Earth. What Do You Think?

I popped this question on my LinkedIn to find out from my connections what are their opinion on this topic.

Some were wondering why there's even a link between space exploration and poverty. So here's what they said:

1. “Both are important. One is for the present and another is for the future. Whoever has the power and responsibility, shall be given the opportunity to decide.” - Mickey Hoh ?

2. “No. We need to keep pushing the boundaries of human exploration whilst doing our best to reduce poverty. Poverty, relatively, will always be there. We won’t get anything done if we keep focused on reducing poverty before we do anything extraordinary, like space exploration (but also building particle accelerators, next-gen nuclear plants, quantum computers, green hydrogen plants, etc…).” - Dave Mommen ?

3. “First, we need to identify the current efforts and policies the governments around the world are implementing to combat poverty.?

Are they working? ??

If no, is it because of a lack of funding? Will we increase funding for these efforts and policies and will the outcome improve??

If yes, we should focus on money spent on these efforts. Money spent on space exploration is secondary.?

We also need to ask how had we benefitted from technologies used for space exploration??

Based on some articles, there are many everyday goods and products that are the offsprings of technologies developed through investing in research in space tech.?

GPS, wireless headsets, LED lighting, and portable cordless vacuums can create opportunities in low-skilled manufacturing jobs in developing countries to reduce poverty. However, a bulk of new tech usually benefits developed countries and skilled workers much more compared to underdeveloped countries and low-skilled workers.??

Some other questions come to mind:??

Do we provide resources and Foreign direct investment (FDI) into these countries to upskill their citizens and boost the economy??

Do we focus on research on space technology and, hopefully, some tech innovation can have an indirect effect on developing countries?” - Clement Tan Guan Sheng ?

4. “Enhance your space before exploring ‘space’.?

I think we should spend time and money on being more human first. People are forgetting what they are made from and their abilities. Go back to the basic first before exploring further. No point looking outside for answers when you have not tackled the answers within you. This is my spiritual awakening response.” - Prita Nair ?

5. “We should focus on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) as it is more crucial and will create opportunities in the future.” - Mohd shahril Bin Abdul rani ?

6. “Earth longevity is about another 800 - 900 years.??

Then there’s no Earth, hence the search for another home. The short-term solution is to spend your time on Earth and enjoy life on it.??The long-term solution is to live on another planet. Mars is the nearest and the most possible planet so far.” - Ramesh Rasiah

7. ”The world will certainly come to an end. When the apocalypse comes, you can live on the moon and it will be destroyed. So to me it’s just plain stupidity.” - Abdul Rahim ?

8. “First of all, the question is very skewed against both the things I believe are important. As a matter of 'better used' resources measured by money, I can think of so many more atrocious wasted monies. By poverty, I'm thinking of the basic needs every human being deserves, food and shelter, so I think we can pick some prime examples of 'better used' resources.

Food: is there so much need to consume foods from halfway across the globe because Hollywood glorifies them? Triple A Wagyu, American potatoes, quinoa, Boston lobsters, Australian abalone, French butter, kale... Imagine the resources used to get these highly perishable items from farm to factory then preserved, then super packed, super sealed, super air freight, then arrive at port and reverse that whole cycle in super speed so you can buy a tray of it nicely packed, preserved presented at your neighbourhood grocer. But it gets worse because more is thrown away as it's highly perishable.?

Another angle to the 'better used' resources would be to ask the question, "is 15g of protein from cow peas really so deficient compared to 15g of triple A Wagyu protein?" so much so that you have to first farm the cow pea, then to warehouse and distribute it to the cow farmer to feed the cow, then butcher and get it to you in super speed freshness?

Shelter: I guess I got no choice but to poke the sensitive topic of the air conditioner. Do you really need it or at least need it set to 16 degrees C on turbo? But you don't need me to tell you this the heaviest hitting 'better used' resource/monies. The electric bill is obvious.

I could go on finding things to poke at if you need me to choose between space exploration and unnecessary poverty.” - Yf Choong ?

9. “Definitely. I don’t see the current objectives that drive space exploration really help humanity. Poverty is not a cause, it’s a symptom. Even if we find a second Earth that we can actually go to, the same issue would resurface there. Earth resources are not enough? Well, you would be shocked to see the stats on how much food we waste. How can we say it is not enough when you see one place having a lot of food (and we waste most of it) but in another place there’s almost no food? And we are all guilty of it. Thus, it’s not just up to the billionaires to play their part, we too have our roles to play.”?- Afiq Zahir ?

Well, there you have it! These are the fascinating answers I received. I hope you have learned something here.