Asterix said:
Two and a half years, and 1.5 billion dollars later, and NASA still hasn't figured out how to keep foam from damaging the shuttle to the point of risking a catastrophic reentry. While the damage they have found on the shuttle's tiles in the current mission is not considered critical, they also admit that they are not sure. Given the enormity of real problems requiring our immediate response in the world, is it really necessary to pursue this program, especially when any new scientific benefits appear scant? Is there any real benefit to all this, or is it mostly an extension of our ego as a species?
Yes, it is definitely worth it, the space program is one of the best investments government ever made. Technological breakthroughs too numerous to mention, many of them medical advances that we now take for granted, are directly related to research for the space program. And that's just the short-term benefit. The long term benefit is eventually being able to move to other planets to continue our race, or, to be more accurate, races we may evolve into. We already have the technological know-how to transform Mars into a habitable planet, it will indeed happen someday.
Ignoring the space program endangers our descendents. We need to learn how to destroy asteroids that threaten Earth. No, an asteroid is not likely to hit within our lifetime, but if you look at the big picture (the next billion years), a catastrophic impact is a certainty unless we do something about it. Also, our Sun will eventually die, and where will we go if we haven't learned to travel.
Another big objection to the space program is the cost. This is a common misperception. The program has ranged between 0.5 and 1.5 percent of the budget for the last 20 years. This is miniscule compared to defense, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, etc. So we are definitely not going broke because of the space program, and it arguably has provided some of the best returns of government programs. But I will agree with the program's critics on one thing they usually say - yes, of course, let's fix problems here on Earth. I am just saying that fixing problems on Earth and having a space program is not a contradiction, both can be done.