Picture Earth with no other living creatures but bugs, do you really want Earth to be inhabited by just bugs and bugs alone? But wait, you'd ask yourself, where did all the humans go?
The survival of our civilization and humanity depends on the possibility of accumulating enough knowledge, technical resources and the necessary motivation to pursue our further expansion outside the confines of Earth. Science technology and space exploration are convinced that the alternative to expansion would be facing extinction.
Space exploration would make it possible for significant numbers of people to live outside of Earth. The world has become overpopulated and nothing seems to indicate that this figure would decrease unless a severe war or global cataclysm occurs which would endanger the whole earth's biosphere. Not only would living outside of Earth bring an increase to our knowledge but it would also help us to avoid global crises threatening humanity.
Full Moon view from earth In Belgium (Hamois). Fra...
The Earth seen from Apollo 17.
English: Composite image of the Earth at night. Fr...We do not devote enough of our resources to science to further our knowledge about the universe. There is so much more to discover for an example we can't forget the possibility of contacting other intelligent extraterrestrial beings who's existence seem probable though not yet confirmed.
Quite few resources have mentioned that by neglecting science, space research and exploration in particular, would lead to putting a great risk to the future human race. We in fact are wasting time by not doing enough space exploration because in the future we are facing extinction. The most astounding of possibilities is the collision of Earth with a celestial body, a comet or asteroid. Depending on the size of such a body the consequences may be different. Astronomical observations and current space research have confirmed that such cosmic collisions are not rare exceptions within the geological time scale.
For example if you look through an ordinary pair of binoculars at the moon it is surfaced with thousands of impact craters. Many of the same collisions have also happened on Earth in the past. One of them causing the extinction of dinosaurs and many more species of plants and animals. It is also certain that similar collisions will happen in the future, it could be in a thousand years time of even next year. Therefore every year of delay may lead up to a critical one.
If humanity is going to survive and get a chance of further development, its expansion into space is inevitable. Over the next few centuries the human civilization must spread throughout the solar system. This being the result of Space exploration.
It has not been a waste of time or money because the world has had benefits in the few short decades. The microchips in our computers could never have been developed if the investigation of space never happened. Hundreds of instruments are created every year for medical research to better the people's health as well as drugs produced to combat the side effects of going into space. Some of these drugs could even help fight some of these virus's here on Earth.
The investigation of biological processes benefits us all. Long term explorers on mars or the moon will need to try to grow plants for food, recycling and also for replenishing the air. Future studies into the behavior of plants in space will help produce bigger, healthier, even more enriched plants containing essential vitamins and minerals that our body's need to live. You never know, one of these plants may be the next cure for cancer. There is no reason to limit our minds by not exploring space. The universe is there and waiting to be explored with more and more things to discover.