There is no doubt that investing money into space exploration would be great for humanity as a whole. It would give humankind a greater sense of pride and accomplishment, as well as provide jobs for scientists and engineers. But, there are strong arguments against funding space travel over keeping the lights on at home. First, the cost. Space travel is expensive, and any government that plans to send a large number of people into space will have to spend a great deal of money to get there. The United States has already spent $1.5 trillion on space travel, and the European Union has spent $300 billion on space since 1970. Such an immense amount of money could best be spent on Earth, where it is needed most.

Second, there is the risk that in sending people into space, we will lose contact with those on Earth. Since the first moon landing in 1969, we have had several successful missions to send astronauts to the Moon, Mars, and asteroids. These missions have been wildly successful, but they have been costly. The Apollo missions, for instance, cost a total of $300 billion. If the US government had instead invested that money in infrastructure here on Earth, it would have made a big difference. The Apollo missions led to the construction of roads, schools, and universities, as well as the construction of the first interstate highway network. Had the US put the money it spent on space into those projects, the country would be in a far stronger position today.

Third, there is the risk of sending people into space. People die in space exploration all the time, and there have been many close calls as well. In 2004, the European Space Agency lost contact with its Mars Express probe, which was launched in 2003 to explore Mars. Fortunately, the probe was traveling at just the right speed to fall back to Earth after 13 years. The probe landed safely on January 4, 2018. But, this is not the only instance in which space probes have been lost, and some probes have crashed on other planets. The European Space Agency lost contact with the Mars Express probe in 2012, and the probe’s signals could not be recovered. In this case, the probe potentially could have landed on Mars, and could have potentially caused serious damage to the planet. Therefore, sending people into space comes with a high risk of failure and loss of life.

Finally, there is the risk of space accidents. Space probes can crash into planets, and astronauts can die in space shuttle crashes. In 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after takeoff, killing all seven astronauts. The Space Shuttle Columbia also exploded in 2003, killing all seven astronauts aboard. These accidents were caused by flaws in the Space Shuttle program itself, and engineers are still investigating the causes of those accidents. Therefore, there is no guarantee that future space programs will be safe. If another catastrophic accident occurs, the government will lose even more money, and human life will come under even greater risk. Space exploration is a fantastic idea, but it should be funded carefully, and local governments should focus their energies on improving life here on Earth.