03-11-2017, 11:30 AM
You're describing one side of the dichotomy between two major philosophies of space exploration.
The opposing viewpoint is that the presence of humans in space does not require a technical, scientific or even financial justification. Most attempts to make those kinds of justifications for having humans in space are just forms of rationalization, trying to make it seem sensible to "bean counters".
The major reasons are emotional and political. For example, some people are willing to spend millions of dollars just to go there, whether they get to go to the ISS, on a trajectory that takes them around the Moon, or to Mars. People already have spent tens of millions each to go to the ISS, quite a few have made down payments for suborbital flights, and others have (supposedly) contracted with SpaceX to fly around the Moon. Hundreds have even volunteered to go to Mars without a promise of being able to get back. Supposedly getting himself to Mars is one of the reasons Musk has invested so heavily in SpaceX.
The opposing viewpoint is that the presence of humans in space does not require a technical, scientific or even financial justification. Most attempts to make those kinds of justifications for having humans in space are just forms of rationalization, trying to make it seem sensible to "bean counters".
The major reasons are emotional and political. For example, some people are willing to spend millions of dollars just to go there, whether they get to go to the ISS, on a trajectory that takes them around the Moon, or to Mars. People already have spent tens of millions each to go to the ISS, quite a few have made down payments for suborbital flights, and others have (supposedly) contracted with SpaceX to fly around the Moon. Hundreds have even volunteered to go to Mars without a promise of being able to get back. Supposedly getting himself to Mars is one of the reasons Musk has invested so heavily in SpaceX.
Selden