BeIR/webis-touche2020 huggingface dataset:
Yes, because

The Space exploration program is in no way "wasted money". Anything we learn is cool because there are ninjas. You see, while we have ninjas here on earth we lack the destructive and mental capability demonstrated by the space ninjas. Wielding their flammable cupcakes, the ninjas will descend upon the earth and kill the enemies of those they work for. Unfortunately, these ninjas can only survive in Neptune's atmosphere. But we best be usin' some money to go to space and get them cuz there's this dude named Daniel who needs a damn cupcake in his face. Last thing, I wouldn't apply to it as "Space Invasion" until we find actual life on a planet besides our own, which will never happen unless we explore, therefore, until we explore space more, your argument is invalid!!!
The Largest Benefits

Space Exploration has given us many,many technologies that are essential. Satellites were some of the first venturers into space and are another critical part of our society. Weather Forecasting (Satellites. Very important for hurricanes and dangerous storm systems, have saved lives and help us prepare for the worst.) Velcor and non-stick pans! (Mostly a joke, but hey, they work!) (General Technology.) GPS (Very critical if your lost somewhere, has saved lives!) (Satellites.) Long range television! (Satellites.) Long Range Communication (Phones,Cellphones,etc.) (Satellites.) Internet. (Satellites, and power lines of course.) (Much much more.) Now onto the somewhat psyhcological and green-wise part of why we need Space Exploration. If we stopped warring with eachohter and wasting precious minerals that we have on this Earth -on- war, we would have a lot more resources to spend on more important things such as daily life, and hey, space exploration wouldnt mind some more attention either. If we spent our time looking for other planets, and other areas of expansion. We would be a much more healthy planet and society. Our Earth is also nearlly completely explored except for the oceans depths which are frankly impossible to get to the bottom too. The pressures are far far too powerful and some even say its more dangerous to trek to the bottom of our oceans then it is into space. Our bodies and steels cannot handle the intense pressure they have for more then a half hour. (The window of an exploratory sub cracked and the crew nearly died before they had to immediately go back up.) Look at the casualties of war and the waste of resources and land. Oil spills are causing massive damage to the eco-system, the recent gulf spill has me worried that the entire balance might just be at stake. We have seen that solar powered cars can convert it to electricity and has just as much if not more power then gas cars. (Instant accelereation* and some have gone to 100 mph.) * You have to rev your engine on a gas car to get gas into the engine before accelerating. With electricity the power is instant. Solar Power is infinitely renewable (Until the sun dies.) and infinitely powerful, why waste money on oil rigs? Your going to get alot more money on solar power and less expenses with minor maintence. There are so many more things I can name at this time, but here are just a few as I must go eat for now.
Scientific knowledge has value beyond the measurements of cost

The argument that humanity will need to find a new habitat to survive is a stretch and paranoid. Humans are already dying due to poverty and the lack of food etc. The millions of dollars of government funding that goes to space exploration could instead be used to save the humans who are already dying in our world. No-one is going to argue against the value of knowledge but there is a greater value in spending more on food supplies which has a certain result of feeding the hungry, whereas certain results are not present in the theory of discovering a sustainable planet.
A commercial space industry is taking over

Even if space exploration was a good target of funding in the past, it is now a growing target of venture capital and private ingenuity. For example, SpaceX's reusable rocket that is expected to reduce launch costs for commercial satelites, Bigelow Aerospace's investment in space tourism, and Virgin Galactic's expected space-faring plane, among others. Now that private companies are intending to supply space access on the cheap, it is useless to spend all that money on expensive platforms such as the space shuttle.
Space

No one has ever said that space was not meant for us to cross, who is to say that the oceans were meant for us to cross into America? How many men died crossing the ocean to the Americas and other contintents? Much more then seven I can bet you, but I am not saying their death was pointless and for waste. They knew the risks, and they took it for the sake of knowledge. It is also not meaningless, how is it meaningless? Many many many technologies have come out of it. (See The Largest Benefits) Beyond the side effects, which were revolutionary in and of themselves, we may need Space more than we think. We all know, unless we're dillusional, that our planet won't last forever (found out through Space exploration, BTW), and that how long it lasts relies heavily on our surrounding environment. The more we know about out own Galaxy, and even just the Universe, the safer we can potentially make out planet. Besides, if we're not carefull, we're going to be emigrating to one of those planets out there sooner than we think. Where would we be if Earth became uninhabitable and we, having cut our Space program, were unable to find a substitute?
against space exploration

spends the time and money to develop these products for use in space, but usually there are many civilian applications for the same products. Production of these product leads to redevelopment, sales and distribution - all of which leads to more jobs; somebody has to build, sell, and repair. One last point, we know that Russia and China have both put men in space and now even more countries are getting involved. Obviously we have seen the power of Google Maps (and that is only at the civilian level). Imagine now, that other powerful countries have satellites to spy on us and can position weapons directly above our country, dont you think it would be a good idea to be abloe to stave that off. If we decided to stop "wasting" money on space programs, we can say goodbye to many new developments that will be out of reach of garage scientist and we can expect to be overwhelmed with visitors in the skies above the US. Did you know that to build a space elevator (a space-platform constructed with the intent of lifting substances into Earth's orbit) would only cost $40 billion with 100% contingency, and half that for the baseline construction cost? There are endless possibilities, ranging from solar energy farms to revolutionary and cheap intercontinental transportation. Imagine a solar farm, capable of harvesting the solar winds; this translates to an unlimited supply of energy for not just the United States, but the entire world! The human race is changing, and expanding. Soon, the Earth will simply not be big enough and we need to start considering our future as a species. There are issues that do plague us as a race. There is poverty and injustice in the world. While these issues exist and should certainly not be ignored, the funds put forth to space exploration have a quantifiable impact and are no less of a priority. These problems will likely not be solved by the evolution of invention and space exploration alone, but as technology improves so will the lives of every man, woman, and child regardless of gender, skin color, or wealth. Space exploration needs focus and funding, it is representative of our future, and will secure it. Space exploration is arguably the single-most important investment we could possibly make.
Man's uncontainable curiosity

There are many things in our world that have not discovered yet; do cures to AIDS and cancer ring a bell? And what about over coming poverty? The point is, space exploration is extremely expensive. We should find a solution to what we don't know in our world before exploring a different one. We simply don't have the money or resources. Besides, if it's unemployment you're worried about, more people to devote their lives to over-coming the problems we know about, and not digging up more for us to "solve".
Scientific knowledge has value beyond the measurements of cost

Knowledge is invaluable. Furthering our understanding of how the universe came into being, and ultimately how we came into being, cannot be measured as useful solely in terms of cost. What price to pay for knowing that in the future, humanity can be saved because there are other planets out there capable of sustaining life? Scientific knowledge has intrinsic worth. Space exploration is just one aspect of science that seems to have little impact on our daily lives. Who cares if the Higgs-Boson exists? Very few people. But governments have funded a new particle collider at CERN to find it because they recognise the importance of finding it to understanding the universe. It's sickening to see all of these people going on and on about "saving the starving and impoverished". Well then sell your computer. Stop commenting on here, go dedicate your life to helping the "starving and needy". And how many tons of rice and grain do we need to keep dropping on these countries before they get their act together and FEED THEMSELVES. I know it sounds heartless, but it's their fault. I don't care if they don't have money. Man lived for thousands of years off of the land and many (dumb) animals still manage to pull it off. Why do we have to send some christian missionaries over to dig them a well? Why can't they dig their own well? Why can't they plant their own grain? Why can't they hunt their own game or raise their own livestock? Why can't they move OUT of the areas of drought? Why is it OUR problem? You feel guilty because you live better? We shouldn't help people that will not help themselves. And something is going to happen and we will ALL be dead or starving on this planet because we refused to move on and advance the survival of our species; all pissed away on supporting some people that would probably just as soon let us starve if we were the ones without food and they were the rich ones.
the new crisis on planet earth: finish your priorities before starting new ones

Our goal here is to create a balance, not to give up one option for another. It's sickening to see all of these people going on and on about "saving the starving and impoverished". Well then sell your computer. Stop commenting on here, go dedicate your life to helping the "starving and needy". And how many tons of rice and grain do we need to keep dropping on these countries before they get their act together and FEED THEMSELVES. I know it sounds heartless, but it's their fault. I don't care if they don't have money. Man lived for thousands of years off of the land and many (dumb) animals still manage to pull it off. Why do we have to send some christian missionaries over to dig them a well? Why can't they dig their own well? Why can't they plant their own grain? Why can't they hunt their own game or raise their own livestock? Why can't they move OUT of the areas of drought? Why is it OUR problem? You feel guilty because you live better? We shouldn't help people that will not help themselves. And something is going to happen and we will ALL be dead or starving on this planet because we refused to move on and advance the survival of our species; all pissed away on supporting some people that would probably just as soon let us starve if we were the ones without food and they were the rich ones. Most humanitarian organizations simply give poor countries money to fend for their sick and hungry when they can instead teach them how to plant crops that survive in their harsh conditions and educate people who are illiterate and turn them into doctors or farmers. When money is just thrown at their feet, what will happen if the money runs out? When they send people to give them prepared food and medication, what will happen when they leave? Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime.
against space exploration

Science may well give us good things. We all know Velcro came from NASA. But why bother spending all this money exploring space and finding out there was water on Mars at some point in the last few thousand years (we have water in Earth) when these same great minds could be applied to finding better ways to power humanity's insatiable desire for energy, to feeding the starving millions around the globe, and generally making life down here better before looking up into the heavens. It seems the authoritative powers have their heads way, way up in the clouds. The needs of humanity should always come first. While there are people on Earth who need help, they should be helped, rather than seeing money spent on sending robots onto other planets. Humanity is the number one priority; keeping the human race alive is a necessity. Alternatively, space exploration is a desire. If we put our desires before our needs, then everyone loses out on a better standard of living. Sure, it's great that NASA can elevate technology to the next level time and time again, so why not make technology that directly benefits us? And as there are millions round the world who are starving to death, when people spend more and more money on space technology they should realize they are the killers. Also, why take so much time and money to learn about Mars or any other planet, when we know so little about our own? We should learn more about Earth and the ocean before wasting time and money on Space exploration.
Man's uncontainable curiosity

To put it bluntly, if aliens were discovered on the face of Mercury, wouldn't you be interested in hearing about it? I know I would. Just as man could help but wonder if the Earth was really flat, or if there was anything outside the 'Known World'. We now feel the same about space, human kind has always needed answers, questions temp us, pull us together and satisfy us when we find the answer. The question's being asked at the moment are: 'How did the universe begin?' and 'Is there life outside of Earth?'. These questions drive so many people that calling space travel a 'waste of money' seems to be an insult to so many people's lives and careers!
The cost isn't actually very high

Although the cost is not high relative to other government expenditure, it is still an additional cost that the taxpayer is burdened with. If this debate is saying that space exploration is pointless then it means spending money on nothing so is definitely a waste. Even if it's a small amount it is still an amount that could be spent elsewhere.Everyday in Delhi B.P.S buses are are getting blasted due to the default in the engeenering.So we shouldspend money on it not for the space exploration.We should spend money on the coton bags and jute bags.We should spend money on Afforestation .We live on the earth so I request everyone to spend money on the Earth not on space
the new crisis on planet earth: finish your priorities before starting new ones

there are two major crisis going on at your home planet. global warming and the world wild economic crisis, both are severe. if the government doesn't handle the economic crisis with care we all will end up poor. how can we feed the poor,fend for our selves and take care of really expensive space travels? space travel is a unwanted business for now. how many of you'll know that NASA lost count of there budget after the first billions of dollar after the first year? is this more important than caring for the needy? when so many people are dieing as we speak can we just neglect them and say "the money we just spend went for a good cause, and these few hundreds of people who died are nothing because if we don't find a another planet to escape the cultures of global warming we all will die" is that fair for them?i say no and what will you say? Global warming is the second most severe issue the earth is going through. we have to take care of our planet before we go roaming other planets. if the great legendary tribes of yesterday were here to see all this they would not believe that long time ago there used to be pure air to breath e and man and animal lived side by side.now everything is destroyed. if we take care of this problem with with care we would be able to overcome this disaster. what if the space shuttle launch and then fall?then what?the government is going to have to pay more money for that.plus they might get sued.our government is dumb for going along with this. First priority is to teach people to help themselves so that they can help us when it is time to explore space, so let's prioritize. We would not have most of the problems of today if our parents taught us better than to steal and hurt others, so let's teach the next generation so that they can explore space when they are well grounded.
Its not a waste

Space travel has given us a lot of new things for example the micro chip, the CAT scan and so on. You might say that we could just put together a group of scientist to figure it out, but and idea has to come from something, and they wouldn't just make a CAT scan if someone told to to make something to scan a brain, and even if they would, it would take a lot more time. Also, space travel could benefit our future, if we ended up making settlements on the moon or mars, we might be able to mine there and get rare minerals, or a huge supply of a mineral, boosting economy. Think of America, if someone had put a stop to earth's exploration due to poverty, we wouldn't have one economically strong country(USA) to help the poor.
The resources and efforts focused on space exploration could better humanity.

How much money is devoted to space exploration? Hundreds of Billions. They are paid through grants and funding to and from government agencies, paid to companies to develop or innovate current models or ideas, and in turn, those companies pay for the materials and the manpower to manifest those ideas. This time and dedication could be focused on ending famine or building developing countries. It could be used to increase the efforts to combat terminal illnesses or to battle pollution. We could have a workforce teeming with brilliant scientist working on how to ameliorate the efficiency of our consumption of energy. Money could be allocated for education. We need to focus our resources and efforts to one problem at a time according to priority. At least a tenth of our resources and efforts should be used by a taskforce for one goal/problem at a time. Education should be our first priority to get everyone on their feet to then help the rest of the world in a cycle of progress, so exploring space can wait until we are healthy on the ground unless there is some reason that exploring space is going to improve our condition within the next ten generations more than education would improve our condition, that would be hard to argue in favor of exploration.
Space exploration gives us no direct benefit

However indirect they might be, the advances would not have come were it not for the space programmes of NASA, as there would have been no technological need. Space exploration gave impetus to projects that have been useful, as well as providing valuable scientific knowledge. For example, the laser-targetting of mirrors left on the moon by Apollo astronauts helps test and understand basic physics, which in turn leads to advances in very earthly things like electronics, hyper-conductivity, etc. Anyway, space exploration absolutely does give us a direct benefit. When space technology has advanced far enough, we will be able to leave this planet in large numbers and live among the stars. This will solve our population/environment/resource/energy problems for a long, long time. It may take centuries, even millenia, but we will not get the technology without experimenting with it.
Money is better used to help human lives in their own country

Really? This is actually your analogy? Well, to begin there's usually more than one person living in a country. Secondly I'm assuming the "1 million dollars to fix it up" means government spending on education, healthcare, policing not to mention military (which is considerably more than scientific space exploration if you live in the US). So your suggesting that governments spend doubly-doubly-doubly-triply-quadruply the amount they spend on those areas on space travel. Needless to say, this simply isn't the case anywhere. Thirdly, "some really interesting girls" is by far the best analogy based metaphor for scientific knowledge I have ever heard. Not joking, thank you for that. However flawed your analogy is the title "money is better used to help human lives in their own country" is interesting. But here's the problem with that argument, the by-product of space exploration is scientific knowledge that has helped an unquantifiable number of humans since the beginning of space explorations. How do you propose to purchase MRI machines without the digital image processing NASA developed[http://techtran.msfc.nasa.gov/at_home/hospital3.html]]? And how are you going to stop your troops from being blown to pieces by land mines without using a NASA Reusable Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM) scrap propellant[http://techtran.msfc.nasa.gov/at_home/landmine.html]] based device? There are numerous more examples that you can Google for yourself. The knowledge that space exploration provides is crucial for developing areas from medicine to the military. Without it development would stall. To attack space exploration in this manner is to attack the purpose of scientific research in general. Science may be done for science's sake occasionally, but the knowledge generated always benefits humanity.
Plastics Industry/Internet

Its a waste. Space Exploration is a waste of resources. Instead of decreasing resources by space travel and such, we must deal with problems on Earth first. Why bother spending all this money on exploring space when we could be helping our own planet that us humans live on. NASA is very damgerous. So many accidents and problems happened in the space shuttles such as explosions, pieces falling off, and missing the gravity on Earth. That is even more money to fix those problems. Space Exploration is a waste of money and a waste of time. Also, we know we exist, but we don't know if anything out there exists. Spend time and money on our planet also know as our home.
Its a waste

Space Exploration is a waste of resources. Instead of decreasing resources by space travel and such, we must deal with problems on Earth first. Why bother spending all this money on exploring space when we could be helping our own planet that us humans live on. NASA is very damgerous. So many accidents and problems happened in the space shuttles such as explosions, pieces falling off, and missing the gravity on Earth. That is even more money to fix those problems. Space Exploration is a waste of money and a waste of time. Also, we know we exist, but we don't know if anything out there exists. Spend time and money on our planet also know as our home.