The United States should explore space.

Before spreading the jam onto the peanut butter of this PB&J, I shall define explore. I will use this previous debate as a lesson: . http://www.debate.org... First off, we cannot go into space and literally explore it. .. You use the term loosely as chuck_norris did in the debate I linked. I am not against the observation of space, and I think that our scientific community should examine the heavens. However, we do so from our planet, so it cannot be considered "exploring". Creating ships and shuttles with our limited technological knowledge is infact a waste of money, we can't really go to far with what we have now. So, it would be a waste of time and money. I suppose it is time for me to cover the search for habitable planets. .. Hypothetically say we did have the technology, and we discovered a habitable planet. .. Would it be a Scientific discovery worth praising? Sure. .. However, with this discovery comes a major problem. 1. ) Who gets the planet? There is no doubt that there would be political conflict with this discovery, and several countries would be fighting to get the biggest slice of the pie. My point being this: Until our civilization has evolved to the point where we can govern ourselves under one political body, searching for a new home isn't a good idea. And even if our society gets to such a point (which I am sure it will), our technology will have to be advanced enough to get to the planet, otherwise it is pointless. My opponent asks what sort of affairs are more important than space exploration. .. Well, there are foreign policies, hostile countries, terrorists, crime, financial and public affairs, scientific breakthroughs and observing space (notice I use the word "Observe", not explore) as well as trade. There are many needs to our society that should tower over scientific achievements. .. What about the poor and the sick? We could be using such money to find cures for diseases and educate our youth. Now I shall respond to my foe's arguments. "1. Space needs to be explored because there are many disasters that exist in its boundaries. When a massive star dies, it blow up in a process called a supernova. It may then leave behind a monumental, destructive black hole or neutron star. Even worse, there are radioactive gamma ray bursts that can have a negative effect on our safety. Disasters that we don't even know about can happen! A recent study of Mars showed that it may have once contained water to support life, but now Mars if dessicated, frigid, airless, and dead. What happened to this planet that may have once flourished with living beings? Scientists do not know and could find out if space exploration was funded. Lastly, solar flares exist in space that could destroy our expensive satellites that power our devices. For further information, I recommend reading this document. . http://www.windows.ucar.edu...; As in the debate I linked, we find that human extinction can not be avoided. Say our species survives the destruction of our planet, and perhaps even our solar system? What then? There is always the threat of an alien invasion, but say we did what Master Chief did and dominate? What then? Well. .. Well, with our society's current understanding, our universe is like an elastic band, and it's continuously expanding! It will reach maximum entropy and collapse back to once it was, we won't survive. .. . Period. "2. It is proven that space provides plentiful new technology. Over the past years, because we invested in space exploration, technology has sprung up all over the world. The once rare cell phone has become a common device worldwide. And we also invented the GPS! And you know what powers these devices? Satellites! And what taught us how to send satellites into space? Space exploration, of course! " Irrelevant. .. It isn't space exploration. .. We are simply launching rockets up into our aptosphere to orbit around our planet and provide us with useful techological benefits. Exploration requires journeying to new frontiers, when these devices aren't even being used to observe space. "3. Perhaps one of the best reasons why we should explore space is because we cannot survive forever on Earth. The UK News predicts that by 2050, we will have to colonize two new planets in order to survive. So you see, we need to invest in space exploration or our lives as we know them are doomed. Stephen Hawking said in a 2001 interview, 'I don't think the human race will survive the next thousand years unless we spread into space. ' Space exploration will help us move to a new planet and will help us maintain our legacy and survive. " Human extinction is inevitable, so as stated before, it would only extend our species survival. This is basically a repeat of your first statement, my answer to that applies to both. .. . For these reasons, we should explore space. I'll bring in new points the next round. I look forward to the response.