Space Exploration is a waste of time and money

org cherry :P now. .. onwards. .. "Applications on Earth of technology needed for space flight have produced thousands of "spinoffs" that contribute to improving national security, the economy, productivity and lifestyle. It is almost impossible to find an area of everyday life that has not been improved by these spinoffs. Collectively, these secondary applications represent a substantial return on the national investment in aerospace research. We should be spending more. " This is simply claimed without evidence, and apparently, expected to be accepted at face value. The one specific example my opponent mentioned, in the form of microchips benefiting from rockets, I specifically refuted. He did not address my objections at all and yet has continued to assert the "benefits" of space exploration to technology without providing a concrete example. "Out of a $2.4 trillion budget, less than 0.8% is spent on the entire space program! That's less than 1 penny for every dollar spent. The average American spends more of their budget on their cable bill, eating out or entertainment than this yet the benefits of space flight are remarkable" The amount of money we spend on other things is irrelevant, as I stated in R2. At issue here is whether or not the expenditure of billions of dollars is justified on a goal that we are currently incapable of reaching. "One small example is the Hubble Space Telescope. " My opponent still has not addressed the difference between studying space and exploring it. The Hubble Space Telescope, being as it is in Earth orbit, is not an example of space exploration at all, but rather of observation of objects in space. "iniaturized integrated circuits, satellite technology, GPS navigation systems, bone-density measurements, miniaturized heart pumps and other technologies derived from NASA research and development have saved and improved our lives. New spin-offs include water filtration systems that turn wastewater into drinkable water, wireless light switches, remediation solutions for sites contaminated by chemicals, the development of Liquidmetal and sensors on reconnaissance robots used in Afghanistan and Iraq to deal with improvised explosive devices. The list goes on and on. " The fact that the pursuit of space exploration led us to these discoveries (which my opponent has not established, but I will give him the benefit of the doubt) does not mean that they were necessary for the discovery of said technologies. We already strive to discover new medical technologies, and new technologies for war. Even if it were the case that space research led directly to these innovations, the actual exploration process is completely superfluous to those benefits listed. The research alone, without the need to overcome overwhelming technical and practical hurdles facing space exploration can and does lead to all the cited benefits to exploring space. My opponent claims that without space exploration we would be without many technological innovations and that space exploration is the way of the future. However, he has repeatedly ignored the distinction between astronomy and spaceflight, as well as conflated space travel with technological advance in all areas without providing sufficient reasoning for those assertions. In order to spur technological advance we do not need to spend billions hurling people into space; we need as questions and try to answer them. Space exploration is one way of doing this, but certainly not the only way. And while there are some questions that can only be answered by space exploration, the need to have them answered is not so pressing as to justify the absurd expenditures necessary to commence with the exploration of space. There are many other questions to be asked and problems to be solved right here on earth; indeed all the benefits to spaceflight my opponent offered are problems of that nature, that certainly could have been solved without it. He has failed to make his case.