Why searching for a new form of life while a f# virus from our own planet alone is messing with our world ?
I hate that argument. It's an excuse to do nothing. If we can't do anything new until we solve the old problem mankind would never have been able to leave the caves. And we're also excellent procrastinators. Any excuse not to fix an old problem. On the plus side many many great things have come from problem avoidance. How many great songs and works of art, or cool tech has come from 'lets do something fun instead'?
Also, what is wrong with expanding our knowledge? The mystery of the origins of life on Earth have preoccupied humanity since before the dawn of time. It has led to the creation of art, religion and science, things that have immeasurably enriched and given meaning to our lives. If life existed and can still exist on Venus and Mars, life can be everywhere in the universe. While it would make our own planet a little less unique, we would gain the knowledge that we are not alone out there.
And if you still think why waste valuable money on space research while we have a virus at home, you know what truly wastes money on a colossal scale and gives absolutely nothing to make our lives better? War. Trillions have been spent on waging wars in the Middle East that have gained us nothing, except to make things worse and our enemies stronger. That money could have been spent fixing healthcare, infrastructure, education, a multitude of things that could made our lives better. Space exploration is such a tiny part of the budget and the only reason we actually got a space program in the first place was because of a Cold War pissing contest.
Maybe could we give a better attention to the UFO phenomenoms...
UFO's exist. Because they are simply unidentified flying objects. Some things we can't explain. Yet. But that does not automatically validate the existence of grey aliens in flying saucers kidnapping rednecks to anal probe them. That's like stepping from A to Z and skipping every step in between. In order for the grey aliens to get here they would first have to negate Einstein's law of relativity that states that it is impossible to go faster then the speed of light. And without that interstellar travel takes a LONG time. Yeah, but what of advanced tech that could allow for this to happen? Well, have fun trying to prove Einstein wrong first, then we'll talk. Smarter minds then UFO believers who actually understand Einstein's theories have tried and failed. Until then I will apply my version of Occam's Razor, the simplest most plausible explanation will suffice. It's either some natural phenomenon we have not been able to explain yet, people who have had way too much to drink or other means of 'illumination', they're hallucinating, or simply lying. Or....... grey aliens in flying saucers that have managed to prove Einstein wrong. I can think of four that already sound more simple and plausible then the latter
Although of course there is one way grey aliens in flying saucers could be bugging us. If they have parked the Mother of all Alien multi-generation mothership that can travel the interstellar distances for centuries if need be somewhere in our solar system. In which case solving the corona bug will be the least of our problems. Also, sorry if my post comes across as rude, it's just that this argument that we can't do X before we solve our current problems really grinds my gears. Space exploration is the most wonderful thing in the universe, literally. Because it has shed light on the wonders of the universe, and also freed us of the terrors that made our lives hell. Today a comet is a thing of beauty, a wonder from the outer solar system that looks cool and gives us knowledge from the early days of the solar system. Not that long ago a comet was a harbinger of death as people feared they were bringers of war, death and pestilence, a sign that the Gods were displeased with us and would bestow their punishments upon us.
.
