Exploring God’s creation
Although there are many practical reasons for space exploration, perhaps the greatest reason to explore space is to find out what God has created in “the heavens,” as it says in the Book of Genesis.
Interestingly enough, of the 29 astronauts who visited the moon during the Apollo program, most of them were religious. According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), 23 were Protestant and six were Catholic, with many leaders in their churches.
Astronaut Mike Good, a shuttle veteran who was a Catholic, observed that just like there aren’t a lot of atheists in a foxhole, “I don’t think there’s many atheists sitting atop the launchpad.”
Pays for itself
Although some consider it too expensive, a report issued July 3, 2019, says, “Space exploration may cost some money up front, just as any investment does. However, it pays for itself many times over as its technologies are adopted and used here on Earth.”
NASA’s portion of the U.S. budget is less than one percent of total federal spending. That’s far less than military spending, infrastructure costs, and other expenses. For each dollar spent on NASA’s budget, somewhere between $7 and $14 is returned back into the economy for spinoff technologies, licensing, and other ways that NASA money is spent and invested.
We should continue to explore space in the future. Who knows what we will find in the universe!