The poor will always be with us. Does that mean we can never strive for better things?

Believe it or not, we spend more money on Lip Balm, according to NdGT

While I would find a human mission to Mars exciting and interesting, it would not have much scientific value. The science can be done better with robots.

If we want to do science then we should send robots. If we are serious about staying there and maybe colonizing it - then we should send people.

The way folks keep screwing things up on earth, we need another planet. The sooner the better. Don't forget to,plenty of sunscreen. The lack of a dense atmosphere means more UV rays to deal with. Or, you are right. Spend the money to fix this planet. it does seem better suited for us humans.

Yes - there are OTHER misuses of money, indeed many of them, but exploring and searching for new knowledge is not one of those misuses.

Some of the greatest advancements we have had come as a result of the space program.

Yes, Total Recall exposed corruption there that we need to deal with. . The drive for exlploration seems to be a primal instinct driving mankind IMO, kind like why to we climb mountains. Not being able to do that myself is a bummer, but because it’s there is inspiring.

“The universe is probably littered with the one-planet graves of cultures which made the sensible economic decision that there's no good reason to go into space - each discovered, studied, and remembered by the ones who made the irrational decision.”

I'd rather see it spent on earth-infrastructure.

We have enough funds worldwide to solve all of the issues on this planet and still plan Mars missions. We just don't have the desire.

I believe humanity needs it's dreams as well - so yes.