Podcast: Why Explore Space?
Our “Beer with BMSIS” podcast for May features a discussion between Dr. Sanjoy Som and Dr. Jacob Haqq-Misra about the philosophical question “Why explore space?“.
One of the questions raised by skeptics of space exploration is the particular value that this enterprise adds to human civilization. The auxiliary discoveries of space exploration often are cited as the reasons for public investment, such as technologies that resulted from investment in space exploration but now benefit everyday consumers. Other reasons for valuing space exploration are less clear in terms of their ability to attract investors, yet human history is replete with examples of exploration that did not necessarily reap an immediate reward. Dr. Som and Dr. Haqq-Misra discuss some of the ways we value the resources of space and suggest some possible implications of these various motivations.