- Obi Wan Stevobi
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- Exalted Mythic Member
Posted by: Fahn777
I think we need to focus on Earthly affairs. Going to Mars will not fix the economy and will be ridiculously expensive.
The Apollo missions were ridiculously expensive, and also paid massive economic dividends. The money spent on hardware was going to advanced American manufacturing. The technologies developed were leased to American business. The achievement inspired the science and engineering graduates for decades. It's funny, every engineer over 40 I work with has a picture of the moon landing somewhere in their office. That meant a lot to them.
In going to the moon, NASA created American industries that are still economic powerhouses. Athletic shoes are a NASA invention. Memory foam products are another. Global communication was pretty economically significant. A few others include baby formula, cordless tools, plastic braces, shop vacs, and water filters. All technologies invented as part of the space program that have benefited the American economy for decades.
So I would argue that so far, investment in space has been nothing short of a massive economic windfall for our country.