Teddy Bear,

NASA has failed to communicate the vales of these space spin-offs, and needs to do a better job doing so. I stand corrected for assuming that everyone shares my interest in this subject. They are spending your tax dollars, so questions like "Why go into space when we have unsolved problems here on Earth?" and "What does the space program do for me?" are legitimate and pertinent questions. Irish expresses similar concerns in his post. Each of the goals in your post is valid, as is the “earth exploration” Irish proposes. Please accept my apologies for any implications to the contrary.

I consider it unfortunate that so few people are aware of the substantial benefits the space program provides to our daily lives. Applications on Earth of technology developed for space flight have produced many – I’m sure I can say hundreds - of different products that improve the economy as a whole, and each of our lifestyles. Collectively, these spin-off applications represent a substantial return on the investment (our tax dollars) in aerospace research.

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Eudaimonia