Inevitably, every time NASA has a big mission, the sentiment comes up: Why are we spending money on space exploration when we have so many problems here on Earth.

I understand the hurt and the frustration of seeing a mission like this, when there are very real problems here at home. And anytime we spend government $$ on something, the question of "is it worth it?" is valid.

Missions like Perseverance help us gather evidence to answer some of the biggest questions humans have ever asked.
"Where did we come from?" and
"are we alone in the universe?"

Going to extreme lengths to pursue answers to these questions is inherently human. We push the limits of science and technology and take incredible risks to find bits and pieces of evidence to piece together this incredible puzzle.

There will always be problems here on Earth and I don't know that we will ever truly know all the answers to these big, bold questions.

But we can work on both simultaneously.

Sending a robot to Mars ultimately helps us better understand our place in the universe.

And in case you wanted a more practical explanation of why we spend money on space-based technology when we have problems here on Earth - I gave a whole TEDx talk on the subject ;)

"Space Exploration is the Worst"