[tgv]

> Space exploration is valuable on so many dimensions - resources, sustainability, research.

How much garbage and pollution are we going to need to get some of those "resources" from space? That's not sustainable. Space might have a lot of resources, but they're practically unreachable. And our problem, right here, right now, is CO2 (and methane). You can't fire rockets to get rid of that.

And the research: that really comes in second or third place. It's nice to have a picture of a galaxy, but far from essential.

[prepend]

I think asteroid mining will produce a lot less environmental harm than terrestrial mining.

Or problem right here, right now are energy. We need energy and to get energy we need lots of minerals that will one day be easier, cheaper, and safer to pull from asteroids and comets than some terrestrial source.

They are unreachable now, but rocket launches like this one get us closer and closer.