[pessimizer]

Good luck pushing that opinion amongst elites who are more likely to be the beneficiaries of space program spending than the victims of austerity.

Space exploration for it's own sake is a self-perpetuating relic of the cold war.

[icebraining]

How is space exploration categorically different from other kinds of scientific exploration?

[pessimizer]

In any number of ways, just as other types of scientific exploration are different from each other, and some seem to be worth spending billions on, and others are not. Do you have a more specific question?