Fundamental R&D by the government is always about the long term. Longer than any business can stay solvent - that’s why the government does it.
Think of this scenario. We give up on space exploration. 20 years from now China or some other county did not give up, they created economic ways to reach, build and sustain outposts on the Moon and Mars.
They are now able to perform R&D in low gravity and environments with low EM interference. Possibly advancements in manufacturing, biotechnology, weapons, chemistry and physics. Those advancements give their industries an economic advantage on Earth.
Maybe, maybe not, that’s the gamble we take when we stop pushing things forward in one sector and allow others to catch up and surpass us. We may not see the net return for 100 years but if it’s out there you probably want to get it first.
I'm not saying we should ditch R&D, that's ridiculous and stupid.
I'm saying the SLS is a tremendous waste of time and money we could be spending on proper R&D instead. I'm saying we haven't gotten human space launch and habitation costs to be economical and practical enough (and/or found something immensely worthwhile out in the black) yet to be fantasizing about Moon bases.
Think of this scenario. We give up on space exploration. 20 years from now China or some other county did not give up, they created economic ways to reach, build and sustain outposts on the Moon and Mars.
They are now able to perform R&D in low gravity and environments with low EM interference. Possibly advancements in manufacturing, biotechnology, weapons, chemistry and physics. Those advancements give their industries an economic advantage on Earth.
Maybe, maybe not, that’s the gamble we take when we stop pushing things forward in one sector and allow others to catch up and surpass us. We may not see the net return for 100 years but if it’s out there you probably want to get it first.