The app for independent voices
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I just read a Substack post criticizing the space program. The argument is familiar. We have too many problems here on earth, so why spend time and money going into space?
It sounds practical. It isn’t. It’s short-sighted. A bit boring, honestly.
The first space race didn’t distract us from life on earth. It changed life on earth. In ways that most people use every single day.
Five examples.
The personal computer
The push to get to the moon required compact, powerful computing. That work helped give rise to the personal computer. You’re holding the fruit of that right now.
The glass on your phone
The scratch-resistant glass on your phone traces back to materials developed for space and aerospace. Not glamorous, but try living without it for a day.
Satellite communication and GPS
Navigation, weather forecasting, global communication. All of it depends on space infrastructure. Remove it and the modern world stalls.
Medical imaging and health tech
Technologies developed for monitoring astronauts led to advances in imaging, diagnostics, and patient care. Space research comes back to the bedside.
Miniaturization and advanced materials
From lightweight composites to microelectronics, the demand to do more with less changed how everything is built. Cars, planes, tools, devices. Everywhere.
So no, it’s not a waste. You can help someone pay rent. You should.
But you also build a world where more people can thrive.
Those are not competing ideas.
They are part of the same calling.
We were never meant to only manage problems.
We were meant to discover what’s possible.
We need to open our eyes and see both the personal problems people have to endure on their own, and the worlds they explore and the realms they discover.
