Are Mars missions worth the money?

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The following comments reflect the balance of opinion we have received so far:

In a world where millions are starving how can any humane person consider such a massive expense on something so unpredictable and, ultimately, unproductive. Millions of US citizens live below the poverty line. Hundreds of their armed forces are so badly paid they receive food stamps. If you can't afford to feed your own children and can't clothe them would or even could you book a 5 star holiday to the Caribbean? NO. Same rule must surely apply.
V Hudson,

Compared to the trillions spent on destroying each other, I think space exploration is a drop in the ocean!
Adam Stone, Exeter, UK

It seems to be embedded in our genes to explore - whether it's space or anywhere else otherwise we'd still be sitting in caves. Mars is just a way station on the way to Stars, in a hundred years time we'll be searching the planets but not for life, for resources. In a thousand years we'll be on our way to the Stars. Anyway, how are we going to 'ban' people going to Mars?
Pete, Birmingham, UK

If NASA called offering me a one-way ticket to Mars, I'd accept on the spot Paul, Nottingham, UK

As I've said for many years, if NASA called offering me a one-way ticket to Mars, I'd accept on the spot. Hence, I'd like them to get lots of practice at getting there in one piece, should that call ever come. Also, stop dissing the British effort, and let's get them some funding so they get can a proper (i.e. not on-a-shoestring-budget) mission going.
Paul, Nottingham, UK

I can't believe how many sour faces there are writing here. Beagle has been a fantastic project that has captivated youth and pushed the limits of low cost science and engineering. Distribute the cost of Beagle amongst European residents and look what you have - peanuts! Thanks, and well done to each and every one of the Beagle team. How soon can we send the next one?
John Bishop, Bristol, UK

I note from your news page that Bush wants to send a man to Mars. But I think that this is an excessive expense to deal with Saddam. Surely there's a cheaper option?
Mike Thompson, Brighton, UK

The argument that people are starving in the world, so money should not be spent on space can be used for any non-essential area of government, such as the arts or sports (e.g. London's Olympic bid). Maybe no public money should go into any of these areas? I might suggest that people who use this argument set a good example by selling all non-essential items they have (TVs radios, computers etc) and give the money to an appropriate charity.
Dan, UK

It is about advancing knowledge, improving technology, and giving us the ability to reflect on just what we're capable of Ken T, Pretoria

The thought that space science is important only because the earth will eventually become uninhabitable and we must spread to other planets (like some nasty fungus) is terribly, terribly depressing. It isn't all, always, about us and our pathetic needs. It is about advancing knowledge, improving technology, and giving us the ability to reflect on just what we're capable of (destroying) in our own backyard. I am 100% behind remote exploration and its fantastic results. I am as opposed to the gigantic waste of human exploration, as I am to invasion of other countries.
Ken T, Pretoria, South Africa

According to the Bush Administration, there's not enough money to repair, or equip schools across the country, and he slashed the library budget because of "lack of funds" yet there's plenty money available to take a man to Mars. I think this clearly demonstrates how little Bush cares about people, and how much he cares about his place in the history books.
Ian Lackie, Dundee

What on earth is George Bush thinking of? The moon missions were of no use to man nor beast and going to Mars will be the same. He'd be best putting the huge costs to better use somewhat closer to earth - unless of course he volunteers for the flight himself and then I'd cheerfully chip in to help raise the money...
Keith Oswin, Bath, England

From the view of ordinary people, space - especially Mars - is another wonder in the universe. Definitely we are interested very much to know about it and the possibility of life out there.
Chin M. Kunhi, Al Buraimi, Oman

Imagine how many young people are now more interested in science than they where three weeks ago Stephen H, Reading, UK

Why does everyone look at the headline figure on cost. Since this project was announced it has generated more headlines and news time than any advert for a product costing the same amount. Imagine how many young people are now more interested in science than they where three weeks ago. That's something you can't put a price on.
Stephen H, Reading, UK

New environmentally friendly and potentially limitless energy resources could help save our planet, other resources from the moon and a lifeless planet like Mars could do likewise. I cannot think of better reasons for a huge investment in an extensive space program to the moon, mars, and beyond. Of course we have to temper this with equal attention to other environmental, social, and economic problems here on earth.
Alastair McGowan, Cardiff, Wales

From the very beginnings of civilisation on earth humans have looked to the stars to fuel their passion, imagination and beliefs. Finally we are able to soar amongst the great Gods of our solar system. Perhaps one day our hand will stretch to the outer reaches of the universe. This is why we are here. We must continue to explore and understand.
James Mansfield, Oxford UK

Mars missions are worth every penny without a doubt. How else will we eventually uncover the secrets of the pyramids on Mars and their connection to Earth and probably life on Earth. It is blindingly obvious that intelligent life once existed on this now dead planet. The UK and the ESA must invest more money into getting successful missions complete and obtaining data to share with the world that other space agencies would most probably hold back.
Simon, Dudley, UK

The drive to explore and find out is one of the admirable aspects of humanity Simon Challands, Manchester, UK

All those dull people who say we shouldn't spend the money sadden me. We shouldn't spend huge amounts at the expense of other necessary requirements for living, but the drive to explore and find out is one of the admirable aspects of humanity. We aren't wasting money, unless you feel that a functional but dry and dull world is better than one with a few problems, but has some interest in it.
Simon Challands, Manchester, UK

Sending men to Mars is not worth the money or the resources because it is a publicity stunt to help Bush get re-elected rather than a serious scientific project. The idea that we can colonise Mars with more than a hand-full of people is quite ridiculous and indicates that contributors have no idea of the difficulties involved. We haven't yet solved the problem of living sustainably on Earth, let alone starting from scratch on a hostile planet with no life or breathable atmosphere.

The suggestion that we could use the resources on Mars is also ridiculous because of the enormous amounts of energy that would be required to transport them to Earth. The money and resources should be spent on environmental issues on Earth, which is far more urgent. More science education would be useful too.
Richard Parmenter, London UK

Researching space isn't planning for the future - it's ignoring our present Edd Morris, UK

Elsewhere on the site today, BBC News reports that global warming will put 3.5 million Britons in severe flood risk areas by 2080 and will kill hundreds of millions in less developed countries. But why invest billions of pounds in stopping this inevitable global disaster when we can fritter away life saving money on vague dreams? On another tack, Earth is full of problems caused by our own short-sightedness, and researching space isn't planning for the future - it's ignoring our present.
Edd Morris, University of Warwick, UK

The current NASA budget is something like 0.5% of the federal budget or $18-20 billion. To argue that this money could be better spent is insane. The two biggest US budget outlays are 'Health and Human services' at well over $500 billion for 2003 and 'Department of defence' at $450 billion. Space exploration is way under funded, when you consider how it has already massively contributed to our way of life. Here are a few of the technologies developed by NASA.
The Satellite Dish
Medical Imaging
Bar Codes
Smoke Detectors
Fire-fighter fire resistant suits
Advanced Plastics
Adam, UK

Hooray for Beagle2 and Colin Pillinger's team. Beagle2 may not have survived the Mars landing, but just think of the benefits of the project as a whole - the expertise developed that will remain in the UK, the advances made in satellite miniaturisation, solar panel and light-weight materials technology (important for those of you with mobile phones, GPS navigation equipment or satellite TV) and the kick-start this will give to many UK hi-tech firms, all for less than a tenth of the cost of Mars Explorer. Let's get Beagle 3 underway asap!
RO, Tonbridge, Kent

I think we should explore space but not exploit it Madeline Cox, Mansfield, UK

Yes, I think we should explore space but not exploit it. We've messed up this planet so I don't see why we should spoil another one. So go and have a look but no digging for useable resources, please. And we should also have more international co-operation - what a ridiculous waste of money to have duplicate probes at the same time!
Madeline Cox, Mansfield, UK

I consider all scientific achievements worthwhile. While it's true we know very little about our own oceans, it's strange to know that it's easier to send a probe to Mars than one to the bottom of the Atlantic. Those that think the billions could be used to cure world problems seem to think that money solves everything. It's true we have many problems that need fixing on this planet, but it's our leaders that need to decide they want to fix them and stop fighting each other before they can truly be fixed.
Ian, London, UK

It's incredible hearing huge amounts of money that are been spent on this space issue. Few days ago on BBC Radio, I heard that there are about 9 million jobless US citizens. This space project has been on many years before I was born and yet I've never heard that it has brought any meaningful information as far that could solve any problems for human beings on earth as I am concerned. There was a case sometime ago that a visit to the space could lead to a cure of cancer but still, millions are still dying. The money is too much. There are many vagrants on the streets all over the world. Are we all going to vacate this earth if you find life on Mars? God help us.
Opara Victor, Nigerian in Estonia

What planet is Mr Bush living on? Dan Pedley, UK

What planet is Mr Bush living on? If he poured his money into making the US an energy efficient, environmentally friendly country, he wouldn't have to go looking for energy from other planets.
Dan Pedley, Worthing, UK

Why aren't they spending the money on protecting our planet? Given that the US produce 20% of the world's pollution, they should be spending their resources on cleaning it up rather than wasting it on space exploration.
Chris Hurst, Dartford, UK

Its about time we went back to the moon and did the other things. Considering the cost of these endeavours, why not create a global space agency so that both the Europeans, the Russians, the Chinese and anyone else who's willing can be part of this giant leap. Even Australia could play a part in a global effort. We have the technology, do we have the will?
Ben Duffy, Perth West Australia

Yes, Yes and yes. Not only should the US taxpayers be paying for space exploration but we ALL should be, via some sort of annual contribution to an international body and linked to countries GDP. The earth is going to become uninhabitable sometime. Whether that be due to a comet or asteroid strike (possibly any time) or the eventual extinction of the sun or something else. If we don't have some sort of insurance in place to keep the species viable, then we are history. True, we cannot get to the planets/stars tomorrow, but if we don't invest now, then our descendents we will be sitting here in 500 or a thousand years asking the same questions.
Steve, Sydney, Australia

There isn't anything obvious that we will gain from these trips Jenni, Sheffield, UK

It's a lot of money and there isn't anything obvious that we will gain from these trips. I'm sure that in the future we will get a lot out of these missions and we should never stop exploring and learning, but aren't there more important things that we need to get sorted here on Earth first?
Jenni, Sheffield, UK

Let's look for life out there instead of counting rocks on planets - that should be the vision of NASA! By sending men to the Moon and Mars we are making the same mistake again and again. With future manned missions we again are diverting the flow of available resources from this kind of breathtaking robotic explorations.
Patrick Vantuyne, Belgium

Let's do it! The need for exploration and settlement is a basic human characteristic. The technology is there now. It's time we put a foothold on another world. The money would otherwise be wasted on war anyway.
Jeroen Smaal, Delft, The Netherlands

They are worth every penny - even those missions that fail. Humankind must never give up serious, scientific exploration no matter what the cost. Our determination to explore is a part of who we are. It sets us aside from our less honourable traits and fuels our imagination.
Steve Baran, Chattaroy, WA, USA

The technology spin offs may help us in the future Somu, USA

The technology spin offs may help us in the future. Other than that, I cannot understand the logic of spending millions of dollars to find the presence of water in Mars while millions on Earth cannot afford clean drinking water.
Somu, USA

There are two possibilities: life is everywhere throughout the universe or we are alone. Both are extraordinary conclusions. If life is not found, then we should assume that we are alone, and take appropriate steps, such as colonisation, to spread life throughout the universe.
Bill Turner, Melbourne, Australia

I think that these projects are important because they stretch the human imagination. How much of our present day technology has come out of earlier space missions? I also am glad to see that space is becoming more international!
Kimberly, Chicago, USA

I think we need to know more about what is going on around our universe and it is worth spending all this money on big research like this. We could know something of the past and prepare for the future.
Anwar Alnajdi, Kuwait

The money should be spent understanding our own planet and solving the huge environmental issues we are facing Nigel, Oxford, UK

I am fascinated by astronomy but the idea that studying other planets will help us manage our own properly is ridiculous. So what if we do find microbes. There's plenty of those here on Earth yet to be discovered. The money should be spent understanding our own planet and solving the huge environmental issues we are facing. Until we have the ability to create a hospitable environment and make return journeys carrying large numbers of people and vast amounts of equipment we can gain no benefit from this waste.
Nigel, Oxford, UK

If the human race can spend a few trillion dollars on arms with the sole purpose of killing each other, I don't see the problem of spending some of that on space exploration to give us some hope for the future. Perhaps if we can make a fresh start somewhere else we can do better than what we are doing now to this planet.
Victor D, Thailand

I am not opposed to the exploration of space. However, I would rather see this money going towards exploring the deep seas of our own planet, which we still know almost nothing about!
ST, UK

Any society must trade today's needs with tomorrow's prospects. You might feed thousands of people for years with what it cost to send a Mars probe, but understanding planets better will help us manage our own, perhaps helping millions not to starve in the future.
Ralph Lorenz, Tucson, Arizona

No - you don't need to spend a fortune to get something to work, but besides full commitment you also need extensive (engineering) experience, a professional approach and meticulous testing to ensure it will work when its needed. Beagle is not as bad as the C5, but it's no surprise it didn't work...
AJ, Doncaster

You can't appreciate success unless you have failed. NASA knows this, and now the ESA does too.
Joe, USA

In my own opinion the mission actually is worth the money and more exploration should be embarked on in the future. Who knows what else we could find out there. I think it is important to know if we are alone in this solar system or if we have ever had neighbours.
Olufunso Ogidan, Maryland, US

There are problems on this planet to keep us busy for decades Roger Sayer, Seattle, USA

Missions to Mars are a total waste of time and money. Not a single cent of public money should be spent on them. Enough is now known to say that the probability of life on Mars is remote. Even if there are a few microbes why the fuss? There are problems on this planet to keep us busy for decades. Microbes galore and deserts to irrigate. The scientists say there is enough water on Mars to fill lake Erie and this could be used to irrigate part of the planet. What optimism. Here we are on a planet almost covered with water and we can't revitalize the Arizona desert. As for a stepping stone to outer space, forget it. Even if you could accelerate a space craft up to a million miles per hour (a space craft couldn't carry enough fuel to do it) it would still take 3000 years to reach the nearest star. No, the 'New Frontier' stops at 200 miles above the Earth at the space stations.
Roger Sayer, Seattle, USA

It's absolutely necessary. Improving our understanding of the Universe is an integral part of the advancement of science. With the current rate of population growth the movement of humans out into space is inevitable.
Dave, Ontario Canada

Considering all of the money that gets wasted - why not explore the universe?
Madeleine, New York, NY USA

Regardless of one's attitude to space exploration, what should be a concern is that the scientists developing Beagle felt it acceptable to cut corners on testing one of the most fundamentally important components - the airbag system. It is probable to the point of near certainty that the failure of precisely that system is responsible for the loss of the lander, particularly in view of the failures early in the development programme. If investors are expected to place their trust in such projects, a less cavalier attitude to elementary quality control would be advisable.
Steve Anderson, Sutton Coldfield, UK

The ultimate goal of the space program should be to colonise other planets and secure our species survival by spreading the risks. Mars is the prime candidate in this solar system. It's a goal and a dream of a magnitude greater than any other common goal we might have. It might well take five hundred years to get there but it should obviously be totally worth it.
J. van Drie, Arnhem, Holland

Perhaps we should send a retriever to find this Beagle!
Jonathan , UK

The pictures that we've seen so far from the US mission are remarkable and they haven't even moved off the landing platform yet. Who knows what else they may find either on this or future missions? Space exploration may seem expensive but as Professor Pillinger himself said the money was spent in the UK not on Mars. Therefore, it must have benefited our industry both financially and technologically.
James Crosby, Telford, UK

I think the whole Mars thing is a complete waste of money. Why worry about other planets when we haven't even sorted ours out yet? I was disgusted when I opened the front page of the BBC news page the other day, one thumbnail was telling us about the failed Beagle 2 mission and right next to it was an image of a starving child from Africa.
Mr Badger, Huntingdon, UK

What I don't understand, is why everyone isn't pooling resources together? If NASA, ESA and other global space agencies combine money, technology and the scientific know-how... then Mars would be a walk in the park.
Sean, USA

Projects like these are exceptionally difficult, with a very large number of unpredictable problems just waiting to happen CS, Sheffield

Projects like these are exceptionally difficult, with a very large number of unpredictable problems just waiting to happen. Just because something's hard to do doesn't mean that we shouldn't try. Considering that Beagle only cost £50M compared to the American project's $820M, or the cost of the war in Iraq, or the millions of pounds shelled out to inane "arts" projects, I don't think that all that much money was spent on the Beagle project in the first place. I think the whole team ought to be extremely proud to have succeeded in landing a British mission on another planet. Congratulations to them on that.
CS, Sheffield, S Yorks

Exploring is human nature. Almost everything we know was brought about from exploring, so yes it is worth it. Each Nasa rover costs $410 million, that's about the same cost as two bad movies.
David Peterson, USA

The Earth will become uninhabitable one day. Eventually we will have to live on another planet or in space on space stations. That may not be for thousands of years but the exploration and discovery needs to begin at some point in time. I would rather that my taxes are spent on this kind of activity rather than building bombs to kill fellow human beings.
Taz, UK

Of course they are worth the money. There are only about 300 years of life left in our current mineral resource-based economy and that doesn't necessarily consider the full implication of population growth, so we will need more space and resources relatively soon. As all these countries have sent probes and China has had a man in orbit, there must be a joint agenda, driven by quite serious issues. We need all this investment now to get the cost of setting up mining operations and inter-planetary travel down, otherwise we will have massive resource problems for our grandchildren.
Max Richards, England

There are much more needy causes than trying to find a trace of life on Mars Scott, Southampton, England

I believe that the missions are not worth the investment. There are much more needy causes than trying to find a trace of life on Mars. If only the government would invest the money in hospitals, public transport or recycling schemes, then we would all be much better off.
Scott, Southampton, England

We need to explore other planets for at some point the human race will have to migrate to another planet/solar system when our sun starts to collapse or our galaxy collides with another - but not in our life time! That is if we haven't destroyed our Earth and ourselves first.
Sanchia, Hove, UK

As a research scientist competing for ever smaller pools of funding from government bodies the thought of putting further large amounts of money into the Beagle project is ridiculous. £35 million would fund considerable medical research that actually delivers benefits as opposed to a 'feel good' publicity stunt.

I think the UK has to face the fact that unless a sensible (read VERY large) investment is put into a Mars probe then it is good money after bad. NASA have one system up there already and another en route, why are we wasting public money duplicating effort like this?
Dr Black, Avon, UK

There may be no immediate financial profit in these missions, but the human spirit needs challenges of exploration and discovery, and although the present generation will not live to see it, this is undoubtedly the way to the stars.
John, London UK

The future of mankind is undeniably in Space Mark Hickman, England

Space exploration is more important than anything we could find to waste the money on down here. The Earth and its people are completely irrelevant when compared to the incalculable vastness of the Universe, and the fact that we are even talking about whether it's worth it, frankly to my mind perfectly illustrates just how stupid we are. The future of mankind is undeniably in Space, the sooner we stop counting the pennies the better. It ought to be said that most of the finance for Beagle 2 was donated privately with an entirely token effort from the government, so really it's none of our business to say was it worth it or not. Beagle 2 tried and by the looks of it failed. Great idea, very bad luck. I hope Colin Pillinger and his team are given another chance to prove what British science can do.
Mark Hickman, England

There is great speculation what drives the mission to Mars. Did life on Mars exist? If so, there must be oil there. Just admit the mission is a search for oil. Hope the US finds oil so that there will finally be peace in the middle east.
Arbibi Ashoy, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

It seems a little, shall we say, inconsistent, that billions are spent on these toys when half the world's population doesn't have enough to eat.
Helen Frisby, Bristol, UK

Expensive, yes. But we humans need frontiers to explore. When we stop "wasting money" on space research, humanity will be extinct - we'll all have "evolved" into accountants.
Brian Beesley, UK