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Updated 07 January 2004, 10.51 
It has been an eventful time in space recently to say the least.
The British made Beagle 2 probe has disappeared, the US have sent their rover to try its luck on the red planet and Stardust had a close encounter with a comet.
But with so many problems on Earth, should we be putting so much time and money into this?
Or do you think we can learn things that will help us here on planet Earth?
Whatever you think, e-mail and let us know.
Unfortunately this topic is now closed but there are Comments pages on other subjects on the main Chat index.
 I think it's fine to send probes into space. They don't do any harm and can tell us important infomation about other planets! Louise, 14, Stockport
I think it's good that we're finding out more about space - it makes you proud to be living in the 21st century because they haven't done anything like this before. Just don't forget about hunger and things like that - not enough is done to promote the bad things on earth. Rachel, 12, West Sussex
I think it is OK to send probes into outer space to see if we can live on other planets in case something goes horribly wrong with ours. Susanna, 11, Chichester
I think we should, to find out if there is life on other planets and find out if there is water to live off there. Steven, 12, Corsham
I'm torn between sending probes into space and not. It is good to find out about space but we should be using the money on hospitals and schools! Gemma, 11, East Klilbride
I think that we should definitely go into space because if we do we can find out about unknown things and seeing that space is the largest thing imaginable it probably is the largest information source. Giles, 9, Shrewsbury
Yes we should be sending space probes in to space because we need to find out more about our universe for scientific reasons. Ewan, 7, Banstead
I think there's no point because if there were 'aliens' out there they'd see us as aliens and send probes down to earth. So unless they haven't discovered earth yet there's nothing out there so there's no point. Rachel, 11, High Wycombe
I think we should definitely try to settle on other planets. Earth won't be here forever, and to do that we need to research them first. Emily, 14, Louisville
I think that we should definitely send probes into space. Hopefully we will find out what aliens look like soon, as this would put an end to all of the terrible TV programmes that think aliens are big green monsters with one eye! Ash, 12, Telford
I think we should just leave the planets alone. If an alien came down here then humans would kill it, cut it up and study it before it could say "hi"! Becca, 11, Aylesbury
Yes, creating world peace and stopping world hunger is important to us all but so is discovering the universe around us and does deserve to be funded, and it is exciting as well. I say good luck to the US rover but do feel sorry for the UK Beagle 2 and hope that it can be found. Caitlin, 14, Australia
Let's face it, if there are aliens out there and they've seen what we've done to our planet they won't want us anywhere near theirs. Amanda, 14, UK
I think we should be sending things into space because it's amazing that we have the ability to and we can gain lots of knowledge about life on Mars. Ellie, 10, London
Space travel is a beneficial program, we learn more about the Earth by going into space, for instance, we now know that the magnetic fields are deteriorating. Holly, 13, USA
I think that we should send probes to space because there is so much in space waiting to be discovered. Tracy, 15, London
I think there is a good and bad side of it because it is important if there is life on mars but then that money they spent could of gone to a charity that needs it! Leia, 14, Horsham
I don't think we should be sending them into space because we never find a lot out. It's also costing billions of pounds for these missions which could be used for something more urgent. There are some things we're not suppose to know everything about! Hilary, 12, Scotland
I think we should sort out all our problems here on earth before we start to spend money on trying to find out about space. Tilly, 10, Linslade
I think that we should because we need to understand things in space in order to benefit earth. John, 14, Sidcup
I think it's a waste of money. There's no point in finding out whether there's water on Mars when there's thousands of people starving. Sarah, 14, Leatherhead
I don't think we should waste millions of pounds on rockets. We should think about making earth a place to live on not other planets. Adeela, 14, London
I don't think we should because the money can be much better used on earth, as there are so many problems here. There is no need to send probes into space. Alyssa, 15, Essex
Probes are important for space exploration but there is always a risk that the mission will not be successful and if it isn't then that usually means thousands of pounds go down the drain! Katy, 11, Stockton-on-Tees
I have a mixed opinion about this. I think it's good to find out more about other planets. There may be other creatures out there just waiting to be discovered. I also don't like it. Every probe that leaves out planet will make its mark when parts are left behind to float around our home. I would feel better about it if less rubbish remained in space. Juliette, 13, Cardiff
Totally, I think we should have an interest in the universe around us! Lauren, 15, Coventry
I don't think so - it's not really that important if they send them to see if we can live there and we had better tidy up our planet before messing up an other on. Ali, 11, Scotland
With all these problems on earth I don't see why we should put millions of pounds into building a rocket when we could be using it to feed the world or make hospitals better. We should be concentrating on the world not space. Sorcha, 10, Scotland
I think that we should send the probe up into space because if we find any life it means that we could develop something so we could visit mars. Kevin, 10, Abroath
Definitely yes - there's still so much we don't know about space. But maybe we should put a bit more time into finding more about our own planet as well. Hazel, 12, Cambridge
With everything that's going wrong in the world, I think we should put the money towards charities instead of space. Rhian, 12, Newport
I think we should be sending probes into space in order to discover information about our origin and, in the future, possibly colonize other planets. Nathan, 13, USA
The only way we can find out about the places around us is by exploring, even if there are dangers. I mean, if there are other planets that can be lived on by humans then that's kind of cool. Sharon, 13, London
I don't think we should be sending probes into space because it costs so much money when the money could be used to help the millions of people living in poverty. Taryn, 14, Oxford
I think it's very important to have space exploration taking place as there is so much to learn - especially if there are other forms of life! The problems on earth will never go away even if the governments pour every penny into their plans. Space probes have proved useful in the past, and who knows Beagle 2 might just be having a rest...don't rule out a successful mission! Ryan, 14, Enniskillen
It's a waste of money. The money that is spent on these things could be put to more use here on Earth to help people that are starving or to stop the spread of Aids. Sarah, 14, London
I think we should because there is so much we can learn while we explore space. Philip, 12, Peterborough
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