NASA: Why do humans explore space?

First of all, all the knowledge that human beings have at present comes from thinking and exploring the universe, and exploring the universe is the key to promoting the progress of human civilization. Humans then observe the movement of the stars, observe the changes of the four seasons, compile calendars, guide social life, and write countless magnificent poems in various languages. These experiences, feelings and reflections on the vast starry sky and the mysteries of the universe have greatly enriched the spiritual world of mankind and are the driving force for the development and reform of human science, religion, art and thought.

Secondly, the earth is the home star of mankind, but in a sense, it is also the cage of mankind. The development of human civilization is closely related to the use of energy. When human beings have mastered fire, their evolution has taken a big step. With the extensive use of energy such as water, coal, steam, electricity, oil and nuclear energy, human beings have entered the era of science and technology. However, the energy on the earth is not really inexhaustible. If there is a dry day, what should humans do on earth?

Judging from the current historical stage, the whole human interstellar migration is really unrealistic, but the speed of scientific and technological progress is unpredictable. It takes only a few thousand years for human beings to reach the peak of the earth's ecological circle, and the history of human scientific and technological civilization is even shorter, that is, more than 300 years in modern times. However, the achievements of civilization created by human beings in these 300 years are far better than those in the previous thousands of years, and the scientific and technological changes in recent decades are even more rapid. This means that the development track of science and technology is not linear growth, but exponential growth, and it may be faster and faster afterwards. So, who can assert that human beings can't realize interstellar migration in the era after thousands of years? In addition, exploring the universe may also help mankind avoid some catastrophic accidents. Hundreds of millions of years ago, dinosaurs ruled the planet, but dinosaurs became extinct, leaving only fossils. The reason for the extinction of dinosaurs may be the impact of an asteroid, so human beings may encounter similar interstellar disasters in the future. Maybe humans can't do it in a thousand years, but in two thousand?

Exploring the universe is also to build the Great Wall of Wan Li and safeguard human safety in space. Exploring the universe is also the key to promoting scientific and technological progress. Aerospace science and technology is a highly integrated system of modern science and technology, covering almost all disciplines that human beings have mastered. Every human exploration of the universe is a large-scale collaboration, such as the Apollo program, with a total participation of more than 400,000 people, involving more than 80 research institutes, more than 200 universities and more than 20,000 enterprises. This kind of cooperation is a great promotion to all disciplines.