> useless lets-grow-salad-in-space-oh-look-its-just-salad timesinks This is called basic research. It's geared towards building greater knowledge of a study ar

> useless lets-grow-salad-in-space-oh-look-its-just-salad timesinks This is called basic research. It's geared towards building greater knowledge of a study area without specific concerns towards application. That's how science works. We don't just fund the stuff that's immediately profitable (though things are shifting that way).