There is one thing I know for certain: all of life, including humans, are going to use up resources available to it until they are gone. We like to think we wil

There is one thing I know for certain: all of life, including humans, are going to use up resources available to it until they are gone. We like to think we will eventually reach a point of awareness about the importance of sustainability and live a low-impact life; respecting each other, the environment, and the entire biosphere. We all accept the importance of this message; few of us are able or willing to make the necessary changes. How many of us use a computer for 8+ hours a day? NASA, and any space program or company trying to develop the necessary technologies to reach orbit and live in space, are doing us a great favor. There is going to be a point when we need resources outside of Earth. This includes water, places to grow food, metals, etc. It also includes going into orbit and conducting Earth Science research to help us use our current resources more efficiently. An exploding human population and desire to give everyone a fighting chance at a happy life require that we reach outside of our atmosphere. To say that NASA is no longer justified seems ignorant. That being said, as a government agency, there is a lot of wasted money at NASA. Obviously this is changing as they keep giving away private contracts (which is generally good).