People, are always asking me, Jason, why in the world should we dump all this money into the space program, or return to the moon, when there are so many other pressing things to do here on earth? I usually respond with something like, “NEVER question me again!” However, on rare occasions I’m willing to look at this question in some detail. It’s actually a very valid question, and for my answer, I would like to reference one of my other favorite things, real-time strategy games.

So, let’s ask ourselves, what happens when you spend your whole time in the beginning of the game, carefully guarding your tiny corner of the map, unwilling to spend resources on expansion until your part of the world is perfect? Well, I’ll tell you, the more adventurous players will colonize the rest of the map, pulling new resources from the areas they settle, and then they’ll wipe the floor with you because their system has become a system of scale.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not insinuating we need to revisit the moon in order to win global RISK, but what I’m saying is that analogy provides us a good example. Chances are, you are not going to find an oil or gold deposit in your backyard. Nor would it be wise to create a giant luxury cruise ship in the middle of a land locked state. The moon is a frontier base that will grow to become it’s own producer of wealth and material. There is always a start-up cost associated with any new program, and you have to be willing to eat those initial costs to reap the benefit later. When you look down the long road, and you see a thriving human civilization spread throughout our local area of the solar system, you know what you should see? $$$$, that’s what.

Hit the link for SpaceRef’s take on the whole thing.