Space explorationߞwisdom or folly?

Many of man's greatest technological achievements were greeted with disdain, if not ridiculed, at the time of their inception. Today there are many critics of our space program-the noted British historian Arnold Toynbee among them-who believe that space exploration represents a technological dead end, an enormous waste of money, and a force that promotes increased nationalism. This article was written as a challenge to these and other charges that have been leveled at space exploration in general and the U.S. space program in particular.