The value of terrestrial exploration

Most of the earth - oceans and beneath the crust of the planet - remain unexplored. The fascination of space exploration has largely overtaken the need for studying our own planet. This is a valuable exercise as this will yield information that not only help us predict and manage natural disasters but also answer m0re abstract issues such as the origin of life. The resources dedicated to space exploration (even with the termination of some brain-dead ideas as going to the moon again) are...