Why explore Space, and what can we learn from it?

Question

Why explore Space, and what can we learn from it?

Please everything Physics related, and try to apply it to Earth, ie. fusion (from stars) can in future be used to produce energy, etc.

Thank you. :)

Answer 1

There are many unknown answers out there , or at least in getting there.

Answer 2

If we are to learn more about physics and where we come from, we need to explore space.  We still have many unanswered questions about quantum mechanics many of which can only be answered by running experiments in space.

Answer 3

To learn what is out there in the cosmos (or 2nd heaven) and try to explain it as best as possible with our feeble minds. That being said, we should NOT get carried away with our imaginings of flying away to Zeta Reticuli or in our false pride in thinking we know a lot about it for I assure you we do not...

The universe is truly stranger than you could ever know.

We all need to come back to earth for now and stop watching mind numbing tv, porno, & playing Wii. For things are about to get really serious in America and then the world. For instance, not many starving children in Darfur have time to ponder the workings of the planets when there is no water and food except that given by loving charities.

Answer 4

By studying space, we can learn about our own planet's creation and what life was like when Earth began.  Astrophysicists love it when they find a new planet that has similar characteristics to Earth's because they can study it and learn more about how life formed here.  And whenever the light of a far-away star reaches us, we can better our estimate of how old the Universe is and when it began.  Astronomers are now finding traces of extremely old light and radio signals that were given off when the Big Band occurred, and this can help to figure out what exactly happened in the Big Bang and if the theory is even true.

But there should be a great deal of resources about this around the Internet, why ask here?

Answer 5

In the very long run, about 5 billion years from now, the Sun will swell into a Red Giant and fry the Earth anyway. Sooner or later (sooner, if we are wise) we have to become a space-faring species, with self-sufficient colonies on the Moon, Mars, asteroids, and maybe even permanently in space.

If we want to survive nearby cosmic catastrophes such as supernova explosions and Gamma-Ray Bursts3, we will need to spread throughout the Galaxy. A 'colonisation front' hopping from star to star and expanding much slower than the speed of light, would take only about ten million years to reach across the entire Galaxy.

Answer 6

This smells like a homework assignment.... do your own research!