There was much fanfare recently when space experts crashed a probe into the comet Temple 1.
As I watched the collision on television, a TOEFL essay question came to mind: 'If you had a large sum of money, would you spend it on exploring outer space?'
I had answered 'yes'.
I reasoned that by exploring other planets, discoveries or inventions could be made that would resolve problems on Earth - such as starvation or global warming.
However, my opinion has changed.
Thousands of years ago, our ancestors fought for their survival with stones and spears, and often bickered among themselves due to a lack of understanding of each other. Today, the world is fighting for religious, financial and physical survival.
Advances in technology and society should have brought an end to damaging and meaningless conflict. Yet the improvements have proved powerless in terms of changing the big picture.