IHOP vs. ISS

One of several tender nerves I have is when people expound the benefits of space exploration and study. And yet, as Ed Spivey Jr. noted in his column in the February 2009 issue (“Space, the Final Cost Overrun”), the Inter­national Space Station has produced less useable scientific data than the International House of Pancakes. Although perhaps there is an argument to do scientific study in outer space, I cannot foresee any benefit of study of other planets and beyond. We have so many critical problems on our own globe, including poverty, hunger, injustice, etc. How can we justify spending any money without correcting these concerns first?

Craig Lawson, Denton, Texas