Why space exploration is necessary for survival

In an interview with Major General Charles F. Bolden Jr., Dr. Varsha Kulkarni, Dr. Cassandra Runyon, and Rev. Dr. Greg Snyder, the importance of space exploration to the advancement of Earth is discussed. 

Major General Charles F. Bolden Jr. explains, “Space exploration, like any type of exploration, is helping humanity carry out its innate desire, or its innate curiosity, about what makes things tick, how did we get here, how do we make this planet on which we live better? But every time we learn something from some other body in space, be it another planet in our own solar system, or something about stars or asteroids, or other things in the universe, we learn a little bit more about our own home planet and it gives us some idea about things we need to be aware of, so we don’t end up like Mars, which used to be like this, but is now a cold, desolate planet.”