Bitcoin In Space
Bitcoin and space. When both are decentralized, they are natural allies.

What I think, one of the reasons we want to go into space and explore it is that Space is totally a mystery. We don’t know much about it, and we humans are always curious to know what’s behind the mysteries.

I think we want to go into space for a good number of reasons.
First and foremost, out of curiosity. We know the planet earth, and I don;t think there is much here that hasn't been discovered yet, but we also want to understand the earth much better than we do know, and in some ways, we might learn more about earth by going into space and exploring it.

Another reason, maybe a bit sad, but I think that countries also go into space because they want to be best, they want to be first, etc... There is competition, and everyone wants to be the first, the best. Everyone wants to go further, set new milestones, etc..

We also want to go into space to save our offspring. What if the earth gets hit by a meteor of astronomical proportions. We see it coming, where will we go? Having a home in space could save mankind at that point.

Maybe we also want to go into space to find other forms of life. There could be intelligent beings out there from whom we can learn a lot. Maybe we're just primitive beings compared to some advanced civilizations in space.

Perhaps we want to go into space out of fear of the unknown. We don't know what is in space, and we're desperate to know.

We also want answers to our questions. There are many things humankind does not have an answer for, even some think they do (What comes to mind here is a question such as "what happens after we die? Does the soul live on, or is dying like sleeping, conscious of nothing?). This, and other questions don't have a solid answer, and we hope to find this kind of answers in space.

And yeah, the biggest reason is probably curiosity. Who doesn't want to know what's out there? It won't be as easy or cheap as Columbus discovering the Americas and in the future, it's possible that private companies will explore more and more while our governments spend too much on war. It's already starting with SpaceX, VG and the likes.

We want to find cures for diseases, and we want a safer place for our children, grandchildren and the ones after them. We want something different, and above all, we want hope. Whether we'll find much of what we want in space, is anyone's guess.

Something else I thought about.. Maybe we want to find other forms of life out there and make friends. The vastness of space is far beyond our comprehension. Who says that there is no other life out there, maybe even humans like us? 
Maybe they are out there, and they're further advanced than we are, and we will be able to learn from them. Maybe they have a cure for cancer, or a way to stay young for 200 years or more. Maybe they have technology we can only dream of, the kind of stuff you see in science fiction movies. Maybe they have ways to transport themselves at speeds we didn't think were possible.
We could learn a lot from them and it would be a major breakthrough for mankind. 

Yep, maybe we just want to make friends with a different kind of living being out there, a being much more advanced and much smarter than we are. The kind that can teach us lots.

Progress would get a whole different meaning and we'd learn and see things we never thought we'd see in our lifetime.

Maybe this is why we really want to go into space. Find friends.

I think a lot about the philosophical aspect. Maybe we go, not only to learn about what's out there, but also to learn more about ourselves and our place in the universe. And the ones who say that humanity shouldn't go into space are usually the ones who are too scared to learn something new and want to stick to what's familiar because they think it's safe, even though they know deep down that they could get killed for some dumb reason like being T-boned by a drunk driver. If we ever find out that there is intelligent life elsewhere in the universe, some people may react badly because they believe that the universe was created specifically for the benefit of the species known as Homo sapiens. And others will be excited because it means we're not alone in the universe. And just because some people are scared and want to stay home and others want to believe that Homo sapiens holds any kind of unique place in the universe doesn't mean that the rest of us shouldn't explore the cosmos.

 And the ones who say that humanity shouldn't go into space are usually the ones who are too scared to learn something new and want to stick to what's familiar because they think it's safe, even though they know deep down that they could get killed for some dumb reason like being T-boned by a drunk driver.

Earth is a very dangerous place, in my opinion and I think that space, if living within a well built and maintained space colony, could be a heck of a lot safer.

Thinks that can kill us on earth but likely won't kill us in a space colony are car accidents, plane crashes, terrorist attacks, earthquakes (unless you're on the moon then you have to worry about moon quakes) , volcano eruptions, drowning at sea,  tornadoes, tsunamis, hurricanes, starvation, lightening, attacks by wild animals, all of this and more can kill us. I don't know if we should feel safe on earth.

And just because some people are scared and want to stay home and others want to believe that Homo sapiens holds any kind of unique place in the universe doesn't mean that the rest of us shouldn't explore the cosmos.

My thought exactly. Sadly, there will always be opposition for a great number of reasons. We can already see it happen. Some people say that it is too expensive to explore space and that the funds should be used for other purposes, like further discover the earth itself. My answer to that is that we probably spend more on war and weapons than we'll spend on space exploration and colonization.

Here's a question we should ask ourselves... how would be react if we had evidence tomorrow that there are other living beings in space, more advanced and more intelligent than the human race is?

Here's a question we should ask ourselves... how would be react if we had evidence tomorrow that there are other living beings in space, more advanced and more intelligent than the human race is?

That's a good question, and probably an uncomfortable one for a lot of people. Some people won't react very well, either because they watched too many "alien invasion" type movies or because the existence of alien life conflicts with their view of how the universe said. Like IamGroot said, some people don't like to be told that Earth, and human life, is really nothing special. These people will probably reject any and all evidence that life can and does exist elsewhere in the universe. Sometimes it'll even be a matter of what conflict with people's religious beliefs. There are actually people who believe that the universe was created specifically for the benefit of the human species even though they probably wouldn't be able to point to where it says that in the Christian Bible or any other religious text.

Others will be excited about it, and a lot of people will be like, "Well, what took them so long to contact us?" And some people won't care because it doesn't impact their everyday lives at all. It's all a matter of perspective and how much people's egos can take.