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Why should we explore Saturn?
Question Date: 2016-02-26
Answer 1:

There are two possible answers to me. They are (1) practical: we can get something useful out of it, and (2) philosophical: exploring things is what we do as humans.

For the first one, there are a few tempting reasons to explore Saturn. Saturn is made of gas, and mostly hydrogen. If we want to explore the stars, Saturn may be a good stopping point to refuel with hydrogen if we use that as a fuel source. We could also potentially mine the moons. One moon in particular, Titan, has a dense atmosphere (like Earth) and even liquid on the surface. So, some scientists think it might have life on it, which would be important to study. Also, Titan is a place we could possibly build bases on for humans to live (details: READ HERE ).

So, it could be a useful place for us scientifically if we ever get off this planet.

Philosophically, exploring things is what we do. It's like climbing a mountain. Many people climb mountains because they feel compelled to explore. That may not sound like a good reason, but it historically has been valued. Also, any time we explore new things, we get benefits that we may not even have imagined. For example, if Einstein hadn't thought of general relativity, GPS systems wouldn't work (complicated to explain why). Similarly, if we hadn't gone to space we wouldn't have many inventions that we use every day. These side effects are really a fairly good reason to explore.



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