This first website simply provides some views of the readers of the BBC New Website on the topic. The value of this website is that it may give a board spectrum of the public's arguments for and against. For example: "We'll never know of we don't go", "it is comparatively not a big spend", "leave the mysteries of space alone, we've already destroyed the earth", "absolute waste of money", "natural human curiosity", "research spin offs,"will foster international cooperation" .... these are just some of the arguments offered.
The second website give the costs of 10 of the biggest failed missions in attempts at space exploration. Clearly some large figures are involved, but how do they compare with other big "spend ups"? The implicit question here is whether the failures are worth the successes. In addition to monetary losses they is also the human cost.
Do doubt one of the biggest "spendups" is on military preparedness and deployments. Apparently the United states spend in excess of 700 billion dollars annually on the military. Compared to this NASA is requesting a budget in 2013 of 17.7 Billion.
This website argues that spending on space exploration should not be sacrificed on "military spendups"
