/sci/ - Science & Math

>>5363431

We don't have to choose one or the other. There's a reason astronauts train underwater. The technologies we use to send humans to the deep not only benefit us by unlocking rich deposits of precious metals, oil and methane hydrate (not to mention undiscovered organisms) but also these advances are directly applicable to better spacecraft, planetary colonies, etc.

It is a many times greater engineering challenge to build a sub that can send humans to the marianas trench, than to build a space capsule such as the Orion, or Dragon. The latter is only more expensive because of the cost of rockets. Developing the former overcomes design challenges many times greater than required for spacecraft.

When we one day pierce the ice of Europa, or any other body outside the Earth with an ocean, we will explore that new sea for the same reason we explored ours. For minerals, fuels, energy, and to find new life. And the technology we developed to explore our own ocean will make it possible.