The Goldilocks Zone

What are the implications in finding such a planet? Will our focus be more on contacting life there or on finding a future home for ourselves?Is it even currently feasible to ever reach such a place or have them reach us? Can space money be better spent?Somewhere in the science forums, please...

Thread copied here from the The Goldilocks Zone thread in the Proposed New Topics forum.

I feel that if humanity is to ever survive we will have to find a back up plan. If we do not end up causing our own demise by war or pollution, we will possibly be annihilated by a asteroid or some other unforeseen event. Barring that, this planet has a life expectancy tied to our sun's fuel supply.I feel that space exploration is some of the best money we can invest, as well as investing in education for our children who will be our future explorers.

While you worded it slightly differently, what is often asked is, "Should we be throwing money into space." As if the money goes up with the rockets...That money stays right here, almost all in the US. If you look back a few decades and start counting the innovations that came from that money you might be surprised. Here is a partial list:1 Health and medicine1.1 Light-emitting diodes (LEDs)
1.2 Infrared ear thermometers
1.3 Ventricular assist device
1.4 Artificial limbs
1.5 Invisible Braces
1.6 Scratch-resistant Lenses2 Transportation2.1 Aircraft anti-icing systems
2.2 Highway safety
2.3 Improved radial tires
2.4 Chemical detection3 Public safety3.1 Video enhancing and analysis systems
3.2 Fire-resistant reinforcement
3.3 Firefighting equipment4 Consumer, home, and recreation4.1 Temper foam
4.2 Enriched baby food
4.3 Portable cordless vacuums
4.4 Freeze drying5 Environmental and agricultural resources5.1 Water purification
5.2 Solar energy
5.3 Pollution remediation6 Computer technology6.1 Structural analysis software
6.2 Remotely controlled ovens
6.3 NASA Visualization Explorer
6.4 Space Race Blastoff7 Industrial productivity7.1 Powdered lubricants
7.2 Improved mine safety
7.3 Food safetySource:NASA spinoff technologies - WikipediaI note that micro-miniaturization is not on the list. That was an early innovation as our rockets had limited payload capacity, and everything had to be made smaller, lighter, and more durable.Overall, "space money" in the past has been among the most productive money the government has spent.

I think that the commercialization of space flight could help in many ways, it would allow NASA and others to focus on things other than launch vehicles and the expense of developing them and their associated infrastructure and logistics. Doing that will allow money to be spent on the science and missions. Space X and Orbital Sciences Corporation, to name 2, are currently doing a great job in the privatization of spaceflight, IMHO.

Can you elaborate on what, exactly, you mean by "space money"? In doing so, would you also like to point out how insignificant the amount of tax dollars are that goes towards space programs? NASA loses money every year, yet killing brown people gets massive increases. As do the paychecks of the people that authorize the killing of brown people.No, "space money" is doing the best it can with what it's given. We need a million more Neil Degrasse Tyson's.