[MrNeutron1962]

"but why must it be the government that does this?"

Why, because the payoff will take more than 2 quarters to realize, therefore, no coporate bean counter would ever allow serious investment is space exploration.

[camle]

that's too bad because when the payoff arrives, it will be more then ever in history.

imaging owning Mars? I mean the whole planet? every resource, every acre. it boggles the mind.

[Moonman62]

Why, because the payoff will take more than 2 quarters to realize, therefore, no coporate bean counter would ever allow serious investment is space exploration.

That's also a good reason why it shouldn't be taxpayer funded. The government's best investments in R&D have always been picked up quickly by business.