I am of the opinion that we reached that point long ago, universal-scale speaking.

The ‘good’ of a space mission or astronomy project for joe average is always much more indirect than direct. True, all we’ll get out of it initially is knowledge and another hurdle crossed, at least in the immediate. But you might be surprised at the number of everyday technologies that came from astronomy/space programs. And the amount joe average spends on astronomy through his tax burden is miniscule.

This isn’t going to be like the last age of exploration – they’re won’t be natural resources to import back into our own economies, nor people to swipe them from, at least not immediately. There will be a much longer investment before there’s a return.