A long way to go

摘要

Handed US$100 billion to spend on research, few scientists would invest in a cramped laboratory in constant need of maintenance with few facilities and one hell of a commute. So it is worth stating the obvious up front: the International Space Station (ISS) is an expensive, wasteful and probably unnecessary way to conduct science. The value of research carried out on the station will almost certainly never justify its ludicrous price tag. The money could surely have been put to better use on Earth.