Why explore? Is it so that we can find new materials that we can bring to our home to make our lives better? Is it to show that we are capable of finding life like ours?
It is not easy to explore space. The Earth needs large amounts of technology to do it. NASA is just in fact using the International Space Station as a stepping stone for the very challenging journey ahead. We seek to find technology that increases our ability to observe, adapt, and uncover newer knowledge.