Re: I just don't get it.
Whilst a much lorded ideal, do you honestly think the earth will ever be fixed?
If so, then when will it be fixed?
Spending on projects like these as wasteful as it might first appear, can often bring in a large number of secondary benefits to industry, economies and yes, even the environment (if millions was not spent on various launch vehicles then things like weather satellites, atmospheric monitoring satellites, observation satellites would not exist).
Sometimes it more than worthwhile to do these things because the benefits can be numerous and immeasurable. Not to mention, satisfying our curiosity.