Those who criticize Jeff Bezos’s space adventures as a pointless billionaire spectacle are missing the greater opportunities that await. Andy Daga, CEO of Malvern-based Momentum Dynamics, asserts this view in an opinion piece for USA Today.

Previous space programs have resulted in inventions that have benefited millions of people around the world, Daga points out. For example, among the inspired results of space exploration have been a revolution in computer technology, the insulin pump, and CAT scans.

Currently, the Earth is suffering from devastating pollution and the threat of depleted resources sometime in the future.

However, the answer to these problems could be found through space exploration.

“We must continue to pursue space exploration so that we can preserve this planet,” wrote Daga. “Any negative effects from carbon emissions caused by space travel itself will be far offset by the net benefits of the technologies developed in space.”

The focus should be put on exploring ways to mine asteroids for resources, tapping into endless solar energy, and using resources from “near space.”

Bezos’s trip has shown us “a new generation of access to space, which enables a new way of thinking about how we use resources,” wrote Daga.

Read the entire piece in USA Today.