When space exploration is driven by science first, the payoff is bigger and more durable. Look at the practical track record: GPS, weather forecasting, and even medical imaging all came from basic scientific research that had no obvious commercial value at the time. Profit-driven missions tend to go where money is already known to exist, which narrows the frontier to low-hanging fruit. Science keeps the door open to the unexpected, and the unexpected is what creates entirely new industries down the road. Prioritizing science isnt about rejecting profit, its about recognizing that discovery has to come first or there will be nothing new to profit from later.