I am not sure I agree with you

Such claims like you made could are valid for many others frontiers that humans ventured in the past to explore and discover

As an example, why did Columbus (other than personal reasons) had to venture wast to find out what is there? and so on etc.

While true that the investments in space travling are immense various fields claim to have gained from it (medicine, technology in general and other)

What bothered me mostly in that Haaretz article was not the claims themseleves but rather the tone and attitude reflected from those interviewed.

It sounded like little children in kindergarden

Indeed he did

Yet, there was already a longer, harder way which was conventional in those days

Columbus had an idea (whether for commercial reasons or not) that things could be different.

Unless that type of attitude nothing would ever have ever changed discovered or invented and humans would most likely perished from the face of the earth (not a bad solution for the rest of its habitats...:))

Anyways, I believe that space exploration is as an important part of science as any other field (mainly because it joins so many fields of science under the same roof)

OK - you convinced me

You are against the space program and the funds invested in it.

I still have a reason to believe that it will continue despite your antagonism only if because it serves too many commercial parties and interests

I am absolutely not familiar with NASA's budgeting and like anything else, they most likely over budget than under budget.

Additionally, I (we?) don't know how much does it realy cost to sent a manned vehicle from earth to space for X number of days but with all I have seen and read about the program as a whole, the investment is huge

Worth it? not worth it? it is a debate that can go on for a long time

If Americans were somewhat convinced that this is an improper way to spend their tax money, I assure you, that a candidate for presidency would have picked it at some point and declare "read my lips - no more throwing money on the useless space program" and the crowd would cry "here here".

As someone who lives here currently, I sense that most of the folks I encounter are pro space program (well, they grew up with it all/most of their lives)

What they choose to do with their money is their issue. We can argue that the funds could have gone to more nobel causes such as world hunger etc. but the bottom line is it is their money and right now it is launched into space.

On a personal level I agree with them for reasons I mentioned in prior comments.

much like you become cinic when you run out of sound arguments

I do not see being part of a concensous (if at all) something to indicate a flaw or a problem

Not much of a "sound argument" though, is it? And yet, you spent over half of that message touting it as though it was the bee's knees.