The Space Industry Becomes A Trend, Mr. Microsoft Chooses To Complete PR On Earth

Microsoft founder Bill Gates said there was still much to be done on Earth. (photo: microsoft)

JAKARTA - The space business has become a trend favored by the world's billionaires, including Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. However, Microsoft founder Bill Gates says there is still much to be done on Earth.

Recently, Bezos and Musk have been passionate about space exploration. Bezos, for example, traveled to the edge of space last July aboard the New Shepard spacecraft, which has been developed by his company Blue Origin.

Musk's SpaceX, meanwhile, holds pioneering status in private space travel and recently sent a civilian crew into orbit. When Gates was asked by television host James Corden if he had an interest in space travel and exploration.

Gates said at the moment he just wanted to focus on finding a cure for a disease that was rampant across the planet. He believes there is much to be done here (Earth).

"Space? We have a lot to do on this Earth. I don't know, I became obsessed with things like Malaria and HIV and getting rid of those diseases. I might bore people at cocktail parties (for constantly) talking about disease, " said Gates, quoted from Live Mint, Wednesday, September 29.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, founded and run by Gates and his ex-wife, Melinda French Gates, works specifically to eradicate this disease.

Both Bezos and Musk have understood the criticism of their space exploration project. Immediately after its maiden space flight, Amazon's head agreed that most of the criticism she received was correct.

“We have to do both. We have a lot of problems here and now on Earth and we need to address them and we also need to look to the future, we've always done that as a species and as a civilization," Bezos said.

So is Musk, who agrees that most of Earth's resources should be used to solve the problems plaguing the world.

“I think we should spend most of our resources solving problems on Earth. Like, 99 percent plus our economy should be dedicated to solving problems on Earth," Musk said.

"But I think maybe about one percent, or less than one percent, can be applied to prolonging extraterrestrial life."