Thinking about how wasteful was the early exploration of outer space gets me thinking if it didn't backfire. There could've been a moment in society where people where supportive about it, when the costs weren't clear enough. However, once the taxpayers realized these were not only huge endeavours, but had huge costs just for the rush of being the first at all costs + many catastrophic system accidents... clearly society put these things on hold.

Now, society is getting back to explore science more and more, but with a better, lasting attitude. See, for example, Space X. Likely, they'll send someone to Mars without deaths or even huge accidents that could only be justified by a lack of financial responsibility in NASA's early days.