Is it though? I'd argue that (in my value system) Bill Gates is doing something far more boring, but far more beneficial to the world - he's curing diseases. Not sci-fi diseases, old boring ones that have existed since the dawn of humanity.
The difficulty of a task doesn't seem to correlate well with its "worth" to society - however one wants to define it.
This is why I'm not going to automatically place Musk over Zuck, because fundamentally I don't see space exploration as "better for mankind" than, say, curing diseases, revolutionizing education, or changing how people socialize. Hell, where I am in my life right now, something that helps normal, every-day people on the ground is worth more than a techno-wizardry that, while difficult and monumentally expensive, provides few benefits to the everyman.
But space exploration and colonization is as important as finding cure for diseases considering our tendency for self destruction.
Currently all humans staying on earth currently is the equivalent of putting all eggs in one basket. Just as it is important to find cure for diseases, solve the problems of hunger and improve people's lives, space colonization is important too!
What do you think could happen to the earth that would make it less habitable than Mars within the next billion years? An asteroid impact 5 times the size of the one that killed off the dinosaurs and it would still be a nicer place (assuming your not in the blast radius.) Add burning all fossil fuels, a nuclear war, a massive outbreak of Ebola, and it would still be easier to have a self sustaining habitat on earth than Mars.
The difficulty of a task doesn't seem to correlate well with its "worth" to society - however one wants to define it.
This is why I'm not going to automatically place Musk over Zuck, because fundamentally I don't see space exploration as "better for mankind" than, say, curing diseases, revolutionizing education, or changing how people socialize. Hell, where I am in my life right now, something that helps normal, every-day people on the ground is worth more than a techno-wizardry that, while difficult and monumentally expensive, provides few benefits to the everyman.