Yes the overarching issue is whether we collapse ecosystems and the climate by mass extracting these materials on earth
Which is why space can be a pretty useful alternative
If you want an industrial civilization on earth that doesn't also collapse the biosphere, then space absolutely has to be in play, a cottagcore solar punk communist revolution is not around the corner and its not an either or thing, both developments need to happen simultaneously
Space development by either China or even the haphazard capitalist funded orgs are necessary for the emergence of novel innovations and technical refinement for the space andcearth bound technologies that will be needed to negate the climate apocalypse
If you've ever managed any sort of artificial environment (aquarium, terrarium, hydroponics etc) you'll have an appreciation of how suddenly these fail and how much management they require even with all of the earth sheltering and supporting it, and cities of people available for help and reasources. If giant artificial farms on earth aren't a particularly plausible way to feed people why would they be easier in space?
It's almost like solving these technical hurdles in space has massive implications and applications for mass scaled "billions supporting" agriculture here on earth and maybe the overarching reason we would want to move agriculture and industry to space is that so we don't collapse the fucking climate!
The conservatism and luddism that scoffs at these developments like these can quickly morph into climate denialism
Nothing up there besides an infinity of resources and space, definitely two things that have no application to the development of communism
Also a revolution is decidedly NOT happening on earth at the moment, perhaps a lack of vision among those who advocate for revolution is part of the explanation for why not?
It's not an either or thing, space development even under capitalist polities leads to technical developments immensely useful to socialists looking for alternatives in countless fields and applications
Obviously we'd all prefer communists lead the charge, but that hasn't been possible for the last 50 years, except now China is making it possible and are we really gonna sit here like luddites and scoff at Chinese space development and go "Yeah they're definitely wasting their time, NO useful developments have EVER emerged as a result of space development, the Soviets were wasting their time, they should've let the US win the space race harder" like really?
Also "several hundred years" is just mindless conservatism, who in the 1930s besides the futurists could've predicted the space race or the moon landings? Turns out the futurists were being conservative in their expectations, and the science skeptics were just downright wrong
Neoliberals and market fundamentalists may take several hundred years, but that's not an appropriate expectation for any communist to hold, especially in light of the unfolding climate catastrophe
If humankind is going to have a future that doesn't involve cooking the earth, then manned spaceflight isn't just a necessity but an obligation
The socialist utopia if it's ever going to be found, will be realized up there
I mean now that it's blown up, sure it's gonna attract some actual Japanese people
But reading that initial exchange I'm convinced it's Russians vs weird race playing Germans and Austrians, I remember reading a recent thread by some incel 4Channers commenting on this weird race fad taking over parts of online right-wing German spaces
You know what's really funny, there's a 99% chance not a single person in that exchange is Japanese
Have we learned nothing from hiphopthreads and blackpeopletwitter?
This seems like the setup to an Agent 47 mission, where he has take care of both the targets' digital and physical bodies to succeed
Getting this monster out of those kids' lives is a mercy, they weren't safe with him
Oh no, not the zip 
People like this are precisely why re-education facilities are necessary
There's nothing funnier and more delusional than a European neocon
You couldn't even immediately clock how close system technical innovations in space could have applications for hydroponics systems here on earth where the most important issue is environmental pollution potential
Like don't even front
Space development is not confined to idea of colonization of Mars, dispersed and diffused rotational habitats is where the real science is pointing and the barriers in that field are primarily economic, which is why communists are obliged to contest this ground and show up the capitalists who are more concerned with marketing and profits than the further development of novel innovations
We also do cool hydroponics research in space and the applications that result have transformed hydroponics multiple times
Again, it's not either or, those innovations are useful but they're not enough to secure the climate or support billions on their own