theprestige
Penultimate Amazing
NASA isn't about exploitable resources any more. The current policy is that NASA and other governmental agencies will concentrate on deep-sky exploration and research, and commercial interests will take care of exploitation. SpaceX opened that door, but they will not be the only ones to go through it.
As far as I know, NASA has never been about exploitable resources in the sense you mean. They've always handed off to private enterprise whenever possible. They have, however, been involved in projects that have immediate benefits for humanity on Earth. Landsat, for example.
You're talking about commercial profits. I'm talking about benefits to humanity and NASA having limited resources. If NASA is going to do pure science with no immediate benefit, I'd rather they tackle some of the big questions. I'd rather they do missions that help us develop a better model of galaxy evolution.
That tell us more about black holes and what happens in high gravity, high energy scenarios we can't create here.
That help us refine the competing predictions of cosmological redshift and converge on an agreed value.
That better sift the interstellar energies for signs of intelligent life.
Looking more closely at exoplanets does none of this. Looking specifically at "habitable" exoplanets just seems like a human interest mission. An appeal to emotion. I'm not a fan. If we're going to throw a new telescope up there, I'd rather it do serious fundamental research into the nature of our reality. Not inspect rando rocks orbiting rando stars.