Was the Space Race Worth the Cost?

Was the space race worth the cost?
The Space Race was a mid-to-late 20th century competition between the Soviet Union (USSR) and the United States (US) for supremacy in space exploration. Between 1957 and 1975, the Cold War rivalry between the two nations focused on attaining firsts in space exploration, which were seen as necessary for national security and symbolic of technological and ideological superiority. The Space Race involved pioneering efforts to launch artificial satellites, sub-orbital and orbital human spaceflight around the Earth, and piloted voyages to the Moon. It effectively began with the Soviet launch of the Sputnik 1 artificial satellite on 4 October 1957, and concluded with the co-operative Apollo-Soyuz Test Project human spaceflight mission in July 1975.
During the space race there were accidental inventions that helped astronauts do their job but it has had an effect on us as well. Some of these spin offs include:  
CAT and MRI technology- The entire purpose of the early Apollo missions was to choose a suitable landing ground for the first man on the moon. To do this, they needed technology that could photograph the moon's surface. NASA created this technology, and from it scientists developed Computer-Aided Topography (CAT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technologies. Today, CAT scanners and MRIs are used in hospitals world-wide.
Cordless power tools- While on the moon and working in deep space, the astronauts would need to perform many tasks to gather scientific data concerning the surface of the moon. Often in these tasks, they needed mechanical help. Neither traditional tools nor power tools of that era would work. Traditional tools would not provide enough assistance, and power tools could not be used due to their cord restrictions. Thus, NASA developed a way for power tools to be used without cords. Today, cordless power tools are everywhere. Uses for these tools have proved extremely versatile and beneficial to society....