Well, seeing the spiders came from my neck of the woods, I'll defend them.
With due respect to the crew of Columbia, I think it's a shame that you don't see the importance in this little experiment. This isn't really the place for this, so I'll cut to the chase.
A group of schoolkids in South Australia, for one small moment in their lives, were a part of something bigger than could ever have been imagined by them. Those kids were a part of a shuttle mission. Can you imagine how important to them & their community & the rest of the country this was? Most of us watch space missions & wonder what it would be like to be a part of the leading edge of exploration. They
were a part of it!
They did a lot of research & put in a submission to NASA that was chosen for this flight. Now, as to the merits of the experiment & it's impact on society, I have no knowledge, but it was good enough for NASA.
As to the crew, most of them were on either their first or second mission. As much as it may seem pointless to you, they would've argued how much experience they would gain from real missions, as opposed to simulations.
Now, I agree that the ocean is an untapped source of information and perhaps we should devote some more time & effort towards it. However, space is where the funds are going at the moment and, regardless of whether that's good or bad, it's how it is.
