Posted on 12/21/2009 4:41:59 PM PST by KevinDavis
Why should humans go to Mars? Many reasons for and against have been cited over the years, and many still struggle to see the relevance of this priority. It seems so far out, so detached from life on Earth, and in many ways it is. Mars is physically hundreds of millions of kilometers away. It is colder than the coldest environment on Earth and it has an atmosphere—or lack thereof—that would kill you within thirty seconds or do in a most unpleasant fashion. Compared to terrestrial destinations it loses hands down. However, we need to look at Mars in a different context.
(Excerpt) Read more at thespacereview.com ...
Apparently yours anyway.
Heck, if there was unobtainium there, by definition we couldn’t get it. Even without the killer smurfs.
If you thought the Apollo program was a waste, I suggest you scrap your PC and disconnect from the internet. Oh, and don't bother taking advantage of a ton of medical equipment. And no cable or satellite TV for you, either.
The space program accelerated all of that by decades.
I have no connection to the government or the aerospace industry.
NASA's budget works out to $5.00 per year per citizen.
Don’t worry the environment nuts will ban space travel by humans else we disturb the “pristine biosphere of mars”.
I’m not against spending taxpayer’s money for space exploration, but it should be spent to reward initiative and risk taking (a la X prize) rather than throwing it away on the bureaucratic, Congress-fellating, “Not Invented Here” ongoing boondoggle festival which is NASA.
Exploration is one of the most fundamental and historical roles of government. The tactical and financial gains are the reasons.
Columbus sought a shortcut to Asia for trade. Hudson sought a marine passage to the Pacific for trade. Lewis and Clark sought a passage to the pacific for trade. We could throw in a few more names like Balboa and Magellan as well.
Obviously there is no one to trade with in space but there is vast mineral wealth not to mention the technological advances that come from getting there.
You beat me to it:)
Good luck going to Mars with NASA running the show. NASA has sucked since the Germans stopped running it. It is like the Post Office now filled with ACORN workers.
And on Mars, a 45-70 would have the trajectory of a 7mm Mag on Earth. That’s my idea of heaven!
I agree. I would revamp NASA and shift a lot of its budget into the military as long as it was mandated for space operations. The rest would go to private sector development in the form of incentives.
See my post # 31.
It’s obvious you are very pro space so I’m just going to leave it at this. As for these ground application accomplishments I think they would have been developed anyway. I know this is how space travel is normal justified but I don’t buy it.
The problem is the best contractor private companies will not get funded but libs to just steal the money.
Richard Branson is kind of a jerk but what he is doing or really what Rutan is doing is good. Put Rutan in charge of NASA.
If Rutan was running NASA we could be in deep space in a deacde with those Star Trek hippies looking for Eden and Tribbles.
Sometimes I think my wife is from Mars.
If the current NASA culture had been around back in 1958, we'd still be sketching artist's concepts and building wooden mockups of the first one-man orbital capsule.
Because the more you debate, and the less you launch, the better chance you can stay safely employed while never putting a pilot's life at risk.
It's not all NASA's fault though, they are part of the larger culture in which America strives to be the first Nerf Civilization, where life itself is safety-padded for our protection.
No question of that. But at a substantially slower pace.
I don't mind paying extra for the space program. It has a far better purpose and rate of return than welfare, the EPA and the Department of Education to name a few. And those programs cost us more than five bucks a year.
Just my two cents.
Yup. NASA has two press releases at budget time - Water on Mars, Water on the Moon.
I might support NASA if they sent Sen. Bill Nelson back into space and his ship became marooned.
You probably already know this ... when Rutan mentions NASA in an interview he pronounces it “Nay-Say”.
It's part of the persona of a visionary...Edison was a nightmare to deal with, as was Henry Ford. And Howard Hughes was simply bizarre.
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