Moon, Mars Missions Not a Priority for Taxpayers

Citizens Against Government Waste Press Release ^ | June 16, 2005 | Tom Finnigan/Lauren Cook

[B4Ranch]

>>If China and Russia controls the space, Moon and Mars, this nation is in deep doo doo.<<

Exactly how much space exploration would China and Russia do if we stopped our exploration? Probably none.

[billbears]

I don't care why they go. It's a waste of taxpayer dollars. If private industry wants to get involved I'm all for it. But wasting money that could be returned to taxpayers on some flight of fancy is out of the question

[B4Ranch]

>>5% of our national budget. <<

Which is, in dollars?

[B4Ranch]

I vote for space exploration also, but I want civilians to do it. Private companies have people who understand the value of a dollar and they expect a solid return for each dollar spent. Our government long ago lost sight of the value of a dollar and they DO NOT expect a solid return for anything whether it is a soldiers life or a hard earned taxpayers dollar. How many legislators have actually held a job where the boss could walk in and say, "Perform or get your sorry ass out of here?? You've got 30 days to show me what you can do." 1% or 2%, certainly not close to 5%. Our system hires the dope addicts to protect the illegal drugs.

[DoughtyOne]

My only quibble/tweak of that might be that the government could provide incentives to get the private sector engaged.

If the private sector wants to step up to the plate without them, I'd forgo that as well.

I think it is imperative that we inhabit space first and in an aggressive way.

It's only a matter of time before other states like China go gung ho. If we aren't the first ones to inhabit the Moon, Mars et al, we'll be sorry.

China won't inhabit those spaces for the U.N. They'll claim the territory just like we should. And that would be a terrible outcome.

While China doesn't have much ability right now, it steels stuff like crazy. I'm not convinced they won't sometime soon decide space is important to their future.

[Donald Meaker]

If we don't create anything for them to steal, they will have to create it, and then we can steal it!

[Dont_Tread_On_Me_888]

Moon, Mars Missions Not a Priority for Taxpayers

Sending Africa $15,000,000,000 is a priority for taxpayers.

Forgiving foreign debt is a priority for taxpayers.

Global charity is a priority for taxpayers.

Being idiots is a priority for taxpayers.

[DoughtyOne]

Sound like a plan. I don't think it's a good plan, but hey...

Heh heh heh

[FierceDraka]

“Mankind’s future in space no longer depends on politicized bureaucracies and tax-funded boondoggles,” Schatz concluded. “The success of SpaceShipOne, startup space companies, and the advent of space tourism have opened the door to an exciting future of private enterprise in space. Such endeavors are economical, realistic, and more likely to yield tangible benefits for mankind and taxpayers.”

HEAR HEAR!

NASA was gutted to pay for the Vietnam War, and has been a bloated, inneficient government bureaucracy (make-work for the aerospace industry, rather) ever since.

BTW, does anyone know if the Cosmos 1 solar sail was successfully deployed? I know that the launch was successful, but they were having trouble receiving telemetry.

[FierceDraka]

Crater? Or cosmic happy face? You decide...

HAW HAW HAW! Good one!

[little jeremiah]

The tax forms (curse them) could have a box you check if you want to give additional money to space exploration.

Some would choose to give more money, some wouldn't.

The government should cut spending by 50% for a good start anyway. Gov't spending is like a bloated termite queen.

[moog]

I read something in Boys' Life years ago that said a lot of astronauts had been involved in scouting.

[SunkenCiv]

from the "oh really?" dep't:

House Endorses NASA Missions to Moon, Mars
WAVY | 7/22/05 | AP
Posted on 07/22/2005 4:03:38 PM PDT by Tumbleweed_Connection
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1448676/posts

House Endorses Moon-to-Mars Plans
Space.com | 22 July 2004 | Andrew Taylor
Posted on 07/23/2005 4:14:04 AM PDT by demlosers
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1448898/posts

House backs NASA's moon, Mars missions (passed 383-15)
Chicago Tribune | July 23, 2005
Posted on 07/23/2005 11:17:28 AM PDT by Names Ash Housewares
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1449070/posts

[SunkenCiv]

"The tax forms (curse them) could have a box you check if you want to give additional money to space exploration."

At least. :') The tax forms should have boxes (by dep't, plus "to retire the deficit") to check so household income taxpayers could specify exactly where their tax dollars should be spent.

[RightWhale]

Cosmos 1 was not successfully launched. The first report was that it was, but the later report was the booster failed.

[little jeremiah]

How to turn the Queen Mary around.

The gov't needs to reduce spending by at least 50% anyway. The crap they spend money only exacerbates the problems. When I think about how they squander our money it sickens me.

[SunkenCiv]

link from Phil Plait's site:

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/experiments_lunar_orbiter.html?23122004