Phoenix Descending (Mars lander photographed descending by Mars Orbiter!)

Bad Astronomy ^ | 5/27/08 | Phil Plait

[RightWhale]

That looks just like it was supposed to. The orbiter camera was at an angle which the orbiter team mentioned as being more extreme than they had attempted before.

[oh8eleven]

While I still maintain NASA has been the greatest waste of taxpayers’ money over the last 30 years, I must admit that picture is very cool.

[RightWhale]

NASA has been the greatest waste

The House committee just approved NASA's program for the next fiscal year. As is, unchanged. Vital to the health of the economy.

[oh8eleven]

Vital to the health of the economy.
Vital only to the 1000s of scientists who can't find private/commercial funding to pay for their curiosity because it's essentially worthless.

[RightWhale]

You should testify before the House committee because that is where the text came from. Better yet, run against one of the Ds or Rs who approved this unanimously and take his seat so you can be the sole dissenting vote next year.

[samtheman]

This is a GOOD use of NASA money (taxpayer money, of course), in my opinion.

Putting humans in space at this point, in my opinion, is not a good use of our money.

Robots and devices in space are the way to go, for now, in my opinion.

[oh8eleven]

run against one of the Ds or Rs who approved this unanimously
My hat's off to our omniscient congress critters, global warming only has a consensus.

[stravinskyrules]

I don't blame NASA for the waste, I blame Congress for no direction or fortitude to boldly press forward after the moon landings.

In the end, they're our representatives and reflect the mood of the citizens.

It's our fault, not NASA's.

[MaryFromMichigan]

Yeah, when we're at the top of game, we're a pretty neat species.

"What a piece of work is a man, how noble in reason, how infinite in faculties, in form and moving how express and admirable, in action how like an angel, in apprehension how like a god!"
-Shakespeare

[Domandred]

While I still maintain NASA has been the greatest waste of taxpayers’ money over the last 30 years,

Yes lets get rid of all the products derived from the space program. That will be fun.

[oh8eleven]

I blame Congress for no direction or fortitude to boldly press forward after the moon landings.
Me too, but they did try at least once. In the early 70s they canceled the last two or three Apollo moon landings to save money. Then someone sold them a bill of goods called the Space Shuttle and we the people have been "reaping the benefits" ever since.
Of course when we asked why we had to continue to pay for a 25 year old, trillion dollar yo-yo (i.e. it does nothing but go up and down, up and down) that doesn't go anywhere, they sold us the International Space Station. How magnanimous and I'm sure, unanimous.

[oh8eleven]

Yes lets get rid of all the products derived from the space program.
Name me one significant product of the space program that has had a profound impact on mankind; that could not possibly have been discovered elsewhere; that was worth the billions of taxpayer dollars "invested" by NASA; that was worth losing the lives of at least two full crews. Thomas Edison and I both want to know.

[stravinskyrules]

Then someone sold them a bill of goods called the Space Shuttle and we the people have been "reaping the benefits" ever since. Of course when we asked why we had to continue to pay for a 25 year old, trillion dollar yo-yo (i.e. it does nothing but go up and down, up and down) that doesn't go anywhere, they sold us the International Space Station. How magnanimous and I'm sure, unanimous.

I don't disagree with your points here, however that doesn't mean I don't want my tax dollars to fund exploration or SANE forward thinking space policies and programs.

The Shuttle era is a result of a short sighted Congress and ultimately, a short sighted citizenry.

[Domandred]

I can name you a bunch of products derived from the space program. But “could not possibly have been discovered elsewhere” is neither verifiable nor quantifiable.

A few biggies of course being GPS, personal locater beacons (both of which have saved lives), satellite communications (cell, television, even radio). Sure the basic parts were there but without the space program we’d still be limited to local broadcast or delayed feeds.

Even small things that didn’t really have a profound impact on mankind, but they sure are nice to have like cordless power tools and scratch resistant plastic lenses for corrective eye glasses and sunglasses were derived from the space program.

That’s just a small list, but whatever none of them are worth the cost so it would have been better to not even bother with the space program.

[Centurion2000]

Name me one significant product of the space program that has had a profound impact on mankind; that could not possibly have been discovered elsewhere; that was worth the billions of taxpayer dollars "invested" by NASA; that was worth losing the lives of at least two full crews. Thomas Edison and I both want to know.

Quite a few of them. Besides, we went from biplanes to jet engines in 40 years. 5000+ test pilots died learning to command the skies. We'll lose that much in learning to command the solar system easily.

[montag813]

Neat, except too much yapping, not enough pictures.

What a doofus. Reminds me of the William Shatner SNL skit. "You...how old, are you...30? Have you ever kissed a girl?"

[RetSignman]

[Simply incredible photo]

I agree, but if that guy is still around when a man sets foot on Mars, someone had better be there with a tranquilizer gun.

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

Barsoom rules!