One of our nation's greatest science communicators is raising red flags big time about what Obama is trying to do to NASA!
Wake up America! Our future is indeed "fading" unless we fight for it.
I’ve seen him speak in person at the Natural History museum on Central Park West. He’s really good, really smart, really focused. A treat.
A truly brilliant man. A pleasure to hear his analysis.
The only way to eliminate American exceptionalism is to eliminate, (or idle), exceptional Americans.
NASA has been transformed into a politically driven organization. But, NASA is still capable of great things, Obama will see to it that doesn’t happen.
If Obama has his way, America will be a welfare state, unarmed, unmotivated, and mired in mediocrity.
I agree with Neil, NASA is something that can do far more empowering than just looking down, we need to look up and to dream that is the best way to empower the next generation.
If I could have Lunch with one Person, it would be Neil DeGrasse Tyson. The guy knows his stuff about science and space.
It would be intersting having lunch with him and sharing some of my ideas with him.
Uh, this guy thinks private enterprise can’t go “outside of lower Earth orbit” and that only NASA can do this.
Although I have enjoyed space shuttle missions for years, I do not believe that NASA and other government-funded entities are something we should justify as “only half a penny” of each tax dollar.
“It’s about the effect of NASA on our nation.” Uh, yeah, right. That’s a perfect reason to give NASA whatever it wants? “Making dreams come true,” he says. “How much would you pay for the universe?”
This is the kind of touchy-feelly cr@p that justifies the health insurance takeover and every other government program in some way.
Defund the government and stop putting money toward non-Constitutional things.
People voted for idiots like O, McCain and Sen. Bill Nelson. They are just getting what they voted for. NASA is like the post office anymore. The public cares more about ball games on TV.
Maybe those pushing for succession and revolution should start pushing Texas and Florida to take over the funding of NASA. That would show they are serious...
We need to get this guy on the road. He knows how to speakm to the masses.
In the years of the Soviet Union, an interesting dichotomy took place in science.
In the Soviet Union, a scientist could only advance through discovery. His rewards were professional, not personal. For this reason, their scientific community had a bias towards “pure science”, and had little interest in useful technology or commercialization.
In the US, scientists were motivated to examine discoveries in light of their practical uses and commercial technologies. By doing so, a scientist could become wealthy, which was generally more valued than professional recognition.
So the bottom line was that Soviet scientists discovered a lot of new things, and American scientists used discoveries to make things.
This is what we find in NASA today. As a government program, they are far more interested in new discoveries, than in practical use of, or exploitation of those discoveries. And while this results in increasing human knowledge, it doesn’t do much beyond that.
A private corporation, on the other hand, is far more interested in the practical nature of discoveries, of recovering their costs, and even making a profit from their accomplishments.
So what does this mean in space exploration? In the case of exploring Mars, for example, NASA has made a brilliant breakthrough with its two Martian rovers, which discovered all sorts of things. But instead of using that knowledge, their follow-up idea is to send another rover. Larger than the first two, but still just a rover.
Given the same situation, a private company would also send a robot. But not a rover. Likely a robot designed to create a horizontal tunnel habitat on Mars.
The rationale would not be to discover new things, very much, but the practical creation of a habitat that could be used again and again, even expanded into a colony. To do so would save enormous amounts of money, and allow Martian exploration to be done over months, instead of just days.
Not just reinventing the wheel, as it were, but investing in the future in real terms, not just with new knowledge.
Eventually, NASA would likely end up renting the habitat, so that when they sent astronauts to Mars, they would have someplace to stay, while doing their pure science.
OK.
We keep watching for incoming asteroids.
We keep improving access to low earth orbit.
We find ways to address crappy education without spending billions to create “heroes.”
I’ll have to say that I agree and disagree with him. The NASA of his vision is a pretty wonderful thing. However the NASA of reality, mired in incompetence and political expediency won’t attain his vision. There would have to be a vigorous housecleaning before NASA could accomplish a fraction of what he envisions.
You can be quite sure that such a housecleaning would ruffle too many political feathers to happen. At best we should hope that deregulation of private space efforts could be pushed so maybe more can be accomplished in that area. There has yet to be a federal bureaucracy which hasn’t stagnated and calcified with age. NASA was a lean and mean machine when founded. We don’t have that NASA anymore. Now it is a place of padded nests and politically correct science.
It would be better to put those scientists and that money into solving energy problems..Efficient transportation of goods and services.
NASA Scientists want carte blanche to pursue things that while interesting do not immediately and directly address serious problems the US faces..
How many GI’s lives would be saved if the tax payers money spent studying quarks went into developing utralight armor.. and effective cross country capable efficient Tracked Vehicles..
How many lives would be saved and how many people could benifit if the monies NASA spends were focused on the direct and immediate interests of the American People..
I may like to go fishing (engage in esoteric scientific studies) but when the wolf is at the door... I best deal with the wolf first.
These NASA big brains do not give a crap about Unemployment of the average Joe...lack of Productivity and Industry in the US.
Quite frankly the US Military Brass also spend like drunken sailors also. Unwilling to use the platforms we have they insist on buying new crap which quite often does not work as well as the piece of hardware it replaces.
We all appreciate what NASA has done and if things were different it would make sense for US to continue supporting their efforts fully.
However, they need to clue in. Give the rest of us a hand for a while. Do things that enhance the security and prosperity of the US and our people.
We put the money into them when we had it and now it is time for them to buckle down and work on improving the US economy and technologies directly for a while..
Otherwise they need to find some private donors to pay the freight and get off our backs.
W
Now, instead of going to the moon and Mars, they suddenly learn that their new mission will be an "Earth mission" where they get to send down Administration-approved data from space, showing how Brazilian mudflats are expanding declining because of global warming cooling and that crippling shackles must be put on American industry to save the planet.
Maybe if they kept the agency's mission focused on space exploration instead of political agendas, they would still be exploring new frontiers instead of carrying water for luddite leftists.
Stolen dreams
Obama is defunding out Space Program - and 7,000 people who work at the Kennedy Space center will lose their jobs in Sept. Peripheral dependent jobs will result in 36,000 losing their jobs, which will plunge the area into 15-20% unemployment. (Ditto for the Houston (Johnson Space Center) area.
Where is the outrage?
Obama has declared this - ILLEGALLY bypassing Congress, whose legal job it is to decide on anything to do with NASA.
Where is the outrage?
BEYOND shutting down our Space Program, obama had directed NASA to funnel the money to ‘mostly Muslim countries” to teach and bring Muslims into the technologies of the space program - teach Muslims how to build rockets and rocket fuel. (How many more Irans?)
Where is the outrage?
Didn't know this part of the equation? Shame on you. READ.
“(NASA) mission will shift from space exploration to Muslim diplomacy, as per the commander-in-chief’s orders.”
http://www.judicialwatch.org/blog/2010/feb/nasa-focus-muslim-outreach
“Some 7,000 space industry workers will lose their jobs by the time the shuttle program ends, causing the loss of 14,000 public sector jobs and raising the unemployment rate to near 15 percent in Brevard.” (that will actually be about 36,000 out of work)
http://www.floridatoday.com/content/blogs/space/2010/01/boeing-lays-off-36-workers.shtml
and in Houston, even a DEMOCRAT candidate is asking for impeachment:
Where is the outrage?
Obama, Narcissist in Chief, has the audacity to be going to the Kennedy Space Center on April 15th to tell them all just how wonderful his new policy is.
Where is the outrage?
Where is Congress - CONGRESS is legally charged with making decisions concerning NASA. Obama is by-passing them - illegally.
We MUST - and NOW - email/fax/call Congress and DEMAND they stop this outrage NOW?
(Anyone who doesn't get outraged NOW and demand congress stop this - is aiding and abetting obama in sending our tax money to his Muslim friends to teach them how to build the mega weapons to use against u s- our children. He is not just about destroying America's freedoms - he is about the Muslim take over of our country.
Where is the outrage???
NOW - call NOW. email NOW. FAX NOW. Or YOU are aiding and abetting obama.
Didn't know this? Our NASA money is to go to Muslim countries to teach THEM how to build rockets and make roacker fuel.
Don't believe it?
Read the above post
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For Democrats...constituents empowered enough to think they can fly into space..is a liability...and means they haven’t been doing their job well enough to keep them subservient and stupid...