Rocket To Mars ?......Why ?

[Boss]

By all means NASA does great work. But much of their work does not involve men in space. Putting a man in space serves a limited purpose....mostly, that we can do it
Space is so freak'n big that the ability of a man to not just survive years in space but probably generations in space to reach a distant planet does not seem plausible

The obvious answer to interstellar space travel is unmanned flights with rovers dropped to explore distant planets

I totally agree. Our technology in AI is advancing to the point that we can send machines into deep space which can function much the same as a human and relay much information back. It's mind blowing what we can now do and what is on the horizon.

Here is why I think Mars is an exception. There is really no other place we can send a manned mission. We're not going to overcome the obstacles to manned travel any deeper for quite some time. We can dream of Star Trek but it's not realistic. We're not going to have anything close to that kind of technology in our lifetimes, maybe not even in our great-great grandchildren's lifetimes. For all practical purposes, Mars is the final frontier.

 

[danielpalos]

Does anybody know why the Trump Administration thinks it to be a good idea to spend Billions$$ of our tax dollars, sending a rocket to Mars ? What could be the gain from an investment like that ? This is an important question since we're talking about a lot of money going out, when we have a $19 Trillion debt, and lots of other things needing money.

What makes this thing even more odd, is that at the same time this was planned, Trump was planning to cut the Coast Guard's budget by $1.3 Billion, which thankfully that bad idea has been scrapped, and the Coast Guard will now receive its full budget.

Feel free to input your top 2 suggestions of how else the Mars mission money could/should be better spent. There probably are hundreds of these.

How about an, "orbital rail gun" that can "launch probes" to Mars and to do a, "solar system survey".

 

[Mr Natural]

Why not?

 

[danielpalos]

It's important not only for the ancillary benefits it will provide, but because we are explorers. We were not satisfied by merely looking out of the cave. We wanted to see what lays beyond the next hill. It is deep in the human race to explore.

Social Causes over Capital profit motives?

 

[danielpalos]

Any money spent on space exploration is money well invested. Unlike the money wasted on entitlement programs.

I agree; our War on Drugs is an "entitlement" we don't need. It is just a boondoggle and generational form of theft that merely "drains our economy".

 

[Fang]

Does anybody know why the Trump Administration thinks it to be a good idea to spend Billions$$ of our tax dollars, sending a rocket to Mars ? What could be the gain from an investment like that ? This is an important question since we're talking about a lot of money going out, when we have a $19 Trillion debt, and lots of other things needing money.

What makes this thing even more odd, is that at the same time this was planned, Trump was planning to cut the Coast Guard's budget by $1.3 Billion, which thankfully that bad idea has been scrapped, and the Coast Guard will now receive its full budget.

Feel free to input your top 2 suggestions of how else the Mars mission money could/should be better spent. There probably are hundreds of these.

Because Matt Damon is still stranded there.

 

[EverCurious]

While I do agree that we're in a bad position for money, and I can understand the impression that we cannot afford such a thing at this time, we must look toward the future - and I do think that we can cut enough waste and bullshit from the national budget to pay for this venture AND pay down the debt. If the US can claim Mars first we will be rewarded with not only extra land to expand into, but also ready access to the mineral riches on both Mars and the various other bodies in the solar system. Allowing the private market to gain first access to these things would be "okay" but we'd be far better off to reap the tax benefits from such endeavors, which means establishing US ownership claims. Yes, it'll be a while before such things come to fruition, but it /will/ happen and I think it behooves us to latch onto the opportunity.

 

[Nosmo King]

It's important not only for the ancillary benefits it will provide, but because we are explorers. We were not satisfied by merely looking out of the cave. We wanted to see what lays beyond the next hill. It is deep in the human race to explore.

Social Causes over Capital profit motives?

The ancillary benefits provide profit motives. But it cannot be said that every form of exploration was motivated by profit. I doubt anyone thought there would be a pot of gold laying at the North Pole.

 

[The Sage of Main Street]

I'd prefer to set up a working moonbase.

Popcorn Science

Science fiction is no more scientific than vampire movies are. Don't let Hollywood degenerates manipulate you.

 

[The Sage of Main Street]

I have to agree with one thing. We cannot afford this at this time.

The good news is that the private sector is stepping up and we should form some kind of symbiote with the private sector and encourage these entrepreneurs to set their sights on Mars.

Of course, we could leave government out of it completely and make the entire thing a private venture and that would mean those who colonize Mars won't have to pay Earth any taxes or send any resources.

If private interests want to blow big money on something like this, with little or no gain in sight, let them do it. But not on MY dime.

Heads They Win, Tails We Lose

NA$A suckers the starstruck taxpayer into covering the investment, research, and development costs for Crony Capitalists, who then keep the patents and the profits. They never lose a dime if the project is a failure. There are no dry holes in a swamp.

 

[rightwinger]

While I do agree that we're in a bad position for money, and I can understand the impression that we cannot afford such a thing at this time, we must look toward the future - and I do think that we can cut enough waste and bullshit from the national budget to pay for this venture AND pay down the debt. If the US can claim Mars first we will be rewarded with not only extra land to expand into, but also ready access to the mineral riches on both Mars and the various other bodies in the solar system. Allowing the private market to gain first access to these things would be "okay" but we'd be far better off to reap the tax benefits from such endeavors, which means establishing US ownership claims. Yes, it'll be a while before such things come to fruition, but it /will/ happen and I think it behooves us to latch onto the opportunity.

The US cannot "claim" Mars any more than we claimed the moon

Mining minerals on Mars and bringing them back is horribly expensive. Mars could be made of gold and it would not justify the price of extracting it and bringing it back




.

 

[The Sage of Main Street]

I'd prefer to set up a working moonbase.

For what reason ? For what benefit ? (and to whom ?)

It's called practice makes perfect. How many rockets did we send up before landing but now why we're just going to up and go to Mars......ridiculous on its face, Plus you can set up surface labs....space station to send up rocket assembly modules so you don't have to waste fuel launching from earth.

Selfish Lunar Lunatics

We can also advance in science by doing difficult projects on Earth with practical payoffs, such as turning salt water into fresh .Boring and hardly worth making a movie about, but we all have to grow up sometime. NA$A's childish escapist waste is like inventing transportation and then only using it for the racetrack. Degenerate fanboys will get their cheap thrills, but everybody else has to take a walk.

 

[The Sage of Main Street]

oh ok....i thought maybe it was some scientific panel or something....i feel better now....

A common sense question only requires a common sense answer - not a "scientific panel or something"

many think space exploration is common sense too,especially with the advances it gives....cutting waste and fraud and ending useless wars is common sense too...

The Blinded Led by the Blind

As usual in Dumbed-Down America, you are being manipulated into going to the opposite nonsense. Wars that would be useful if they ended the jihad, but don't work, to space exploration that works but is useless.

 

[Brynmr]

Space exploration is not important.

I'm so glad no one gave you a vote in this.

 

[The Sage of Main Street]

Any money spent on space exploration is money well invested. Unlike the money wasted on entitlement programs.

The "Cool! Wow!" Cult

NA$A is an entitlement for useless escapist spacenerds. The phrase "practical value" offends those geek eunuchs.

Garbage.

Stay Gone, Sagan

I jettison Jetsons.

 

[rightwinger]

I'd prefer to set up a working moonbase.

For what reason ? For what benefit ? (and to whom ?)

It's called practice makes perfect. How many rockets did we send up before landing but now why we're just going to up and go to Mars......ridiculous on its face, Plus you can set up surface labs....space station to send up rocket assembly modules so you don't have to waste fuel launching from earth.

Selfish Lunar Lunatics

We can also advance in science by doing difficult projects on Earth with practical payoffs, such as turning salt water into fresh .Boring and hardly worth making a movie about, but we all have to grow up sometime. NA$A's childish escapist waste is like inventing transportation and then only using it for the racetrack. Degenerate fanboys will get their cheap thrills, but everybody else has to take a walk.

NASA has long boasted that their research has benefits in other areas

But research into energy, agriculture, communications, medicine, transportation can also benefit other areas

 

[rightwinger]

Space exploration is not important.

I'm so glad no one gave you a vote in this.

Other than some pretty pictures and maybe some rocks. What do we get from space exploration?

 

[Brynmr]

Space exploration is not important.

I'm so glad no one gave you a vote in this.

Other than some pretty pictures and maybe some rocks. What do we get from space exploration?

Awesome fun and excitement!

 

[rightwinger]

Space exploration is not important.

I'm so glad no one gave you a vote in this.

Other than some pretty pictures and maybe some rocks. What do we get from space exploration?

Awesome fun and excitement!

Agree
NASA provides some great photo-ops

 

[Fang]

Space exploration is not important.

I'm so glad no one gave you a vote in this.

Other than some pretty pictures and maybe some rocks. What do we get from space exploration?

Knowledge of the universe around us. Aren't you curious?