Successful Landing on Mars!

[rlditmars]

My problem is not with space exploration or the money spent, or whether this is an american thing or what ever. Because we have the ability to reason, we (humans)need to make ourselves feel like we are something greater than we are, so we push ever outward. Albeit a futile effort, as we will very likely annihilate ourselves before the inhabiting of another celestial body would ever be feasable.

No, my issue with this kind of so called "great accomplishment" for mankind, is that its a slap in the face for anyone of reasonable intelligence. Watching the advances that flight has made in the 106 years since the Wright Bros were in Kitty Hawk, and being told in that same time, we still can't get a combustion engine that gets over 50 miles to the gallon with power. 106 years ago, two guys flew 150 yards on canvas and wood. Since then we have sent a spacecraft, traveling 17,000 mph, outside the Kuiper belt while sending back radio transamissions, and I am supposed to accept that 40 MPG is great.

Pay no attenttion to the man behind the curtain, Dorothy.

Yea! Go Mars rover.

[meowmeowkazoo]

We (Americans) should be taking care of our own first and formost. We have been trying to take care of others for quiet a few years now and look what thats got us. But thats another subject.
Im just saying that in times like these, we dont need to be dumping millions of dollars on "what MIGHT be, and what iffs". When theres extra money to spend, then thats the time for toys. But now (in the real world) people are starving, and our boarders are being invaded. Meanwile, we landed a giant tin can on a planet just to say we could..
spooky

The amount that NASA gets to spend is minuscule compared to other parts of the government's budget (like the military). Space exploration isn't just a "cool toy", it's the future of the human race. We didn't land a "giant tin can" on Mars just to say we could, we landed a mobile science lab on Mars to see if life ever has or ever COULD be supported on Mars. The more we understand about our neighboring planets, the better we can understand the Earth. The further science develops, the more capability we will have to conquer things like disease and hunger.

I just don't understand how people can't see the immense benefits that space exploration has provided the human race with. Just because it's not a blatantly obvious benefit like being able to grow corn on the moon doesn't mean it's not valuable.

And frankly if you're in this hobby....sell all of your snakes and fancy equipment, donate that money to charity, and then feel free to tell NASA what it should and shouldn't do with its limited funding.

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My problem is not with space exploration or the money spent, or whether this is an american thing or what ever. Because we have the ability to reason, we (humans)need to make ourselves feel like we are something greater than we are, so we push ever outward. Albeit a futile effort, as we will very likely annihilate ourselves before the inhabiting of another celestial body would ever be feasable.

No, my issue with this kind of so called "great accomplishment" for mankind, is that its a slap in the face for anyone of reasonable intelligence. Watching the advances that flight has made in the 106 years since the Wright Bros were in Kitty Hawk, and being told in that same time, we still can't get a combustion engine that gets over 50 miles to the gallon with power. 106 years ago, two guys flew 150 yards on canvas and wood. Since then we have sent a spacecraft, traveling 17,000 mph, outside the Kuiper belt while sending back radio transamissions, and I am supposed to accept that 40 MPG is great.

Pay no attenttion to the man behind the curtain, Dorothy.

Yea! Go Mars rover.

Frankly, it's a slap to the face for anyone of reasonable intelligence to see people whining about space exploration and then comparing it to the things that they think are wrong with the world. This isn't remotely related to the MPG your car gets.

[mr.spooky]

Right, NASA dosent spend alot :

In the year-by-year breakdown listed below, the total amounts (in nominal dollars) that NASA has been budgeted from 1958 to 2011 amounts to $526.18 billion dollars—an average of $9.7 billion per year. By way of comparison, total spending over this period by the National Science Foundation was roughly one-fourth of NASA's expenditures: $101.5 billion, or $2 billion a year. NASA's FY 2011 budget of $18.4 billion represents about 0.5% of the $3.4 trillion United States federal budget during the year, or about 35% of total spending on academic scientific research in the United States.
According to the Office of Management and Budget and the Air Force Almanac, when measured in real terms (adjusted for inflation), the figure is $790.0 billion, or an average of $15.818 billion dollars per year over its fifty year history.


"Space exploration isn't just a "cool toy", it's the future of the human race" ARE YOU SERIOUS? Lay off the space dust!!! And believe me, the only way mars ever COULD support life is if NASA could figure out how to hook a chain to it and place it in orbit behind Earth.
Other than satalite radio and GPS's I cant really think of much good that has come out of it compaired to the money (as mentioned above) that has been dished into it.
And your last paragraph,,,,,,, HAHAHAHAHAHAHA apples to oranges.
spooky

[rlditmars]

And frankly if you're in this hobby....sell all of your snakes and fancy equipment, donate that money to charity, and then feel free to tell NASA what it should and shouldn't do with its limited funding.

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Frankly, it's a slap to the face for anyone of reasonable intelligence to see people whining about space exploration and then comparing it to the things that they think are wrong with the world. This isn't remotely related to the MPG your car gets.

How is selling your snakes remotely related to space exploration?

Kettle meet Pot

[Don]

$15 billion over a year is not that much in terms of what our government spends. It is just a drop in the bucket. The federal budget for 2010 was $3.55 TRILLION!

I guess all the lives saved by CAT scans and all the misery of injuries repaired with the assistance of CAT scans means nothing? The spin-off of the MRI has saved thousands of lives. I guess that means nothing as well? If not for space exploration, the CAT may have never been invented. It was invented for the specific purpose of space exploration.

In this article (http://www.space.com/11272-nasa-spac...-spinoffs.html) It tracks what are called spin-off inventions from the primary inventions of space exploration. There are over 1,723 inventions that are a spin-off of space exploration. What you may not realize is that you use things everyday that are a direct result of our investment in space exploration. The money spent in testing these boundaries have led to products that make better lives for all of us.

You cite sea exploration as a better use of money. Well, they are not mutually exclusive. Over the last several years, we have gone deeper and seen more of our ocean bottoms that ever thought possible just a decade ago. I think we are a poorer country for shutting down our space program. It was one of the things that made us what we are. You may not be old enough to remember the words "One small step for man, one big step for mankind" as they were spoken live. I still get goosebumps from remembering "Houston, the Eagle has landed." I was watching on a black and white TV in our classroom. I also remember the deep sorry I felt and where I was when the Challenger was lost. These people who went into space are heroes. Some of them gave their lives for the advancement of science. I respect that and appreciate that. The Mars exploration is just an advancement of their work. I'm glad we're there and happy for the scientist that made it happen. We will probably see some more inventions coming out of this mission to better mankind.

[mr.spooky]

$15 billion over a year is not that much in terms of what our government spends. It is just a drop in the bucket. The federal budget for 2010 was $3.55 TRILLION!

I guess all the lives saved by CAT scans and all the misery of injuries repaired with the assistance of CAT scans means nothing? The spin-off of the MRI has saved thousands of lives. I guess that means nothing as well? If not for space exploration, the CAT may have never been invented. It was invented for the specific purpose of space exploration.

In this article (http://www.space.com/11272-nasa-spac...-spinoffs.html) It tracks what are called spin-off inventions from the primary inventions of space exploration. There are over 1,723 inventions that are a spin-off of space exploration. What you may not realize is that you use things everyday that are a direct result of our investment in space exploration. The money spent in testing these boundaries have led to products that make better lives for all of us.

You cite sea exploration as a better use of money. Well, they are not mutually exclusive. Over the last several years, we have gone deeper and seen more of our ocean bottoms that ever thought possible just a decade ago. I think we are a poorer country for shutting down our space program. It was one of the things that made us what we are. You may not be old enough to remember the words "One small step for man, one big step for mankind" as they were spoken live. I still get goosebumps from remembering "Houston, the Eagle has landed." I was watching on a black and white TV in our classroom. I also remember the deep sorry I felt and where I was when the Challenger was lost. These people who went into space are heroes. Some of them gave their lives for the advancement of science. I respect that and appreciate that. The Mars exploration is just an advancement of their work. I'm glad we're there and happy for the scientist that made it happen. We will probably see some more inventions coming out of this mission to better mankind.

Agreed, 15 billion is a drop in the bucket compaired to the government, but we all also know that our government LIES, CHEATS, and STEALS,,, so that point is kinda void.
I have nothing bad to say about the lives saved because of the CAT scan, BUT the CAT scan was not found on the moon,,, it was founded here on earth as a tool to use in space (from what I understand). I truly dont know, so could someone tell me one thing that has physicaly came from the face of the moon that has benifited man? there are things EVERY DAY that are being discovered here on earth, eigther in the seas, or in the trees that are moving us forward in science and medacine.

When Neil Armstrong said"One small step for man, one giant leap for man kind", that was important, and a GIANT feat,, and thats what Im getting at. Sense then, nothing has really hapened.

Spooky

[mr.spooky]

Don, I just read the link that you posted, and that just proves a point. First of all, I was always under the impression that NASA invented Tang. Im dissapointed to find out that they dident. It mentions sunglasses that block harmful ultraviolet light. Are these the same ones that I see for sale on TV for $10 for 2 pairs, or are these just a useless spinn off of the 25k dollar pair that NASA uses? Also, isnt infant formula under scrutiny right now for not being as great as we once thought? And the better weather forecastingHA!!! 80% chance of rain today, and it ws drier than a sheeps ass in march.
Im still not convienced.
spooky

[meowmeowkazoo]

Right, NASA dosent spend alot :

In the year-by-year breakdown listed below, the total amounts (in nominal dollars) that NASA has been budgeted from 1958 to 2011 amounts to $526.18 billion dollars—an average of $9.7 billion per year. By way of comparison, total spending over this period by the National Science Foundation was roughly one-fourth of NASA's expenditures: $101.5 billion, or $2 billion a year. NASA's FY 2011 budget of $18.4 billion represents about 0.5% of the $3.4 trillion United States federal budget during the year, or about 35% of total spending on academic scientific research in the United States.
According to the Office of Management and Budget and the Air Force Almanac, when measured in real terms (adjusted for inflation), the figure is $790.0 billion, or an average of $15.818 billion dollars per year over its fifty year history.

So how exactly is 0.5% such a huge threat to your solutions for poverty and hunger?

"Space exploration isn't just a "cool toy", it's the future of the human race" ARE YOU SERIOUS? Lay off the space dust!!! And believe me, the only way mars ever COULD support life is if NASA could figure out how to hook a chain to it and place it in orbit behind Earth.
Other than satalite radio and GPS's I cant really think of much good that has come out of it compaired to the money (as mentioned above) that has been dished into it.
And your last paragraph,,,,,,, HAHAHAHAHAHAHA apples to oranges.
spooky

Why exactly should I believe you on any of this? The only thing you've proven is that your knowledge of the space program is meager at best, and you only care about scientific advancement if it directly benefits you.

As for my last statement....if you feel so strongly about NASA giving up their funding to help the poor and the needy, why don't you set a good example? Your snakes are even less important to humanity than you seem to think NASA is.

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How is selling your snakes remotely related to space exploration?

Kettle meet Pot

If you willfully choose to misunderstand my points because you have no real argument against them, it's no skin off my back.

[meowmeowkazoo]

Agreed, 15 billion is a drop in the bucket compaired to the government, but we all also know that our government LIES, CHEATS, and STEALS,,, so that point is kinda void.
I have nothing bad to say about the lives saved because of the CAT scan, BUT the CAT scan was not found on the moon,,, it was founded here on earth as a tool to use in space (from what I understand). I truly dont know, so could someone tell me one thing that has physicaly came from the face of the moon that has benifited man? there are things EVERY DAY that are being discovered here on earth, eigther in the seas, or in the trees that are moving us forward in science and medacine.

When Neil Armstrong said"One small step for man, one giant leap for man kind", that was important, and a GIANT feat,, and thats what Im getting at. Sense then, nothing has really hapened.

Spooky

Just because the government lies, cheats, and steals, his point regarding their budget is invalid? On what planet does that make sense?

Just because something was not invented ON THE MOON doesn't mean it's not a product of the space exploration program. Do we need to build factories on the moon for manufacturing CAT scans before you can understand the connection?

Why was Neil Armstrong landing on the moon more important than this? Because they made movies about it, so it must be important? If they make a movie about the Curiosity rover would that make it important, too?

[mr.spooky]

So how exactly is 0.5% such a huge threat to your solutions for poverty and hunger?




Why exactly should I believe you on any of this? The only thing you've proven is that your knowledge of the space program is meager at best, and you only care about scientific advancement if it directly benefits you.

As for my last statement....if you feel so strongly about NASA giving up their funding to help the poor and the needy, why don't you set a good example? Your snakes are even less important to humanity than you seem to think NASA is.

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If you willfully choose to misunderstand my points because you have no real argument against them, it's no skin off my back.

uuuuuhhhhhhhh,,,,, the 0.5% translates to $18.4 billion as clearly stated. Im thinking that that would put a good dent (per year) in poverty and hunger, but I dunno.
Im willing to learn!!!! I previousaly ask, "so could someone tell me one thing that has physicaly came from the face of the moon that has benifited man"? Educate me please. I truly dont know anything about NASA or space exploration. Can you name a few?
Thanks
spooky

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Just because the government lies, cheats, and steals, his point regarding their budget is invalid? On what planet does that make sense?

Just because something was not invented ON THE MOON doesn't mean it's not a product of the space exploration program. Do we need to build factories on the moon for manufacturing CAT scans before you can understand the connection?

Why was Neil Armstrong landing on the moon more important than this? Because they made movies about it, so it must be important? If they make a movie about the Curiosity rover would that make it important, too?

YOU are NUTS... Im done
spooky