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A fantastic investment in the future. I worked with medical equipment years ago and the many of the advances in medical equipment came out of the space program. Making big things much much smaller was one part of the advances. For instance infusion pumps used to be as big as the old stereo recievers and now they are real small. Just one example. Besides that the reason we are here in the first place is to eventually explore space and bring consciousness to outer planets.
NASA itself has lost its edge over other countries and private companies over the past few years and arguably over the past 40 years, so its usefulness is dubious in my view. However, I am a firm believer that space exploration in general is a great and wise investment, probably the best investment one could possibly make for the future of mankind. Space exploration should continue with unmanned probes collecting information and manned missions with the intent to establish a large and permanent population in outer space and on other planets/moons.
Expanding the reach of human experience, human endeavor, and human ability goes hand-in-hand with space travel. As a people, we could do so much more, learn so much more, and grow so much more, if we had the courage to open our eyes, take the plunge, and go into space. New lifestyles, new scientific discoveries, and new experiences are all waiting for us out there.
Reinvigorating the frontier and exploring the unknown will inspire the youth of the world, and act as a catalyst for innovation and discovery, both at home and in space. Permanently populating outer space also means that a global nuclear war or asteroid strike becomes a problem for Earthlings, not a problem for all humans, which will be a major step forward in the advancement of sapient life in this universe.
The big leap forward that needs to be made is making enabling human populations in space to be self-sufficient and profitable. Once that leap is made it is only a matter of time before a good chunk of the human population lives off-planet. Self-sufficiency is actually pretty easy for a human colony if they have recycling systems and base their livelihood on the resources of the Moon, Mars, or an asteroid. If their needs can be provided for on-site, operating costs will drop like a rock. The cost of operating such a colony is actually pretty low - the expensive part is launching the initial supplies, structures, and colonists from Earth. If all the manufacturing can be based in space (say, in low Earth orbit), the costs will drop still further. Profitability can be obtained by extracting resources from the Moon, Mars, or asteroids. Possibilities include constructing space-based solar power satellites, precious metals, or harvesting hydrogen from gas giant planets, powering hydrogen cars on Earth and rockets in space.
In short, to colonize space the colonists need to be self-sufficient and a "space economy" must be created, just like an American economy was created during European colonization or during the migration of the Paleo-Indians. I would focus on creating a manufacturing infrastructure in orbit and mining operations on the Moon and asteroids; once that is put into place, the cost of further space exploration and colonization will drop dramatically and that lowering of cost will open up new possibilities.
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Originally Posted by pigeonhole
Oh yes the "superior race" enlightening and eventually colonizing and enslaving those "out there"....sounds familiar to me that line
The aim is (or at least should be) to contact and have a peaceful and mutually beneficial relationship with other sapient species. Also, we don't even know if we will be superior to other races out there. They could be millions of years ahead of us, millions of years behind us, or roughly equal in development. Chances are that any species we make radio contact with will be at least as advanced as we are, but you never know.
I read somewhere that the average age of a star (and orbiting planets) in this galaxy is roughly 1 billion years older than our Sun, so the chances favor most species being more advanced than we are. How that would manifest itself is unclear. They might attempt to colonize and enslave us, they might want to live in peace with us, or they may have no interest in us whatsoever. I think the third is the most likely scenario - after all, we wouldn't have any interest in contacting the type of life endemic to Earth 1 billion years ago.
However, space has a way of surprising people; 20 years ago we assumed that most planetary systems would have the same basic structure as our own (rocky inner planets, gaseous outer planets, all in circular orbits) but now we know that there is undreamed-of diversity, and if anything our solar system's structure is unusual.
Considering the massive amounts of money our government wastes on programs that generate zero economic or social benefit, NASA's paltry budget is a bargain.
To be sure, I'm a critic of the space program's lack of imagination. But, overall, the material benefits and knowledge it has given us over the past 55 years are priceless, both in direct scientific discovery and spinoff technology. So I guess I find it ironic that people who are typing on personal computers to post items on the internet are actually questioning the program's value.
On the 40th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing I ask the question - Is NASA a giant waste of money? Are we investing in the future of mankind? Should we be spending money on space exploration or is the money better used here on earth?
Sometimes I feel both sides are right. What do you think?
I think it's like .1% of the US budget goes to NASA, so it's not like they're getting much.
But I do think it's important. A lot of technology that we currently use in everyday life was a product of NASA. Trivial things like cell phone cameras and invisible braces to big things like solar panels or fire fighting equipment. There's a long list of NASA invited things that either were used or were an attempt at something to be used for space travel.
Scientific innovation is necessary. If we can find a way to spread to other worlds, we should. We should pursue this. Humans aren't perfect. We've done a lot of messed up things. But there is beauty in our culture and I think we should share it (share as in share, not the kind of sharing Europeans did in the Americas), and we should also learn from other civilizations, if they're out there (and I hope they are).
Besides, there's good reason to go to space. Plenty of resources to be had on uncultivated land. Mars won't be much for anyone who isn't a scientist, but that's step one. Eventually we should want to go to other solar systems, and maybe find Earth like planets that we can live on without the need for protective gear. I'm sure they're out there.
We don't spend enough on our space program. Political parties and lobbyist spend more just to run smear campaigns against each other. How is that good use of our resources?
If we were to remain stagnant as a specie it is the reason why dinosaurs and other species become extinct.
The planet will run out of resources long before the sun runs out. If we remain the same technologically speaking, we will probably just kill ourselves before nature takes action on us.
What NASA and other science agencies have provided to us is a glimpse at the history of other stars and galaxies from their birth to their deaths.
If the sun were to start dying, we will be burnt to death instantly by the expansion of the sun into a red giant.
None of the above. It was pure science, and pure science is getting very expensive. Only the government and the big corporations have the funds to pay the high cost. Proctor and Gamble have no profit motive for knowing what is on the other side of the moon, so that left only the government with deep enough pockets to continue the thirst for knowledge.
NASA's '09 budget is 17.6 billion. We can save that by bringing the troops home from Iraq ten weeks early. Or getting somebody else besides Halliburton to feed them.
But it's all borrowed money from Chinese loan sharks, about $3 per week from each household's budget, not counting the compounded interest that their grandchildren will have to pay off.
What is $17.6 billion? It's really a drop in the bucket.
NASA, or science in general, excites people. It's there to move forward man kind.
If you ended NASA, does anyone really think that $17.6 billion wouldn't just be wasted on some pointless military conflict or used for some Senators pork project?
At least we get to push the boundaries of humanities reach.
NASA is an inefficient bureaucracy and hasn't done nearly as much as it could to increase our knowledge and presence in space. The federal government hasn't given NASA anywhere near the amount of resources they need either.
Seems like you've got a cart before horse or vice versa problem.
The benefits from space exploration have all been spinoffs. Microchips and I'm sure materials, etc. But as fas as direct payoffs from space exploration, there haven't been any and can't be any. Even the moon is too far away to be a source of raw materials. Anything further might as well be Pluto.
It's not like exploration on Earth where Marco Polo opened trade routes to China or Columbus discovered piles of wealth in the New World. Whatever is discovered in space will stay in space. And when the Earth finally expires, there can be no refuge for us anywhere else. For good of bad, Earth is all we can ever have.
Scientific curiosity might be satisfied. Arcane academic debates might be tipped one way or the other. Great pictures for National Geographic, material for new episodes of "The Universe."
But it's an awfully high price to pay for satisfying idle curiosity. The money could be put to much better use by those who earned it.
The benefits from space exploration have all been spinoffs. Microchips and I'm sure materials, etc. But as fas as direct payoffs from space exploration, there haven't been any and can't be any. Even the moon is too far away to be a source of raw materials. Anything further might as well be Pluto.
Forget about spinoffs such as MRIs, medical equipment, teflon, etc... surely, there are many even direct applications of space exploration... What about GPS, Google maps, weather and climate satellites? There are many more to come as tech improves too, such as new global satellite internet constellations that are on the drawing board atm and new global imaging systems to monitor economic activity and agriculture futures that general population most likely wouldn't see, but the big companies such as Walmart will use.
NASA should focus on space exploration instead of trying to push 'climate change' agenda items. So much of its budget has been moved out of its primary focus.
That being said, Walter Mondale led the charge to stop the moon flights, then limited funding so that the space shuttle was not what was envisioned as a reusable spacecraft. Then the shuttle was sabatoged by the environmentalists who required an inferior foam that did not hold up under the stress of liftoff, damaging the shuttle, and leading to disaster.
The current Mars program is a fools errand, with the 'capsule' spacecraft an oversized Apollo ship.
Start with a new management focus, new ideas about moon colonization. Current engine technology is way too expensive and bulky to make a Mars mission viable. How about electromagnetic launch systems to get a ship up to high speeds, eliminating so much of the initial launch weight and systems for example instead of just bigger engines to replicate the Saturn 5?
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