Mars, Been There Done That.

[Phorlaug[IS]]

Anyone else think that we are wasting our money in this perticular area of Mars or is it just me?



[img]http://i1193.photobucket.com/albums/aa359/Phorth/RoverMarvinWallE.jpg[/img]

[blattu]

2 monkeys and in a tub and 1 says ooo ahh ahhahh ooo, and the other says well add some cold water then

waves to phor

[Reon]

I think it was close to a waste of money before it launched. Look at the global problems right now, including the issues the country that funds NASA is having.

Look at it this way...people seem to think that everything will change and be all rainbows and pixie farts if we find that some other planet in our solar system could have supported life. That will not fix humanities philosophical and religious issues, nor will it fix the many problems we experience financially or otherwise.

Perhaps this is because, I look at life in a different sense. I believe if life was to be created on other worlds, it might not have to be carbon based. We know very little about the laws of our universe. I think that more time should be spent trying to understand space and time itself, because thought doesn't cost billions of dollars.

What if life has nothing in common with the carbon based lifeforms of earth? What if life exists beyond what we know? Should that be found to be the case, wouldn't it seem kind of stupid spending this kind of money to go hunting on another planet for a proverbial "smoking gun" to prove ET carbon based life could be possible? We have so many places the money could have been better spent(see any one of the countries where death from starvation and disease is prevalent).

EDIT: I guess I am saying I hope the future mocks us and we should fix the MANY problems here before we look for places off world to spend money on. Edited August 10, 2012 by Reon

[Terrell [BT]]

I'm not too worried about the NASA budget, it's a very tiny fraction of the federal government's budget. Last numbers I saw on their site was in 2004 and they received 0.7% of the federal budget. Less than one cent for every dollar the government spends.

[Phorlaug[IS]]

[quote name='Blattu' timestamp='1344620970' post='61571']
2 monkeys and in a tub and 1 says ooo ahh ahhahh ooo, and the other says well add some cold water then

waves to phor
[/quote]

Ban for life ! J/K

[Phorlaug[IS]]

I'm just confused why in this perticular spot, when they know the water and ice is at its poles.
If there is or ever was life it will be near the ice and water, not only that the water can be refined as fuel.
.
They tried a Poler landing and it crashed and burned litterally.
This vehical would of been perfect for that Pole landing
Poler Landing [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Polar_Lander"][color=#00ff00][i]Mars Surveyor '98 Lander[/i][/color][/url]

[Terrell [BT]]

[url="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/main/index.html"]Phoenix[/url] already has landed at one of the poles of Mars a few years ago. They're also interested in how the planet was in his ancient past. Evidence suggests that the poles were not the only place where Mars had water way back when. I think it was Opportunity that found the evidence, though Spirit or Sojourner may have as well.

[Klyde]

[quote name='Phorlaug' timestamp='1344625882' post='61575']
I'm just confused why in this perticular spot, when they know the water and ice is at its poles.
If there is or ever was life it will be near the ice and water, not only that the water can be refined as fuel.
.
They tried a Poler landing and it crashed and burned litterally.
This vehical would of been perfect for that Pole landing
Poler Landing [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Polar_Lander"][color=#00FF00][i]Mars Surveyor '98 Lander[/i][/color][/url]
[/quote]

It's all about possible resources, oil, precious stones, minerals , etc etc.

[Taallonn]

I figure they had just one more place to check for Obama's Birth certificate and Romney's tax returns before November....

[Gordo]

Leave us not forget the college transcripts and records of why the license to practice law was hidden.


On a serious note, as mentioned above, this budget is a drop in the ocean. Entitlements top the list and if we can learn more about Mars and maybe what happened there, if it was once a lush green planet with oceans and why it isn't that way now, maybe we can learn to treat our birth planet a little better. I don't fall into the group that puts stock in the whole anthropomorphous climate change thing, but I [b]DO[/b] believe in not messing where I live.

The more we learn, the better our future imho....

[Reon]

[quote name='Terrell' timestamp='1344623370' post='61573']
I'm not too worried about the NASA budget, it's a very tiny fraction of the federal government's budget. Last numbers I saw on their site was in 2004 and they received 0.7% of the federal budget. Less than one cent for every dollar the government spends.
[/quote]

I just think that like many things, humanity prefers to look elsewhere for distractions rather than deal with the ugly mess that is our planet (as I hypocritically post on a website dedicated to a videogame that provides an escape from reality).

[quote name='Taallonn' timestamp='1344734258' post='61654']
I figure they had just one more place to check for Obama's Birth certificate and Romney's tax returns before November....
[/quote]

You sir, have earned yourself another +1. Good show.



EDIT: In light of Gordo's comment, I feel compelled to state that I am not some hippie babbling about saving mother earth. The problem isn't really pollution...not in the way most people think of it...it is humanity...us...we are destroying ourselves. So maybe the budget for this mission is a drop in the bucket, that does not matter. The point is, we look for answers on distant worlds because we are afraid to look at what is really wrong...the reflection staring back at our own selves when we look in a mirror. You can keep a planet from having greenhouse issues, but you cannot use science alone to fix what is a mostly social and psychological concern. I just feel that learning of H2O on another planet and a population on mood stabilizers is a bandaid for some rather large issues that are often overlooked.

Perhaps they will find some skeletal remains of martian cows so we can have something else to point a finger at here on earth...because it can't have anything to do with human behavior and our need to know more, have more, and generally try to feel better about and justify our extravagant spending habits and urges. Can someone kick this soap box out from under me...its getting lonely up here. Edited August 12, 2012 by Reon

[jrichards]

Exploring has always been a benefit due to the requirements to get from point A. to point B. The data/technology gained from exploring is actually mind boggling. Here are just a few of the items that were developed/created [url="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/pdf/80660main_ApolloFS.pdf"]when the US went to the moon[/url]. Those would not have been discovered, or would have been delayed by a very long time, if we had never gone off planet. Although firing off satellites and robots does give a lot of very great information, to prep for the next logical step of putting humans on another planet, it doesn't generate any urgency. Since [url="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CE8QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.msnbc.msn.com%2Fid%2F35131431%2Fns%2Ftechnology_and_science-space%2Ft%2Fobama-budget-ends-return-to-moon-plan%2F&ei=6PwqUMHcGaf0igKdpICYDA&usg=AFQjCNGKOk1K2cg9EWtcIALOQUH97-S9qA"]Obama killed the return to the moon[/url], which would have pushed humanity closer to getting to mars (setting up an off planet habitat), and politicians continue to freak out about spending money on new technology I can see why people are upset with sending a little robot to Mars.....if we didn't know better and have a ton of evidence to the contrary.

Is it worth it? Spending all that money, investing in new technology, lighting a fire under people and businesses, and igniting the imagination of a whole generation of kids? You know, like Kennedy did when he promised to [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouRbkBAOGEw"]put a man on the moon in ten years[/url]? Who would that be good for? I guess its never good to push a ton of money into an economy for a specific goal when a country is in a recession....or depression. I mean we would have been much better off [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression_in_the_United_States"]if the US hadn't entered WW2[/url], gone about spending all that money the US didn't have, and invested in people, businesses, and its allies create to supplies/equipment for the war effort. Edited August 15, 2012 by Crichton

[Reon]

I look at it this way...the pursuit of the unknown is a very noble cause, and I agree that without the ongoing missions to outer space, the human race cannot expect to develop past a certain point. Perhaps that is a good thing...

I believe the intelligence level and living standards of the general population needs to reach a certain height before technology advances much further. This isn't startrek, do not expect warp technology to solve the worlds problems. Look at the average human being in any part of the world from any religious, political, or philosophical background. There is much civil unrest in the world these days, and for good reason.

Most look at the pursuit of technology as worthy of any price, I do not believe that. I believe life is first, and if others shared that same value, there would have never been a need for WW2. The Golden Rule...karma...it has many names, but no one ever treats their fellow man equally. I think we have enough technology until some other issues like [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starvation"]this[/url] are fixed. I am not anti-NASA or anti-war...I just think we are approaching a time when humanities many problems will have grown faster than the curve of technology, and due to humanities inherent ability to discard logic and rationality in the face of adversity, technology alone will not be enough to save us.

Edit: Just so you know, I love space...I love seeing the unknown. I have followed this mission, and I do not mean to slight the men and women who accomplished this feat. I just feel that some things are more important. Edited August 15, 2012 by Reon

[Ryle [N7R]]

The 2010 budget for foreign aid to nations that harbor enemies of the US was four times the NASA budget at its peak in the 90s, js.

Nasa 1993: 1993 14,305 1.01%
14.3 billion

In fiscal year 2010, the U.S. government allocated the following amounts for aid:
Total economic and military assistance: $52.7 billion Total military assistance: $15.0 billion Total economic assistance: $37.7 billion of which, USAID assistance: $14.1 billion

The vast majority of which (at least 80 percent) goes to countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, and the like. We sent more money to Pakistan in 2010 than we did to Haiti after their disaster. Priorities? Not the meat and drink of the US government man. Edited August 19, 2012 by Ryle

[Falstar [MOD]]

Don't think that Star Trek & warp technology solved all the problems, heck there was an episode of TNG essentially dealing with Native American rights & relocation. The problems are the same, it is only the setting/year/technology that is different. Humans will always be following human nature.

[Pyryck]

Curiousity landed near an area with exposed geological strata. Strata that just might reveal more of Mars past than any of the other craft we have sent there have been able to explore or discover.

We, the entirety of the human race, need to multi-task on all of the different issues effecting the entire race. One of the issues is exploring our nearest neighbors in space to learn more about the neighborhood while developing technology and techniques to help our progress towards to the stars.

This little ball of water with all of it's islands is getting awful dang crowded.

[Saywhat]

Agree huge waste of money... Life is not an accident, good luck finding any traces of life on Mars... I play EnB because I love science fiction, not because I believe in little green or grey men...

[quote name='Phorlaug' timestamp='1344619525' post='61568']
Anyone else think that we are wasting our money in this perticular area of Mars or is it just me?



[img]http://i1193.photobucket.com/albums/aa359/Phorth/RoverMarvinWallE.jpg[/img]
[/quote]

[snowy]

The budgets given to those who would push forward our race and it's understanding of the universe we live in should not be cut to compensate for the mistakes of those greedy few who consider only themselves and how much money they can make during their own short existance. That's my thoughts anyhow.