backbreaker
Master Don Juan
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/gallery/P_LORRI_FULLFRAME_COLOR.png
closest picture of pluto ever taken. will be closer tomorrow
closest picture of pluto ever taken. will be closer tomorrow
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Pluto - blew my mind too, waiting anxiously for the high-resolution pic.backbreaker said:keep in mind they sent this space shuttle out 9 years ago lol. Before the crash / mini depression and cost 700 million dollars..77 million dollars a year basically. Our national budget this year is 3.8 trillion dollars. which comes to 34.2 trillion dollars over 9 years which means that it cost 0.000002 of the national budget
When they learn they can get minerals and fuel from other planets, they won't have to keep killing our own planet.Espi said:I understand fascination with outer space, but I'm not convinced the money is worth the time and the expploration. I'm not sure what they're going to find out there but I guess as long as the government and the rich want to continue spending billions of mainly taxpayers money, there's really nothing that's going to be done about it. - shame that all that money that we're spending above us can't be somehow spent here on earth.
I always think it's kind of funny when NASA and the government releases these feel good stories that somehow everybody is supposed to be just thrilled that we can see Pluto.
Espi said:I understand fascination with outer space, but I'm not convinced the money is worth the time and the expploration. I'm not sure what they're going to find out there but I guess as long as the government and the rich want to continue spending billions of mainly taxpayers money, there's really nothing that's going to be done about it. - shame that all that money that we're spending above us can't be somehow spent here on earth.
I always think it's kind of funny when NASA and the government releases these feel good stories that somehow everybody is supposed to be just thrilled that we can see Pluto.
I don't think it's so much about pictures as it is about building and keeping the technology alive to pull this sort of thing off. Like Julian says, if mankind is to continue to survive, at some point we are going to have to get off this planet. In order to that, we need to keep expanding our knowledge, technology, and abilities. Sure, it's probably a very long shot, but it's our only shot.bradd80 said:Just not sold on the idea that a few dazzling pictures of frozen rock are worth the incredible cost.
It is inevitable that humans will get off this planet and live elsewhere, UNLESS we destroy ourselves first. Besides, you present a false dichotomy; the US can focus on more than one thing if it wants.bradd80 said:Instead of spending money on how to get off this planet, I think the money would be better spent figuring out how to keep living on it.
The United States is $15 trillion in debt, and spending billions of dollars on probes that take pictures of frozen pieces of rock in space in the hope that one day we can avoid our problems on earth instead of actually trying to solve them is in my opinion, not the best solution.
I think focusing on practical objectives should be the direction until the economy turns around.
Pffftt. Your entire existence, use of technology, your "essentials" today, all came out of work that looked like "taking pictures of ice" at the outset.bradd80 said:on probes that take pictures of ice.
Whether -you- agree or not, the fact remains: There are many other expenditures that would be up for discussion before it came down to the meager budget of the Pluto mission. Without any facts or quantitative comparisons, you sound just like the Lebowski dude if you try to take shots at how the taxpayer money is spent. There are dozens of unnecessary expenses before it comes down to messing with NASA.As for expenditures on sports stadiums, how people choose to throw away their money is up to them and I don't agree with wasting billions on a sport stadium any more than I agree with spending money on expensive machines that take nice pictures.
As Boilermaker pointed out, a lot of useful and practical inventions have come out of the space program. If you want to shut down spending to erase the debt, that's an admirable view, but I'm not sure that shutting down the growth of our technology would be so beneficial.bradd80 said:Incorrect: I never presented a false dichotomy as I never stated that the US cannot focus on more than thing. I merely stated that it would be imprudent to spend billions of dollars on probes that take pictures of ice.
Well, the wealthy will always be better off, but sometimes the "little people" can benefit too. But maybe the survival of mankind is like throwing a bunch of sperm at a uterus - not all of them are going to make it. But as long as one survives, so does mankind.Espi said:And who is going to control and profit from the distribution of these minerals and fuels? Is this going to make the world a better place for the masses, or for the wealthy
We WILL have to get off this planet at some point. Hopefully it will be far in the future. The sun will inevitably go nova, for instance. Chances are, humans will be extinct by then. But if not, we're going to have to rely on space exploration. And maybe the key will have more to do with advances in suspended animation than in speed. It's all a long shot, but it's the only shot we have.Espi said:And I respectfully disagree about the need to get off this planet. We just need to make changes to this planet.