Obama: "I am 100 percent committed to NASA and its future." - Polidicks

Those things are just strange offshoots that are result of working toward a much larger, much more useless goal. There still isn't a reason as to why NASA should take priority over fixing the real problems in the US at this moment in time. NASA would be better off privatized. When there's money on the line, shit gets done.

[QUOTE=Downsider;37589895]Those things are just strange offshoots that are result of working toward a much larger, much more useless goal. There still isn't a reason as to why NASA should take priority over fixing the real problems in the US at this moment in time. NASA would be better off privatized. When there's money on the line, shit gets done.[/QUOTE] Who said NASA should be prioritized? Nobody said that, at all. My personal argument is that they deserve more funding than they are getting, at least enough to match inflation rates. The innovations they are directly/indirectly responsible are proof enough that they are a valuable asset not only to the country, but humanity in general.

[QUOTE=DamagePoint;37587841]It would be practice for a Mars mission more than anything. After 40 years NASA might be a little rusty at this manned space travel thing, it would be a good idea to work on successfully landing a man on the moon and maybe setting up a small manned base there before we try to tackle Mars. I mean all of our technology has changed and there would be completely different people doing it now. So a little practice would be a good thing don't you think?[/QUOTE] Yes it would be good practice, but still what do you expect to achieve by getting people on Mars? Yes it will be a great achievement, but that's pretty much it, much like with Moon. It's not like we can build a home there, and it's not like we're going to find anything significant or interesting; Mars is just a big old planet with a lot of dust and rocks on it. And to kill the buzz completely, you seem to be forgetting that no amount of practice is going to be enough to travel Space efficiently; the distances simply grow far too large.

[QUOTE=Downsider;37589895]Those things are just strange offshoots that are result of working toward a much larger, much more useless goal. There still isn't a reason as to why NASA should take priority over fixing the real problems in the US at this moment in time. NASA would be better off privatized. When there's money on the line, shit gets done.[/QUOTE] Also do you even know what you're talking about, or are you just afraid to admit you're wrong? [editline]8th September 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=Gekkosan;37589923]Yes it would be good practice, but still what do you expect to achieve by getting people on Mars? Yes it will be a great achievement, but that's pretty much it, much like with Moon. It's not like we can build a home there, and it's not like we're going to find anything significant or interesting; Mars is just a big old planet with a lot of dust and rocks on it. And to kill the buzz completely, you seem to be forgetting that no amount of practice is going to be enough if you consider that the distances in Space simply grow far too large.[/QUOTE] Because the technological innovations that come with the feat aren't worth it at all.

[QUOTE=Downsider;37589895]Those things are just strange offshoots that are result of working toward a much larger, much more useless goal. There still isn't a reason as to why NASA should take priority over fixing the real problems in the US at this moment in time. NASA would be better off privatized. When there's money on the line, shit gets done.[/QUOTE] What First off "Those things are just strange offshoots that are result of working toward a much larger, much more useless goal." NO, this is the result of research and testing not strange offshoots "There still isn't a reason as to why NASA should take priority over fixing the real problems in the US at this moment in time." NASA deals with space, it provides JOBS, supports science literacy, and supports schools. That is how America will get better, if people fucking get kids to learn and not become gas station clerks. NASA is only funded with ~15 Billion dollars, this money is not really alot and they get alot of shit done with it. I don't see how NASA would help the US if privatized, what billionaire would support NASA, how would that help citizens of the world if its privatized. You keep talking out of you ass when the usefulness of NASA is right in your face

[QUOTE=Downsider;37589895]Those things are just strange offshoots that are result of working toward a much larger, much more useless goal. There still isn't a reason as to why NASA should take priority over fixing the real problems in the US at this moment in time. NASA would be better off privatized. When there's money on the line, shit gets done.[/QUOTE] Everything DARPA has produced is an offshoot of a military technology, even the internet started as a command and control system. What I'm saying is that figuring out how to allow people to survive in extreme environments likes space, the moon or Mars is going to have [I]a lot[/I] more off shoots that are useful to people here on Earth who're having a hard time surviving than the off shoots that figuring out how to shoot down ICBMs or kill people more accurately from further away than we could before would.

[QUOTE=Bentham;37589931]Also do you even know what you're talking about, or are you just afraid to admit you're wrong?[editline]8th September 2012[/editline] Because the technological innovations that come with the feat aren't worth it at all.[/QUOTE] The minority are worthwhile. I'm not saying that NASA is worthless. I'm saying that there is no reason why we can't be funding research for the problems themselves and getting to the solution quicker rather than working toward a goal that has benefit only in "self-discovery".

[QUOTE=Bentham;37589931]Because the technological innovations that come with the feat aren't worth it at all.[/QUOTE] Be that as it may, we should focus on keeping our planet more sustainable. At least for now.

[QUOTE=Downsider;37589973]The minority are worthwhile. I'm not saying that NASA is worthless. I'm saying that there is no reason why we can't be funding research for the problems themselves and getting to the solution quicker rather than working toward a goal that has benefit only in "self-discovery".[/QUOTE] Okay so you don't know what you're talking about. Thanks for answering my question. Also, you did say they were worthless. [QUOTE=Downsider]To me, the billion-dollar rockets and space stations that are sent up there are worthless in every practical respect[/QUOTE] [QUOTE=Downsider]Frankly I don't see how any aeronautics and space-related research, which is primarily what you can assume they're doing, is going to help anybody in the next few dozen centuries.[/QUOTE] [editline]8th September 2012[/editline] It's funny because you literally used the word Worthless

Pfft yeah okay.

[QUOTE=Bobie;37587965][img]http://chart.apis.google.com/chart?chtt=NASA%20budget%20Vs.%20Military%20budget&chs=740x275&chco=0e3bef,ff0f0f&chd=t:1.8,98.2&cht=p3&chl=2010%20NASA%20budget|2010%20Military%20budget[/img] lol gg[/QUOTE] I want to see that flipped the other way around.

It's not relevant in any way for us to try to get on other planets.

[QUOTE=Gekkosan;37590020]There is no denying that it is a lot of efforts put into a.. questionable cause. It's not relevant in any way for us to get on other planets.[/QUOTE] You forgot the "in my opinion" at the end.

NASA's budget is still less than ½ of a penny of a tax dollar.

[QUOTE=Zeraxify;37587894]1. end all wars 2. increase nasa's budget 3. explore the galaxy 4. find intelligent life 5. space wars[/QUOTE] [URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49SU_IhhNTA"]Reminds[/URL] me of "you can go blue in the face talking about the human race how they got to outer space but it never stopped the wars"

No it's not really an opinion. How is it relevant when the people will still be here, on this planet, in the year 4444?

[QUOTE=Gekkosan;37590039]No it's not really an opinion. How is it relevant when the people will still be here, on this planet, in the year 4444?[/QUOTE] I forgot you could see the future. It's relevant when not only is it a fantastic feat of human creativity and engineering, but also because of the [B][I]technological innovations[/I][/B] that come with the territory, as has been stated multiple times.

[QUOTE=Gekkosan;37590039]No it's not really an opinion. How is it relevant when the people will still be here, on this planet, in the year 4444?[/QUOTE] What if there could be people who aren't on this planet by then, or sooner? Does that seem like something worth investing in?

[QUOTE=Rents;37590068]What if there could be people who aren't on this planet by then, or sooner? Does that seem like something worth investing in?[/QUOTE] I'm not exactly sure of what it would do for us, besides being able to say "Cool we have people on mars, too bad shit is still so damn rough down here." Colonization and other space industries are terrific ideas for when we're ready for it, but I honestly don't think we're ready to go much farther past where we are now when we can barely handle our own problems on earth. I love what the space race did for us, and NASA does need more funding- but running off to space won't fix the problems we're leaving behind us in any timely manner. I'd love to see someone on mars. It's a dream of mine. It'd be such a huge achievement. But you won't be able to get the general public behind something like that until things are moderately okay down here.

[QUOTE=Gekkosan;37590039]No it's not really an opinion. How is it relevant when the people will still be here, on this planet, in the year 4444?[/QUOTE] the point is Earth isn't going to last forever, people won't last forever, UNLESS we leave Earth study space so in the future we can be a space fairing species, It sounds science fiction to you but its not. Combined with the resources that are everywhere in space, knowledge of the universe, and just letting the explorer within us explore.

[QUOTE=evilweazel;37590114]I'm not exactly sure of what it would do for us, besides being able to say "Cool we have people on mars, too bad shit is still so damn rough down here." Colonization and other space industries are terrific ideas for when we're ready for it, but I honestly don't think we're ready to go much farther past where we are now when we can barely handle our own problems on earth. I love what the space race did for us, and NASA does need more funding- but running off to space won't fix the problems we're leaving behind us in any timely manner.[/QUOTE] "Why should we send explorers to this new world across the ocean, we have enough problems here as is. It won't do anything for us besides being able to say 'Cool, we have people in America, too bad shit is still so damn rough in Europe'"

I remember reading that during the original space race, the patents and technology that NASA produced return $7 into the U.S economy for every [i]penny[/i] they received in funding. That to me just speaks tons.

[QUOTE=Bentham;37590057]I forgot you could see the future. It's relevant when not only is it a fantastic feat of human creativity and engineering, but also because of the [B][I]technological innovations[/I][/B] that come with the territory, as has been stated multiple times.[/QUOTE] Sure it's fantastic but there are still people who are not really having a fantastic time. That, plus the fact that people have more than a million year left to innovate, so I have to say it's not really that relevant.

[QUOTE=evilweazel;37590114]I'm not exactly sure of what it would do for us, besides being able to say "Cool we have people on mars, too bad shit is still so damn rough down here." Colonization and other space industries are terrific ideas for when we're ready for it, but I honestly don't think we're ready to go much farther past where we are now when we can barely handle our own problems on earth. I love what the space race did for us, and NASA does need more funding- but running off to space won't fix the problems we're leaving behind us in any timely manner. I'd love to see someone on mars. It's a dream of mine. It'd be such a huge achievement. But you won't be able to get the general public behind something like that until things are moderately okay down here.[/QUOTE] I guess I could sum up my argument in a SMBC comic [img]https://dl.dropbox.com/u/5636656/20101209.gif[/img]

[QUOTE=Downsider;37589704]To me, the billion-dollar rockets and space stations that are sent up there are worthless in every practical respect, so I'm not sure what you're talking about.If you're saying that we need to colonize other planets in order to be successful as a human collective, then please point to the nearest (theoretically) hospitable planet that won't take 1000+ years to get to at in a vehicle that's 25 times faster than the spacecrafts we have today.[/QUOTE] Guess what. The insulation in your car, the MRI in your hospital, the water filter on your faucet, any cordless power tools, your smoke detector, ear thermometers, and even the signal for your television(if you have satellite) was all developed by NASA. All of these things are spinoffs from those "worthless billion dollar rockets". There are also a lot more subtle spinoffs that aren't quite as flashy, but you can go to NASA's web page to learn about them.

[QUOTE=Gekkosan;37590151]Sure it's fantastic but there are still people who are not really having a fantastic time. That, plus the fact that people have more than a million year left to innovate, so I have to say it's not really that relevant.[/QUOTE] Uh, what? Let's not innovate in anything then, ever, since there are still people having a bad time. You know many of these innovations are actually helping people? You know, like most of them? And a million years left to innovate? I don't even know how to respond to the assumption that our species will somehow last a million years.

But it's not like space is the worst possible cause to throw money and resources into. That's not what I'm saying.

[QUOTE=evilweazel;37590114]I'm not exactly sure of what it would do for us, besides being able to say "Cool we have people on mars, too bad shit is still so damn rough down here." Colonization and other space industries are terrific ideas for when we're ready for it, but I honestly don't think we're ready to go much farther past where we are now when we can barely handle our own problems on earth. I love what the space race did for us, and NASA does need more funding- but running off to space won't fix the problems we're leaving behind us in any timely manner. I'd love to see someone on mars. It's a dream of mine. It'd be such a huge achievement. But you won't be able to get the general public behind something like that until things are moderately okay down here.[/QUOTE] Im sorry, how are things so bad down here we can't focus on space? Just because of our shitty politics, how is the US and the other space fairing nations in so much problems that we can't send a rocket up there? We have money for military, a 700 bil expense, but not nasa? We aren't in total chaos like you want us to believe, NASA is half a penny to your dollar.

[QUOTE=Bentham;37590124]"Why should we send explorers to this new world across the ocean, we have enough problems here as is. It won't do anything for us besides being able to say 'Cool, we have people in America, too bad shit is still so damn rough in Europe'"[/QUOTE] Maybe I worded my post wrong. What I'm trying to say is that I'm all for it, I can see what it would achieve. But for the people out there who have such a fucked up life when they're trying to raise kids, pay for a house, bills, all that fun stuff, you won't get them behind trying to go to space for whatever reason. Most people don't see the benefits of it, and it's not hard at all to understand why. I just think the world we're on right now needs a bit of fixing before we try to go anywhere, if just for the sake of getting people to want to go into space.

[QUOTE=Bentham;37590164]Uh, what? Let's not innovate in anything then, ever, since there are still people having a bad time. You know many of these innovations are actually helping people? You know, like most of them? And a million years left to innovate? I don't even know how to respond to the assumption that our species will somehow last a million years.[/QUOTE] Uh, there's no stopping us. We can live in the North pole, and in the equator-area where it's warmer. Basically anywhere on Earth. And there's so many of us. That's why I believe our species will keep on living for generations on end.