Quote:
Originally Posted by SecretMethod70
There are plenty of tangible reasons for space exploration - primarily the advancement of science and the eventual continuation of the human race (yes, this is very long term). People often seem to forget the intangible reasons as well: the human spirit and curiosity.
It often seems to me as though people forget it is actually possible to do more than one thing at a time. People say NASA is a waste of money because of all the problems we have here on Earth, but supporting NASA has nothing to do with not supporting the search for solutions to our current Earthly problems. It's merely a recognition that, yes, it really is possible to deal with poverty and explore space at the same time.
To put it in perspective: NASA's 2009 budget was $17 billion (about 0.6% of the federal budget). The Global War on Terror budget was $145 billion, plus another $515 billion for the Department of Defense. (Plus even more appropriations spending on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.) We could literally DOUBLE NASA's budget by cutting military spending by a mere 2.5%. $34 billion a year should be enough for NASA to fund a timely moon-to-Mars mission, and we'd still have plenty of room in the federal budget to redirect more funds toward other important current issues.
I have nothing wrong with privatized exploration, but I don't see that as an excuse to stop government sponsored exploration. Getting to Mars, for example, is just something private companies are not capable of at this time. Even the moon would be quite a stretch.
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Precisely. Also, though. Imagine the things you could BUILD in space that would be useful on earth.
Imagine building an entire hotel without any support structure whatsoever (because there is no gravity, ya'll.. No wind either.) Crappy example, yes, but there are bound to be benefits to zero-G construction, or absolute-zero construction, or construction within a vacuum that have not been realized yet.
I found my niche already.. I'll build the tools to do the work in space. Something way better than that gay battery powered drill that cost about 100k.