New Mars rover launched

[rockie1974]

Taxpayer waste! AGAIN!

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

Lets assume the thing finds proof that some hundreds of thousands of millions of years ago there were microorganisms in mars.



So what? Will the fights at McDonald's end? Will that make people think twice before stomping kids to death during the first minutes of black Friday?

You're trying to use a hammer to write a novel.

 

[Benjammin]

hahahah, but it's better than we have any right to expect, no? I mean, with an average distance of 140 million miles to cross, that's pretty damned good.

I'm not seeing eye to eye with you on this, I'm not a gambling man but 65% sounds like shit odds to me. Putting 2.5 billion dollars on the line, why, so we can further verify there is no life and no water? with a 100% success rate it would still seem impractical to me.

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

I'm not seeing eye to eye with you on this, I'm not a gambling man but 65% sounds like shit odds to me.

You'll notice that the recent missions seem to be enhancing the success rate.

Putting 2.5 billion dollars on the line, why, so we can further verify there is no life and no water?

How much is knowledge worth, to you?

To come down from the exalted to the practical, here's a list of inventions accredited to space exploration:

Kidney dialysis machines
Computer-Aided Tomography (CAT) scan
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
Freeze-dried food
Disposable diapers
Rotary blood pump
Fiber optics
Satellite dish
Bar codes
Ear thermometer
Fire-resistant fabrics
Smoke detector
Thermal gloves and boots

[see also http://wxerfm.com/blogs/post/bolson/2011/jul/21/inventions-space-race/]

... and of course the Internet on which you're posting these objection would not be world-wide without satellites ... and the microprocessors your computer is using. And the fiber-optic lines many networks now use.

with a 100% success rate it would still seem impractical to me.

Aside from the practical benefits listed above, the point must be made that there is no way we can know exactly what will be discovered, learned, or invented in exploring space. To automatically write it off as impractical seems to me to be short-sighted.

One day humanity will either need to limit its population, with all the evil that that implies, or it will need to colonize space. Myself, I find exploration worthy simply for that long-term goal -- the avoidance of evils the likes of which no person should tolerate -- alone.

 

[Benjammin]

how much is knowledge worth to me? You've convinced me you're in favor of exploring Mars, Thump, but I dont think that was ever in question

 

[hipofutura]

Thump, I'm with you in spirit. But, the rail road industry was using bar codes (of a sort) back in the 50's.

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

how much is knowledge worth to me? You've convinced me you're in favor of exploring Mars, Thump, but I dont think that was ever in question

No, it wasn't. I just don't understand not wanting to learn more.

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

Thump, I'm with you in spirit. But, the rail road industry was using bar codes (of a sort) back in the 50's.

Well, in way punch-cards are an analog form of them.

 

[hipofutura]

.

 

[Benjammin]

No, it wasn't. I just don't understand not wanting to learn more.

It seems what you don't understand is me or my position. I never said I was against learning, or space exploration, I'm not sure where you got that from. What I am against, is what I see as a frivolous waste of money in the continued exploration of Mars. You don't see it that way, I do, c'est la vie. You ask what is knowledge worth to me? 2.5 billion dollars would go a long way in the US public school system, it seems to me, if knowledge and learning really were a priority. But yeah, Mars is important too

Not only that but the Spirit and Opportunity Rovers that went there in 2004 were designed for only 30 to 90 days of service......Many instruments on both of them are still working today....7 year later.

sounds like a perfectly good reason not to send more

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

It seems what you don't understand is me or my position.

No, I understand it. I simply don't agree with it, which is a different story.

I never said I was against learning, or space exploration, I'm not sure where you got that from. What I am against, is what I see as a frivolous waste of money in the continued exploration of Mars.

Yeah, I see that. I understand that your priorities are different than mine.

You don't see it that way, I do, c'est la vie. You ask what is knowledge worth to me? 2.5 billion dollars would go a long way in the US public school system, it seems to me, if knowledge and learning really were a priority. But yeah, Mars is important too

That's pedagogy -- teaching. What I'm talking about is learning, about the Universe we inhabit. You can throw all the money you want at schools which misspend it anyway -- that's not going to teach us a single thing about the possibilities of mining on Mars, or its use as a water/fueling/base station, and so forth.

sounds like a perfectly good reason not to send more

You apparently missed his point, Ben; those probes lasted 24 to 30 times longer than their design anticipated, and returned literally thousands of times more data than had been anticipated. They were more cost-efficient than anticipated.

 

[sonar1]

NASA's budget is a pittance compared to defense.

The whole Mariner project (sending probes into space, taking pics as they passed Saturn and Jupiter before surveying one of their moons or two, etc., back then) was 1/10th the projected cost over-run on the first B-1 bomber.

http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/mars/mariner.html

 

[Benjammin]

You apparently missed his point, Ben

I understand his point, I just don't agree with it, which is a different story

 

[Roberteaux]

The thread title made me think they were sending a dog to Mars.

--R