echidna

Yesh, besides, it gives Nike & McDonalds more time to get there first.

elwoodblues

What? If it doesn't hit, it has no effect, except maybe to scare the bejesus out of us and knock some comm satellites out with trailing asteroids. Otherwise, either it hits, or it doesn't. Very binary situation.

Amen-Moses

At a few hundred miles a planet killing asteroid would strip off the oxone layer for one thing!

Amen-Moses

beyelzu

But if I dont automatically take the as long as its not so and so position. I do like america, hell I love it. I also recognize that america is not always on the right side. However, I have never said anything like, as long as those damned british dont do it first.

Ps. who is going to pay for a manned mission to mars, its either going to be the us or europe, maybe japan. The first world nations, how is that going to unite the world in anything except propaganda.


for instance the international space station, who really funded it?

Krieger

All space-faring nations would contribute.

Also, apparently you haven't read much about the Chinese space agency. They're going to put a man in space in a few years (only to be the 3rd nation to do that) and then they want to put a man on the moon in like 2010 or 2015. And India wants to send people to space as well.

FairFiend

Just Another Infidel, thanks for the link.

I don't think the space program should be shut down, nor sending people into space be completely stopped. But at $500 million per launch, what is there left to learn about weightlessness?

We should only send people into space unless there is a compelling reason to do so. I'm sorry but I don't believe seeing how ant colonies react in zero G is compelling enough. We cannot throw ungodly amounts of money for scientific progress that may or may not occur. Right now, there hasn't been enough of a return on our investment. We need to find a way to simulaneously do experiements in space without having to risk people's lives to do so.

With current technology, going anywhere far from planet earth would be a loooong journey. Any technology that would help us get to where we need to go soon can just as easily be developed right here on solid ground.

The ISS and space shuttle launches I'm sure are loved very much by aerospace contractors. And although it would be nice for the ISS to unify humanity, I doubt anything could unify humanity let alone the ISS.

Found this article for those interested:
The Space Shuttle Must Be Stopped

beyelzu

sure, they can help put a man on mars in about 40 yrs or so. I was kind of hoping to see it in my life time.


but what the hell, as long as its not a us citizen right. at least the indians and the chinese arent american so they should get to go to mars.

maybe they will let us pay for it.

that would be nice.

beyelzu

apparently you havent read much about the us space agency.

they put a man in space and on the moon 30+ years ago.


the point is we are in better position to do it, so why shouldnt we. because of some sort of weird space monopoly that you dont want america to have?


does that actually make sense to you?

echidna

Great post & link FairFiend. I thoroughly concur.

Krieger

LOL, the US is not in a better position to put a man on Mars. The Chinese have a desire to make history, if they put a man on the moon in the next 10 years, they could put a man on Mars in 10-15 years after that. Considering the political climate (under both Democrat and Republican administrations) in the US, NASA will not get the funding for any manned missions to Mars. That is why it would be far better that from the start, any manned missions to Mars should be developed by an international coalition of space agencies.