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Science & Technology
American Exceptionalism - Mars landing
2012-08-06
Posted by:Large Darling of the Antelope3345

#32  To hell with that - send Bambi and his fellow travelers. One-way ticket only, please.
What the heck do you have against the Martians to inflict Bambi on them?
Posted by: CrazyFool   2012-08-06 22:22  

#31  "We could eliminate poverty by sending the poor to Mars!"

To hell with that - send Bambi and his fellow travelers. One-way ticket only, please.
Posted by: Barbara   2012-08-06 20:50  

#30  We could eliminate poverty by sending the poor to Mars!

ROTFLMAO! I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. Thanks. I needed that.
Posted by: RandomJD   2012-08-06 20:44  

#29  #19 Awwwww, I was gonna say did they bring the Tang?

IIRC a NASA Pert-Offcial said we could possibly see a Manned Spaceflight to Mars widin 10 years [2022].

Iiff our desired future OWG = Space Govt-Order = Federation-Starfleet Command ... Govts-Perts can get their act together + come up wid a positive common, World-accepted consensus on the Sun + available Resources for Deep Space, + also the US' international partners' Space Vehicles don't blow up in flight or on the launchpad, we're a go for Jupiter + outer Planets.
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2012-08-06 20:29  

#28  Excellent! I've always enjoyed your perspectives Glenmore.
Posted by: Besoeker   2012-08-06 19:46  

#27  We could eliminate poverty by sending the poor to Mars! It's pretty much what Europe did a 1-3 centuries ago.
Posted by: Glenmore   2012-08-06 19:20  

#26  Remember this perspective - in 1969 we had half a million troops in a land war in Asia, were smack in the middle of the biggest infrastructure program in a long time (the Interstate highway system) AND we put a man on the moon.

Now we can't do any of those things, because of the never-ending war on poverty, which has made zero progress since 1969 -15% then, 15% now. How many trillions went into that no-win "war"?

I'd pay more taxes to send folks to Mars.
Posted by: Bobby   2012-08-06 18:32  

#25  Besoeker, does your neighbor have a degree in aerospace or rocket-science? If so, then programs like this are a great way to put food on his table.

Furthermore, this program will return more value to you than government dollars spent on unemployment or bankrupt loans to political cronies.

Would I prefer that some billionaire spent the money to build and deliver the rover to Mars and then charged a pay per view fee to watch the show last night. Yes. But, then again would I trust some guy like George Soros with 11 pounds of plutonium? Probably not.
Posted by: rammer   2012-08-06 18:23  

#24  Fried foods are bad for you BP, FLOTUS sez so. Alright, exploring space does have other dividends, I'll grant you that. I would only suggest we take care of life right here during these trying times and worry about life somewhere beyond the moon when we can better afford it.
Posted by: Besoeker   2012-08-06 17:44  

#23  My Tax-Dollars went into space and all I got was this lousy frying pan.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles   2012-08-06 17:38  

#22  Yeah, and "a budget-busting $2.5 billion"? (see previous article) $2.5 billion? Compare that to all the money Bummer has squandered on bogus stimuli and "loans" to Solyndra type cronies who never seem to make repayments. Makes $2.5 billion sound downright paltry.
Posted by: Abu Uluque   2012-08-06 15:08  

#21  NASA is a prime candidate for privatization and crowdfunding.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble   2012-08-06 13:49  

#20  Mission Cost Per US citizen = $7
Investment for Future of Mankind = Priceless
Posted by: Large Darling of the Antelope3345   2012-08-06 13:46  

#19  and don't forget that delicious TANG
Posted by: Frank G   2012-08-06 13:43  

#18  And all of this helps my neighbor find a new job how ?

How many people the program employs?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2012-08-06 13:43  

#17  The space program was worth it just for nonstick frying pans. All the rest is gravy. ;-)
Posted by: trailing wife   2012-08-06 13:04  

#16  #1 And all of this helps my neighbor find a new job how ?
Posted by Besoeker


Almost everything you are using nowdays is a product of the space agency. By law, inventions done by NASA are open for private use. So many of them are in your everyday goods and services it is boggling.

NASA is actually doing a great job at this and this is exactly what they were made to do. The benefit of all their work can be privatized and capitalized. And THAT will help your neighbor find a job and put beans on your table.

This is one of the few things that isn't a waste of money. It is an investment in the future.
Posted by: DarthVader   2012-08-06 12:33  

#15  Well, when ranked against "poo throwing chimps" .... a sensitive topic here on the Burg, I'd have to agree. More study needed regarding cowboy poetry however.
Posted by: Besoeker   2012-08-06 10:10  

#14  lotp makes specific my generic initial comment. And I am confident the future jobs from Curiousity (and curiousity) will dwarf those from expenditures on why chimps throw poo or cowboy poetry festivals, etc.
Posted by: Glenmore   2012-08-06 10:06  

#13  Here is an example of the .... "curiosity" which concerns me.
Posted by: Besoeker   2012-08-06 10:04  

#12  A historical reason to support programs like Curiousity - they are a good place to develop and 'store' during times of political pacifism the scientists and engineers you will need desperately in the event of war.
Posted by: Glenmore   2012-08-06 10:03  

#11  Curiosity required substantial advances in robotic autonomy and its payloads ditto for sensor fusion and processing.

Those advances will move into a wide variety of industries over the next few years.
Posted by: lotp   2012-08-06 10:02  

#10  Beans I know, Latin... not so much. :-P
Posted by: Besoeker   2012-08-06 09:56  

#9  panem et caelum circenses. = bread and sky circus.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles   2012-08-06 09:50  

#8  Life ain't easy, don't expect the government to put beans on your table.
Posted by: Spogum Henbane7455   2012-08-06 09:46  

#7  Let them eat beans.
Posted by: AlmostAnonymous5839   2012-08-06 09:44  

#6  (should of course read "Bread and circuses"...apologies)
Posted by: Besoeker   2012-08-06 09:36  

#5  "Break and Circuses" .....exactly BP.

The "feel good", however laudatory, somehow fails to put beans on the table.
Posted by: Besoeker   2012-08-06 09:22  

#4  panem et caelum circenses.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles   2012-08-06 09:13  

#3  If the government is going to piss away money, I like the idea of doing it on things like this. It employs people - intelligent, talented, and/or skilled people. It's interesting (to me). And things that push the limits of technological possibility generally turn out to have lots of collateral benefits, eventually.
Posted by: Glenmore   2012-08-06 08:53  

#2  And all of this has to do with politics how? Did we forget how to feel proud to be an American?

It wasn't an easy feat to land that thing.
Posted by: Greang Pelosi1026   2012-08-06 08:43  

#1  And all of this helps my neighbor find a new job how ?
Posted by: Besoeker   2012-08-06 08:16  

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