Space Exploration

[Stewart]

Recently, Britain and the United States attempted to send probes to Mars. Although Britain's effort got lost somewhere - no doubt it floated into Britain's beaurocracy, fallen adrift in an endless cosmos of administration, America's little probe bounced onto the surface of Mars and started exploring the surface. Indeed, a few months later and it's still transmitting information back about rocks, rust, and long gone Martians.

At times, the question is, simply put: why?

Should we, as international influences, be spending millions of pounds/dollars on ventures into space when:

• some attempts fail to make their destination or contact is lost;
• some attempts fail and, at the same time, cost human lives;
• reports usually come back that scientiest have managed to find out that frogs quite like it in space (i.e. there's no immediately obvious benefit)

These points against, or the first two at least, demonstrate that space exploration as we know it now, is not an exact science. It's akin to gambling. Besides, the world we know now is not united. Surely, it would be advantageous to use the money spent on space exploration to rebuild and unite our current world. Cease starvation, cure disease, etc.

However, as humans, we've set in motion the destruction of the planet via such detriments as pollution and deforestation. Space exploration, then, would allow us to find somewhere to re-inhabit. Possibly, even, learn from out mistakes.

So, should we wait and solve the problems of our own planet before we head out into space to try again, or should we head on out into space now and see what we can find?

How do people feel about the billions of dollars being spent on sending exploration spacecraft to Mars

 

[Wabbit]

I think we should. There are many arguments in favor of space exploration that that advocate it.

1) The trickle down of new technologies discovered. Space pushes forward our technologies.

2) The "all our eggs in one basket" argument. We as a race cannot afford to just live on this planet alone. If we don't reach for the stars and establish ourselves on other worlds then we are doomed.

3) The most important reason and maybe the hardest to understand and sell. Because we must dream and wonder. Somtimes, there are just no tangible reasons for the most important aspects in our life. Those things such as: Art, music, poetry and writing! We need those things and I would argue that space falls into this catogary. We need to find ourselfs. We need to dream. We need to wonder. We need the magic and we need to be inspired by something bigger and more wonderful than we have. I think this is the most important reason. What are we if, as a race, we cease to wonder? We cease to explore? We cease to dream?

Regards
SillyWabbit

 

[kskyhappy]

hell yes

i think we should definately be exploring space. not because we've crapped out on this planet but because it's part of the human psyche to be always testing our boundaries.

sure that money spent could be better spent on world poverty, the environment - whatever. but my first port of call there would be stupid wars, lets stop them first.

as well as space exploration i'd like to see better sea exploration, i think we really need to understand how that works better, anybody watch blue planet? i was amazed by the underwater lake. a lake underwater? it was a denser viscous liquid lying on the sea floor it was way cool.

looking for aliens - what about those strange life forms that exist around underwater volcanoes, i think their circulation depends on sulphur dioxide or something rather than oxygen.

so sure lets get out there and see whats happening, i don't think it needs to be manned exploration though.

oops there goes the dinner gong!

ksky

 

[phil_t]

I know you want a serious discussion here Mile-O, so dont take these comments as flippant, i actually mean what i say

We go into space because we can, because its cool, and because it DOES have scientific benefits (research projects up in space have led to a surprising number of technical innovations).

You could just as well ask yourself - why did the Europeans sail across the Atlantic?? And maybe you'd answer: because they thought they were sailing to Asia and wanted a monopoly on the Spice trade. Which is correct - but then ask yourself why they spend millions on space - because they want eventually to set up trade routes and exploit the natural resources that are ABUNDANT in outer space.

So - space - its the future, probably not the near future, but it IS the future, and once weve finished ruining this planet, its our best chance of survival to move on and strip some other planets somewhere out in the cosmos

Phil

 

[Wabbit]

Phil, I can't wait to see Uranus!

I could not help it. You know that, dont you? I had to...

Regards
SillyWabbit

 

[Litany]

I can never make up my mind on this one. While pensioners are freezing to death during winter, while legitimate patients are dying while they wait for beds in the NHS, while our schools and police forces are underfunded, I can't help but think that there are more important things to be spending our money on.

But then, we do get the filtered down technologies and I know I'd be lost without my non-stick frying pan and have you ever had a go of one of those space mattresses? Very comfy.

But if we're exploring space to find a replacement planet, then I'm 100% against it. I don't think we have any business travelling from planet to planet like a plaque of locusts destroying all before it. It's about time we figured out how to live on the planet we have, and until we manage that we shouldn't even think about moving on. We'll just take all the crap with us and never learn any better.

Eventually space will pay off. We'll make it to somewhere with lots of cool stuff for building bombs with, and we'll figure out an economical way of getting it back here and maybe we'll find some cunning new fuel source, but at the end of the day I think we all know the real reason that the governments of this planet keep ploughing money into space exploration.


Space Lesbians. They're out there somewhere, and they're playing vollyball.

 

[Ashlea]

As long as I live in Houston, NASA is a-ok with me and should have all the money they can possibly spend. Right now, they could use some serious restructuring, but I'm sure they'll work through the little issues they've been having and continue to advance science (and the Houston economy).

There's a lot of zero gravity experiments that have been working with superconductivity. Very cool stuff.

 

[RaVeN]

Space Lesbians. They're out there somewhere, and they're playing vollyball.

Damn!!, Sign me up .

And just when I thought they should be spending more of that money on exploring under water and the rain forrests.

RaVeN