View Single Post
Old 08-30-2012, 07:48 PM   #8 (permalink)
BrianAlt
Senior Member
2023 Marathon Kickstarter Backer2019 Marathon Kickstarter Backer24-hour Marathon 2018 Fundraiser Backer24-hour Marathon 2017 Fundraiser Backer47-hour Marathon 2016 Kickstarter Backer57-hour Marathon 2015 Kickstarter Backer38-hour Marathon 2014 Kickstarter Backer54-hour Marathon 2013 Kickstarter Backer
 
BrianAlt's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Northern NJ
Posts: 4,690
Every species has one main purpose, to continue the existence of the species. Some people may not want to have children, but those are individuals. I'm talking about the entire species. The human race wants to continue it's existence.

Eventually, the Earth will become uninhabitable. When? Probably not for a really long time. But maybe tomorrow. Who knows? As a species, if we want to continue, we will eventually want to branch out to other places, first in the Solar System and then in the Universe. Mars will be the best place to set up a first outpost. In order to do all of this we need to understand "space". We need to figure out what's really there and what's not there at all. If there is water on Mars that we can tap into, as an example, it will make living there a whole lot easier.

All of this will take a very long time. But if we don't start now, when will we get there? Will we get there, anywhere, in time? Who knows. But why not try?

The amount of money given to the space program is significantly less than we use to fund our military.

"NASA's FY 2011 budget of $18.4 billion represents about 0.5% of the $3.4 trillion United States federal budget during the year, or about 35% of total spending on academic scientific research in the United States." Budget of NASA - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"For the 2010 fiscal year, the president's base budget of the Department of spending on "overseas contingency operations" brings the sum to $663.84 billion." Military budget of the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

NASA's budget is 2.8% of the defense budget. That's significantly less.

Even if you think my "survival of the species" argument is ridiculous, should we really worry about something that is 0.5% of the overall budget? Yes, we should worry about it, but only if it gives us nothing. The space budget does the following: 1) it stimulates the economy - many people and corporations get jobs from this money, 2) it stimulates science - even if exploring Mars is useless, we learn things that can be used every day (see below for details), 3) we feel like we've accomplished something - bombs kill people and destroy things, this science builds things and funnels creative energy in a positive way.

And finally, here are a list of 10 things that the space program has brought us that we didn't have before. Would we die without them? Definitely not. But they make a difference in our lives:

10. Invisible Braces
9. Scratch-resistant Lenses
8. Memory Foam
7. Ear Thermometer
6. Shoe Insoles
5. Long-distance Telecommunications
4. Adjustable Smoke Detector
3. Safety Grooving
2. Cordless Tools
1. Water Filters

10 NASA Inventions You Might Use Every Day : Discovery Channel

This is why I think the space program is a good thing.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by slampokes View Post
You could be a terrorist and I would still continue to love you very, very much.

Last edited by BrianAlt; 08-30-2012 at 07:54 PM.
(Offline)   Reply With Quote