The correct number of functional roving space probes to have on Mars is 2. Any country with less is underachieving. (I may be biased.) The team who put Spirit and Opportunity on Mars must be a bit sad to be leaving the spotlight, but the fact that Opportunity continues to function means they'll still have exciting work to do as long as it continues functioning - 8 years after its expected expiration and counting. Meanwhile, I'm hoping that Curiosity finds evidence of life quickly and incontrovertibly. The toys on Curiosity make my mouth water... http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/06/us-usa-mars-idUSBRE8721A920120806 http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/mission/instruments/ http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-08/06/curiositys-science-gear
This photograph depicting a robotic NASA spacecraft in the process of landing on Mars was taken by another robotic NASA spacecraft currently orbiting Mars. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/index.html
Re: subject title: should read SCIENCE, FUCK YEAH, cuz 3/4ths of America is trying to drag the other 1/4th back to the Bronze Age. Without our permission, I might add.
Unimaginable amount of dollars spent on sending a probe on Mars to get some soil for tests that will never be useful. AMERICA, FUCK YEAH.
Because we should waste money on what instead? I'm sure you have a "better" cause. Naysayers always do. Should we shave the whales? Feed the homeless so they can reproduce more homeless? Do enlighten us as to your superior plan to spend money we'd otherwise wank off in space over?
And spending 15.2 billion to watch people play games in Loldon really helps to feed the poor too? It is a proven fact that space exploration and the technologies developed for it has benefited mankind immensely.
Stolen money being used to let big boys play in the cool new sand box. Who could possibly object to that?
I could be wrong, but wasn't some/all/a little of it funded by private sources? Besides: If it wasn't for stolen money taxes, we may not have the internet we love and enjoy today.
Fascism is what you described with your first sentence. As for the net, I'm sure Tim would have had the idea if his funding had come from private sources.
Huh? What? When did privately funding a space experiment/journey == fascism? After all, isn't that a good thing that some/all/a little bit of private dollars went towards this? (Note: I am not sure if or how much was private dollars.) ...and I sooo trust private corps. Like the Telecom companies. IOW: They would have fucked it up way more than any gov. could. Of course I won't defend the government: they love to try to fuck with the net. However with most Telecommunication companies only wanting more money for subpar service, coupled by the fact in most markets they are a monopoly, and I wouldn't trust them to get out of a wet paper bag... Much less "better/create" the internet.
If it was in part funded by government, which is was (isn't this a NASA project we are talking about, otherwise, never mind) then we are talking about what Mussolini, who knew a bit about fascism, calls corporate capitalism. It's really hard to talk to someone who says "The corporations will take over" who doesn't acknowledge that the only reason corporations exist is because the State legislated them into existence. In point of fact, the corporations have taken over to the point they collaborate with government to take away our rights, money and freedom. This is what the government wants. This is what big business and big labor want. This is in no way what you and I want. But the government lies so thoroughly to us that this simple fact is almost impossible to get across to people. Governments create corporations in order to siphon wealth from society.
Or roads, police, other forms of infrastructure, a society where the rights of minorities are protected...
I'm sorry, but I just have to ask this. Why are you an idiot? The fact you honestly believe government=fascism exposes you as such. The World Wide Web was created as a direct outgrowth of ARPANET, which was created in 1969. He didn't invent the Internet. That had already happened long before he came into play. He simply made it usable for average people. If you're an anarchist, just say so. If you truly think "Big Labor", that far-right bugbear, still has any teeth, say so. I'll read it as "idiot who needs to learn more" anyway. These days, "Big Labor" is as toothless as a centenarian great-great-grandmother. There are strong elements of fascism in American politics, but the government engaging in some of the proper roles of government is not the proof you seek. Fascism came to America wrapped in a flag and holding a cross, just as Sinclair Lewis predicted almost 80 years ago, and a mere 33 years before it began to set in.
I'm still a little fuzzy as to how or why NASA (who has lost a lot of funding over the years and is now the bitch boy for the Russia Space Program) is a part of the "evil government" when in fact the government has supported it less and less. That somehow NASA should be eliminated (Don't worry. It is dying a slow, painful death no thanks to the Gov) never mind the fact it has brought us a lot of scientific research, breakthroughs, and developments in our technologies. To be honest: This is a bit of a stretch, maybe over exaggeration, to say "NASA getting private funding == Mussolini Fascism" since NASA is really hurting for cash because the "Evil Government" has all but stopped funding NASA. The rest you said about corporations is true. No disagreement there.
Actually, NASA get help from all over the world, some of it government funded. A guy at my own uni did some months of the coding for the rover, payed by nice Scandinavian tax money. A lot of the work was outsourced to universities around the world. So, yay (for us non-USAns too)!
More like 1/3 has succeeded in holding us hostage,the majority are pulling themselves out of Conservative Christian Land by their fingernails. http://www.theatlantic.com/politics...e-of-gay-marriage-electoral-victories/260787/
And yet, 38% of Americans who were born and raised here would fail the same test foreign nationals are required to pass to become citizens. That's fucked up, and a serious counter to your optimism. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...-newsweek-finds/2011/03/03/ABuHNKDB_blog.html
This thread is descending into faggotry. Let's get it back on track. I was honestly surprised that so many people got excited about this landing. Didn't expect it to happen again anytime soon. Watch this in HD and full screen for best effect. It's worth it
And here's a response to those faggots who say space exploration is a waste of money. btw, that's a shot of the final assembly of Curiosity at 4:17.
We've only gotten an ROI of $7 for every $1 we spent on Apollo, and $40 for every $1 we've spent on the space program. Absolutely crappy investment. Also, learning more about the origins of life and maybe finding a place to put our expanding population is somewhat good. Popular Mechanics even has an article on mining asteroids on the front page of the August 2012 issue, ffs. Even if we had zero return on investment, it would be worth it with the pure science we have learned from it. To those idiots who say we can't afford to spend money on space exploration, I say we can't afford not to. Besides, that money won't leave Earth. It's not being sent into some black hole in space.
Shit, I was hoping that there was a big pit on the Moon full of Apollo money. That would make the Moon Deniers STFU.
