Mission To Mars

Do you think it's a mighty big waste of the US' resources or do you think it's a great idea?

I like the idea, personally. I'd be scared to death if I was in the captains seat though, as it seems everything can and does go wrong on the unmanned missions so far.

Going to mars now....nope. Eventually yes. But its just a waste of money to go there now. What benifit does it gain us? A bigger deficit? Fix the problems on earth first...then look to the future on these other things.

<img src="http://images.ucomics.com/comics/bo/2004/bo040122.gif">

I think it's a great idea. We've got to start somewhere, ya know.

We are starting somewhere. A space station that seems to have endless problems. If the WORLD can't get that right then I have next to no hope of a mission to mars doing anything great. It would be a 5 year mission...or so.

This idea sounds just as stupid now as it did back in 1990.

I like the idea because they are developing new spacecraft for the Mars mission, eventually curbing the current space shuttles. This will mean that the civilian populations will benefit from the technology in fast air travel, etc. I tend to approve of scientific developments when there is some benefit to the population, rather than just doing it to say we did it or to quench some scientist's curiosity.

But then I'm a bit of a romanticist when it comes to new technology and the future so I'm excited to see what will happen.

And on the fixing problems at home bit, I'm in agreement with it, but NASA's always had that budget and people were doing just fine 5-8 years ago. It just seems that people put themselves in a whole slew of debt during the dot.com race (much like the Great Depression, borrowing against borrowed money, etc...) and after the bubble burst they were in a world of hurt and now they want the govoernment to bail them out.

I don't mean the economy(this will fix itself eventually). I mean the government's deficit that keeps getting bigger. Make some cuts someplace.

I agree that we will get new technology like everytime they go into space and do something new. I just don't think the time is right.

I would rather see that frickin moon base. At least that technology would be more applicable. A self contained environment with some ultra insillation to keep heat in during those cold nights and other things. It would help a hell of a lot more on earth with this over population thing we go going on. Also we can ship people to live on the moon.

I also don't think we should go to the moon yet.

I am so totally glad that I got that email and that I bought my plot of land on the moon for $20. It will be so worth it when the government decides to build on my land and they have to pay me the big bucks. :rolleyes:

Yeah, I agree that the deficit is getting bigger, but I don't know the specifics of how much the space program is using versus other programs. That's one of my beefs with the media, they latch onto an area in our nation's budget and make it out to be a rotten section, rather than showing us the entire picture of how the budget it allocated and letting us decide which section is too bloated.

Originally posted by Flying Mullet
Yeah, I agree that the deficit is getting bigger, but I don't know the specifics of how much the space program is using versus other programs. That's one of my beefs with the media, they latch onto an area in our nation's budget and make it out to be a rotten section, rather than showing us the entire picture of how the budget it allocated and letting us decide which section is too bloated.

Agreed on that one. I just think the government spends too much in every area in general. If they cut a bit from everything then it would be fine.

2/3 of all missions to Mars have failed, and all they're doing is shooting a computer at it. How are they going to find someone who's willing to do something with at least a 66% chance of death?

I'm all for the space program though. The pursuit of science is one of the best things that we can do as a society.

There was someone, I think it was a comedian, who made the comment that Bush should concentrate on matters involving this hunk of rock before focusing on other big hunks of rock in space.

I wholeheartedly agree with that viewpoint.

I say we can spend our money better by sending all the nukes and other WMD to the sun!!!!!

I second that, but we can't send nuclear weapons into the air for fear that they might malfunction and send lots of radiation into the earth (which is why the 'send nuclear waste into the sun' plan isn't good).

I support the mission to mars, but I find their methods oddly stupid. Remember way way back in the day when they tried to drop a probe through the polar ice caps (of course you don't)? Well, both my brother and I knew it would fail, and it did, just like we predicted.

Just land a ^@!(*ing shuttle on the surface just like an airplane would land. Granted you would have to fly a great deal of time to conquer the gravitational pull, but sheesh....

Ah forget it.

I think that the mission to Mars is a cheap publicity stunt to gain more popularity for George Bush before the next election. It's a waste of money, cost/benefit is ludicrously high. What's even better for Bush is that he won't even be power to take the blame when NASA goes massively over budget and money has to be shifted out of health care and schools.

Originally posted by Pureghetto
I second that, but we can't send nuclear weapons into the air for fear that they might malfunction and send lots of radiation into the earth (which is why the 'send nuclear waste into the sun' plan isn't good).
But it worked in Superman 4!

Yeah, it's hard to concieve how the mission to Mars would work, but hopefully we'll get a lot of helpful technologocial advances from it, if anything.

I don't think a mission to another planet would really give us that many more technoloical advances as we have done that with the moon. They will probably use the same stuff but just make it better.

Thats why we need to work on Space Station and Space colonies(on the moon or orbiting earth). Those would bring about more as it is working on a self contained enviornment and what not.

I know! Lets send a monkey to pluto!

This isn't the 60's or Planet of the Apes. Besides if we're going to go that far we should go to Neptune.

I'd rather see that money go to children who die of curable diseases, and research for the diseases we can't cure. That seems like a more worthwhile scientific pursuit.

Atleast we'll beat Communist Russia to the moon.:rolleyes2

Its been what 30 to 40 years since we had a man on the moon? I cant see why not, and where going to get rid of the old space shuttle technolgy in a decade or so..

a mission to mars would be a good example of something that might be good for humanity to undertake as a united earth. international coalitions would help and spread the cost. obviously gwb would love this approach.

Well part of the reason for the push to the moon base and Mars is that China is ramping up their space program so this is becoming another space race of sorts, much like we were in with the russians 20-40 some odd years ago.

Yeah, except now it's like a race between an olympic sprinter and a five-year-old kid. With a peg-leg.

A space program is good, but I think GWB should really focus about the economy more.

Of course I haven't watched the news lately so I'm a bit outdated :eep: .

Originally posted by Darlon
Of course I haven't watched the news lately so I'm a bit outdated :eep: .

Don't worry. This thread is outdated also. But the idea of a monkey in outspace will always rock and never get old.

We should aim for pluto. Harder target to hit and its the outer most planet. Why aim at neptune? Or we could go after the mysterious planet X which may or may not exist. I say we launch a monkey out there to find out.

Planet X exists, they just can't agree as to whether or not it really is a planet. Pluto is not much bigger than our moon, but it has been added as a planet. Planet X is smaller than Pluto so it's being debated right now if it is a planet, or just a chunk of rock, and where the cut-off is.

I read that Pluto likely was a moon of some other planet at some point, but got knocked out of its orbit. There was a huge debate about whether Pluto should even be a planet. Pluto is small enough that it borders on being less than a planet at least in the minds of many people. I didn't know anything smaller than that would even be considered. It's all just a matter of semantics and categorization though.

Sending monkeys into space is pointless because we have computers that can do a better job. I thought they just sent monkeys up in the very beginning to test if space travel was safe for humans, not to actually learn anything useful. It's not like a monkey can do anything in space but look around and make noises and poop itself.

Originally posted by Dr Unne
Sending monkeys into space is pointless because we have computers that can do a better job. I thought they just sent monkeys up in the very beginning to test if space travel was safe for humans, not to actually learn anything useful. It's not like a monkey can do anything in space but look around and make noises and poop itself.
But isn't it everyone's dream to throw poop at the moon?

Originally posted by Dr Unne
Sending monkeys into space is pointless because we have computers that can do a better job. I thought they just sent monkeys up in the very beginning to test if space travel was safe for humans, not to actually learn anything useful. It's not like a monkey can do anything in space but look around and make noises and poop itself.

Umm...Who said anything about learning something from shooting a monkey into outer space at this point? Its just an awesome funny idea ;)

<i>I say we launch a monkey out there to find out.</i> --ed

pwned, ed.

Pluto is the last planet. What's with you people? After Pluto is the Oort comet cloud, not another planet.

Sheesh you guys are sux. rawr

Originally posted by Dr Unne
<i>I say we launch a monkey out there to find out.</i> --ed

Ohh yes Mr. dumbass. I was being serious :rolleyes2

<a href = "http://www.gps.caltech.edu/~chad/quaoar/">Quaoar</a> is WAY cooler than Pluto.

Originally posted by Doomgaze
<a href = "http://www.gps.caltech.edu/~chad/quaoar/">Quaoar</a> is WAY cooler than Pluto.

Ahh space. So much undiscovered. So many chances to create a planet of the apes :D

As another joke. Your right it is way cooler than pluto. Its further away from the sun so it should be a lot colder.

<i>Ohh yes Mr. dumbass. I was being serious</i> --ed

So was I, clearly.

I say we launch a monkey out there to find out.-ed

No first they need make a humanzee (half human, half chimp. Ill leave how they make it to you) Although they would probably mess it up, crash into the earth, mankind would perish for some reason, and there would be a planet of the apes. But some all american hero guy from the 70's would travel forward in time and fight them, then they would fight some lighting guy in the sequal, and then they would go back into the past and go shopping in the comedy third instalment.