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NASA Has Become A Joke
gnomexxx
Member Posts: 2,920
I don't know if any of you guys keep up with the space news that is going on, but I have just become sick of hearing about NASA and their screw ups and failures.
Our space program used to be something that was incredible. We sent men to the moon for pete's sake! Now, it's crap. What it is doing these days is nothing short of boring.
Our space program should be light years ahead of where it is now. If we had kept the momentum of space exploration that we once had who knows where we could be right now? And I'm not just talking about exploration. As many know when we went to the moon there were many great inventions that came about from those trips that we still use today. What would we have now if we had kept that up? Alternative energy sources? New forms of transportation? Better communication technologies? More effective medical advancements? When I think about what we could be like and how we are today I get sad and angry at the same time. Just look at how unmotivated kids are in the field of science! Imagine how inspired they would be if we were building moon bases, or if the Mars trip was within our grasp!!!
When are the American people going to start demanding more from our space program? It's not just the exploration we should be focusing on, but the potential for us to live better, healthier, and more fulfilling lives.
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Comments
It's because they fail to update their systems. Currently when something goes wrong, they must go search on EBay for replacement parts for IBM computers that were made in the 70s/80s.
They need a complete overhaul.
I agree...the only use that nasa should have is taking care of hubble or other telescopes and maybe sending a few probes out here and there. I think we should turn space flight over to the private sector and let competition drive the space race. With that x contest a couple years ago we proved that the private sector can reach space on their own and their drive to make money from space will far outpace nasa's.
There are already companies that want to mine on the moon or develop space cruises or even a hotel up in space....let's let them explore it and save some tax dollars which nasa seems to like to waste for minimal returns nowadays. And also with the downsizing of nasa alot of these brilliant scientists will head to the private sector where the money is.
I really couldn't help myself.
The draft was reinstated 5 months after the moon landing. The space program quickly took a back seat to the Vietnam War and has never resumed its position as the most important issue on the minds of Americans.
We'll get there again, eventually.
I sort of agree with you Gnomexxx. I think you are exagerating the hypothetical technical advances we might have made if NASA had, uh, I guess you're saying that they should have concentrated more on manned missions.
But generally I agree that NASA is wasting a lot of time and money. My big gripe is all money they spend collecting data on things that are currently far beyond our reach. Sure they provide interesting data. But what the hell good is it ever going to do anyone to know, for example, the composition of Titans atmosphere if people never go there?
I agree that NASA should have built a permanent moon base. Everything they do should be about people getting into space and living there. Otherwise all the data they collect, however interesting it might be, is just useless, abstract knowledge for the most part.
At the moment I would be inclined to say that the majority of NASAs funding should go to research on new propulsion systems to make space travel more feasable. Maybe ressurrect the Orion project if nothing else (of course there would be political problems with that).
And some of the projects they have planned, I don't know. They can find all the extra-solar planets they want but what good does it do us if we can't even get people to Mars?
I really couldn't help myself.
The draft was reinstated 5 months after the moon landing. The space program quickly took a back seat to the Vietnam War and has never resumed its position as the most important issue on the minds of Americans.
We'll get there again, eventually.
We only went to the moon to beat the russians. Other than that there was no real desire for a huge space program so we'll never get back to that level again without a major emergency or goal. In fact I would say there is becoming less and less interest in the space program nowadays.
So far, I think everyone in this thread is saying there is less and less interest; my point was that eventually that interest will pick back up. There are still major advances to be made in space exploration, and that itself is a major goal. When Bill Clinton was running for president, a small part of his platform was for renewed interest in NASA (although he was against increased funding). So to say that America's sole interest in space exploration was to combat the Russians (granted it was a driving force), you would be mistaken.
You might argue that finding out what Titan's atmosphere is like possesses no utility for us, but how do you know that for certain without first finding out what is there? Someday, with an advancement unforeseen by us now, we may find utility in the atmosphere of Titan. Knowing what is there ahead of time could provide us with a resource we could use.
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In a few years from now when NASA goes back to the rockets and ditches the stupidass shuttle, things will pick back up. The shuttle was a horrible idea and is the reason NASA has been in this financial slump , too expensive, requires to much maintance, and too many things can go wrong, aka Challenger and Columbia. Why do you think Russia gave up on its shuttle after only 5 years, and China have stuck with rockets?
"There's no star system Slave I can't reach, and there's no planet I can't find. There's nowhere in the Galaxy for you to run. Might as well give up now."
Boba Fett
Nasa should have updated the shuttle years ago. They really need a new form of transportation to space.
the USA spends 5 times on military as all other industrialized nations... guess the countries E-Peen is more important than research.
I find it amazing that by 2020 first world countries will be competing to get immigrants.
NASA was told to stay off the moon after apollo 11. Neil and the other crew saw large inhuman craft near their landing site. Neil said he was constantly turning around because it felt like there was someone always watching him.
You do know that there is one more space shuttle mission planned and then after that for the next 5 years we will have to rely on the Russians to get us into space. What a bad idea.
In America I have bad teeth. If I lived in England my teeth would be perfect.
Is it just me that finds sending people into space stupid? They send some guys into space to do what? Observer some other stuff in space and take some pictures of earth... They also want to send some guys to Mars, why? Because they want to see if there is tiny bacterias living there. Interesting...
But really, when all the various problems with our planet are looking to destroy the planet I think it's better to focus on doing something for our own planet rather then sending some people off to Mars to see if there is living bacterias there. And no, we can't send the whole earth's population into space, it's not even a plausible option.
Our space program does more than just go look at other planets and fly out into space. It prompts the formation of new technologies, it allows new forms of research to occur, it teaches us about our origins, it encourages kids to become interested in learning science because they see what knowledge can accomplish, and it keeps the human imagination alive. The returns from space exploration are incredible.
Yeah, there are problems on this planet, but knowing that we are able to do great things when we work together towards accomplishment gives us new hope in solving those problems. It also gives struggling nations incentive to work on making themselves competitive.
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Our space program does more than just go look at other planets and fly out into space. It prompts the formation of new technologies, it allows new forms of research to occur, it teaches us about our origins, it encourages kids to become interested in learning science because they see what knowledge can accomplish, and it keeps the human imagination alive. The returns from space exploration are incredible.
Yeah, there are problems on this planet, but knowing that we are able to do great things when we work together towards accomplishment gives us new hope in solving those problems. It also gives struggling nations incentive to work on making themselves competitive.
Yes I know it got some good stuff and such. But I still think that we should focus on something else (the environment) for some time to get it going in the right direction at least. After that I think we can turn our heads back to what we used to do, but also keep in mind the problems in the past.
What you describe could mostly be seen as inspiring rather than doing any good in itself except looking cool and inspiring others. I would judge our own planet over the good stuff you get from the space program though. At least for a while.
For me the space program feels like something like a hobby. It's something you by the side of other stuff because you are interested, got the time and the money. You aren't forced to send people into space because of some reason, yet you do it to discover what's out there. The Global Warming (and the Global Dimming too) are problems that we are forced to do something with though.
I think we should leave the hobby for a while and turn on more pressing matters. After we've got a good way on fixing these matters we can turn our attention back to the hobby.
Call me short sighted if you want. But I prefer seeing it as looking further away. If we don't turn our full-heartedly attention to the Global Warming (and the Global Dimming) we will be facing increasing problems in the future. These problems must be handled why they still can be. The space program is expensive, and taking money from it will allow us to get on the right course with the problem.
Hopefully you got the meaning of my post. It became a bit messy.
you just hit the nail on the head, the US sometimes reminds me of a 1337 kid
Our space program does more than just go look at other planets and fly out into space. It prompts the formation of new technologies, it allows new forms of research to occur, it teaches us about our origins, it encourages kids to become interested in learning science because they see what knowledge can accomplish, and it keeps the human imagination alive. The returns from space exploration are incredible.
Yeah, there are problems on this planet, but knowing that we are able to do great things when we work together towards accomplishment gives us new hope in solving those problems. It also gives struggling nations incentive to work on making themselves competitive.
Yes I know it got some good stuff and such. But I still think that we should focus on something else (the environment) for some time to get it going in the right direction at least. After that I think we can turn our heads back to what we used to do, but also keep in mind the problems in the past.
What you describe could mostly be seen as inspiring rather than doing any good in itself except looking cool and inspiring others. I would judge our own planet over the good stuff you get from the space program though. At least for a while.
For me the space program feels like something like a hobby. It's something you by the side of other stuff because you are interested, got the time and the money. You aren't forced to send people into space because of some reason, yet you do it to discover what's out there. The Global Warming (and the Global Dimming too) are problems that we are forced to do something with though.
I think we should leave the hobby for a while and turn on more pressing matters. After we've got a good way on fixing these matters we can turn our attention back to the hobby.
Call me short sighted if you want. But I prefer seeing it as looking further away. If we don't turn our full-heartedly attention to the Global Warming (and the Global Dimming) we will be facing increasing problems in the future. These problems must be handled why they still can be. The space program is expensive, and taking money from it will allow us to get on the right course with the problem.
Hopefully you got the meaning of my post. It became a bit messy.
Godliest,
May I present to you, Neil Tyson.
The short version: space exploration costs us very little. Need I remind you that we are basically setting fire to $11,000,000 per hour in Iraq? When I talk on this topic, I make an analogy: when your disk drive is full, do you go through and take hours to delete thousands of small text files, or do you delete that one big 3 Gb video file you never watch? NASA is a text file on the hard drive of the government.
Original source.
Original Source Of Article.
I suggest you read both of them.
Have a great time changing your world view.
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I'm sorry but I find that too far-fetched, the only way I would believe that Neil Armstrong and co. landed on the moon on the 21st of July 1969 is close-up shots of the moon involving footprints and the USA flag.
We're all Geniuses. Most of us just don't know it.
I'm sorry but I find that too far-fetched, the only way I would believe that Neil Armstrong and co. landed on the moon on the 21st of July 1969 is close-up shots of the moon involving footprints and the USA flag.
This is 2007. I thought all those people that believe the footage was shot in a studio had given up.
"There's no star system Slave I can't reach, and there's no planet I can't find. There's nowhere in the Galaxy for you to run. Might as well give up now."
Boba Fett
I'm sorry but I find that too far-fetched, the only way I would believe that Neil Armstrong and co. landed on the moon on the 21st of July 1969 is close-up shots of the moon involving footprints and the USA flag.
We went to the moon.Now, what was seen when those men landed... well that's up for debate.
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I'm sorry but I find that too far-fetched, the only way I would believe that Neil Armstrong and co. landed on the moon on the 21st of July 1969 is close-up shots of the moon involving footprints and the USA flag.
This is 2007. I thought all those people that believe the footage was shot in a studio had given up.
His signature is actually pretty surprising.
PS. less money on NASA missions and more money on alternate fuels, kthx.
Your argument is like a two legged dog with an eating disorder...weak and unbalanced.
I'm sorry but I find that too far-fetched, the only way I would believe that Neil Armstrong and co. landed on the moon on the 21st of July 1969 is close-up shots of the moon involving footprints and the USA flag.
This is 2007. I thought all those people that believe the footage was shot in a studio had given up.
His signature is actually pretty surprising.
PS. less money on NASA missions and more money on alternate fuels, kthx.
There's enough money for both.
Actually a lot of research concerning fuel cells has been done because of the needs in space...
CLICK HERE TO GET A LIST OF FREE MMO LISTS!!!
I'm sorry but I find that too far-fetched, the only way I would believe that Neil Armstrong and co. landed on the moon on the 21st of July 1969 is close-up shots of the moon involving footprints and the USA flag.
Mmhmm, ya, and George Bush was responsible for 9/11. OoooOOOoooOOOooo Conspiracy!
Serious colonisation of Mars would take at least 200 years...someone would expect us to start working on that.
But I guess...we don't want to go there before we are ready, why waste another planet if we can't manage 1?
Maybe we encounter aliens who told us to remain on our garbage and not infect the neighboring planets...for now...or forever...who know? Not like our officials would tell us that we are lab rats.
- "If I understand you well, you are telling me until next time. " - Ren
Actually, there's two more planned this year alone. And they have even more scheduled next year. NASA has scheduled launches on their website.
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