I'm not a great supporter of the space missions, but then again I don't think they are as bad as people make out.

Yeah, a lot of the tasks that will be undertaken by the people up there could be done by remote using robots and/or sending a few more satellites there.

But, think of the impact that the missions to the moon had on people and the resultant interest that was generated in space travel, physics and any number of other sciences because of what was done. The benefits of having a population interested in science and working it in instead of wanting to be pop stars, movie stars, etc, I think is a worthwhile investment in and of itself.

There are also other things that come with any large scale scientific endeavor, the development of technologies solely for the use in the mission to mars will find a use before, during and after it has taken place.

I am one of a few thousand different physicists currently working on the largest multinational experiment in the history of mankind, the LHC. Yes the experiment is overdue and over-budget but already there are technologies that were developed for it that have already found their way into modern day life and others that will find a commercial application in years to come.

The success of the mission to mars will not solely be based on the mission itself but more so on the longer term benefits from the research that is undertaken for it that would otherwise not be done because there is currently no apparent commercial use for it.

Governments are there to pay for research that would otherwise never be done by companies interested only in their profit margins. If we are to advance as a species there needs to be experiments like the LHC, there needs to be missions to mars and the other planets in the solar system that isn't just done by robots.

Seeing a human being on another planet inspires people in science, I think, like no other sight possible. It did for me when I was at school and look where I am now.

The man's the next Keynes, I tell you. I hope you realize that the United States is on the verge of a recession and that, if we continue in the direction we are heading, economic collapse may be in our future?


I am disappointed that the only example of "any large scale effort that involves science" handy to you was the Nazi empire and wonder if this suggests a stubbornly negative stance on your part towards any significant scientific ventures.


I'm not sure this remedy really helped in your case...


Translation: take an English composition class.

No personal diss, Obi -- I just strongly disagree with where you're coming from in this discussion and the way you tried to make your points. Although my comments/banter may seem harsh and probably rude, I'm kidding you more than anything else.

I should add to mine, that the world has moved on from the point where we should let American alone try to do this.

ESA (european space agency) has gotten itself into a decent state in the past 10 years and the countries within europe have begun to see the benefits that can come from space research.

Its about time the US stopped trying to do it all by itself. It has been shown that the US, Europe, Russia and other countries can work as a team on the ISS (not the best example I know), with modules for the station coming from all over the world and the funding spread between the countries.