Speculating on what Curiosity may find
- Thread starter Gary7
- Start date
Really the people who complain about NASA wasting money should take a closer look at the spending habits of government agencies here on Earth. The GSA for irony would be high up on that list. NASA isn't part of our defecit problem, at least they have something to show for their money spent.
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Our Defense budget is WAY TOO HIGH, for what we need to accomplish as a nation. But, the military machine is so well ensconced in our government that it's nearly impossible to impose significant cutbacks, especially in a time when large chunks of that money go to contractors that employ people. YET, when enormous percentages of profit go to the wealthy elites, it does beg to question how much good it really does.
We need a NERA, actually. National Energy Research Administration that will pioneer energy technologies, funding various companies in their useful endeavors and conducting its own research as well. The energy problem is far more important than anything else right now.
Anyway, getting back to Curiosity, I think it'll take a lot more work to increase the chances of finding something useful. The first year is probably going to result in "nothing really new."
By the way, I wonder who created that Twitter feed? It's terrible, as the owner posts in all caps. I can't stand that. I refuse to read it.
^ Agreed, but that doesn't mean that jokes about spending billions to look at more light brown rocks aren't funny.
Ditto. I'm all for NASA and what they're doing here, but I still find these Curiosity Twitter feeds humorous.
That's just funny. It's funny seeing the "persona" of the rover as just a cantankerous, pissed off-at-his-job person. Sort of the Dante Hicks of space or something.
It's always interesting to me to hear people say that we should abandon the exploration of space until all problems are solved on Earth. I wonder how many of them live in a spartan studio apartment without a TV or radio or MP3 player or books, and never go outside to eat at a restaurant or see a movie or play or concert or sporting event, and instead buy only enough food to subsist on and spend all of their free time working for charity. Yes, everybody-- including governments and corporations-- should be doing their part to advance and enrich civilization, but the arts and sciences do advance and enrich civilization. Digging up the ruins of Herculaneum, finding the Higgs Boson and exploring Mars are not wastes of time and money; it does no good to put Humanity on hold until Humanity is perfected.
It took more money to make Avatar than to put Curiosity on Mars. Whereas the USA spends how many trillions of dollars on warfare? yeah, this was a drop in the water compared to the shit we waste money on.
I think being able to see our own planet as a bright light in an alien sky is more of an accomplishment than bombing a few more people we don't like.
I think being able to see our own planet as a bright light in an alien sky is more of an accomplishment than bombing a few more people we don't like.
Curiosity cost around 2 billion dollars to make. Avatar cost $237 million to make.
But your point is correct. The US spends a quarter of its budget -about $1 Trillion- on Defense spending. NASA's entire budget is about 1/2 of 1% of the budget, around $18 billion.
Technically, he said to put it on mars, not to build it. So, you're both right.
I love that the avatar and background are a mirror image of the real rover's twitter. Latest post: "THE NEXT PERSON THAT MAKES A JOHNNY 5 JOKE IS GETTING PUNCHED RIGHT IN THE FACE BY MY ROBOTIC ARM."^ Agreed, but that doesn't mean that jokes about spending billions to look at more light brown rocks aren't funny.
Ditto. I'm all for NASA and what they're doing here, but I still find these Curiosity Twitter feeds humorous.
That's just funny. It's funny seeing the "persona" of the rover as just a cantankerous, pissed off-at-his-job person. Sort of the Dante Hicks of space or something.
The people who are now exploring space were once the primates who wondered what the world looked like outside their respective cave, over the next hill. If they hadn't poked the unknown with a stick, we never would have got anywhere as a species. Wanting to know why and how come about everything (thank you Alanis) is one of the great things about human beings.
And then they got up and wandered off into the mist, leaving only their footsteps for us to find eons later...
Yes, exactly. Curiosity and creativity are the noblest aspects of Humanity. We can't put them up on a shelf and forget them.
I can't stand people talking about "shooting money up into space". No, the money stays here, providing good jobs and recirculating through the economy. In fact a lot more of it stays here in the US than in many other industries these days. Space exploration is great for the economy.
Also, I am curious about what they might find. 
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