Man, I didn't realize how much cowardice and pessimism there was on this board until this thread came up. What is *wrong* with you people? You'd rather see the money spent on what, welfare programs? An investment in space exploration is a GOOD idea! It will create many *high-tech* SKILLED jobs right here in the US, most of which are likely to be very decent paying. It could potentially create high skill manufacturing jobs for the custom systems and components that will be necessary to make such a mission happen successfully.
There's a LOT of good to be pursued in space. There are scientific experiments and processes that simply work *better* in a low or no gravity environment. There's a lot to be said about building a permanent human settlement on the moon, too. It could create a new industry in tourism once a reasonable colony is established and provide a new place for humans to live, on top of the already stated fact that it will be a lot easier to launch a mission to mars from the moon rather than from earth.
On top of that, there are also interesting possible philosophical ramifications as we venture into space and begin to see our world and ourselves in a new way that is both more confident (a welcome accompaniment to achievement) and perhaps a little more appreciative of the fact that we're just one small planet in the midst of an enormous universe where we could explore from now until the end of time and never run out of new things to learn.
Look at the bright sides, guys; there are a lot of them!
Jason
There's a LOT of good to be pursued in space. There are scientific experiments and processes that simply work *better* in a low or no gravity environment. There's a lot to be said about building a permanent human settlement on the moon, too. It could create a new industry in tourism once a reasonable colony is established and provide a new place for humans to live, on top of the already stated fact that it will be a lot easier to launch a mission to mars from the moon rather than from earth.
On top of that, there are also interesting possible philosophical ramifications as we venture into space and begin to see our world and ourselves in a new way that is both more confident (a welcome accompaniment to achievement) and perhaps a little more appreciative of the fact that we're just one small planet in the midst of an enormous universe where we could explore from now until the end of time and never run out of new things to learn.
Look at the bright sides, guys; there are a lot of them!
Jason
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