The current state of affairs on Mother Earth are abysmal. War, debt, disease, the list goes on. Not to mention the current energy dependence on non-renewables.
If we can somehow extend the "expiration date" of human kind instead, wouldn't that be better than sending people into space, and to possibly create bases on the moon or mars, at this juncture? Why not take care of home matters first?
Keep space exploration alive and well, yes. But with satellites and robotic craft.
There may be some benefit to having a human in space...but what cost justifies that benefit?
This question is motivated upon reading of the death of Van Allen, who advocated against manned space flight.
2006-08-09 09:12:21 · 6 answers · asked by powhound 7 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
the derpressing truth is that no-ones going to bother to even slow the rate at which things are deteriorating. just look at resources. we have enough coal and oil to last another say 100 years, not even that, at current consumption rates. over time, those rates go up. were running out of materials, and churning out more plastic wrappers and disposable nappies than ever before. the planet is doomed. :p
2006-08-09 10:47:45 · answer #1 · answered by atolm4 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Arwyayan, half a brain would be a vast improvement.
I remember a time when there were no microwaves, (imagine waiting 45 min for a TV dinner), phones had rotary dials and were unable to move anywhere, air bags were a new, untried technology (took 25 years to get them in cars) and when you looked under the hood of a car, there was not a computer chip to be found (and they got 12 mpg and nobody cared). The space program is the only gov't program to ever pay for itself. Robotic exploration of space is fine, but computers are limited by their programming, and cannot react to unforseen emergencies (or oppertunities) in the way that a human can. Instead of getting rid of the space program, what needs to happen is that it needs to be given a specific task, (manned flight to mars, colony on the moon, functional space station, etc.) so that all it's energies are directed toward that goal, and we will reap the benefits of what we learn in making that goal a reality.
2006-08-10 04:59:44 · answer #2 · answered by nightwulf@verizon.net 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Fleeing into space makes no sense; there's 6 billion people on this rock, and we have problems enough putting 6-8 into orbit. At an estimated global population growth rate of 80 million people a year, we'd need to put almost 220,000 people into orbit just to stay where we are- every DAY. Going into space isn't a solution. It's not even viable- we haven't put a person on the moon since 1972. Ray Bradbury's "2001" put us in orbit around Jupiter 5 years ago. It's just too expensive: we have to fix things here. Besides- we're not done discovering everything about THIS planet.
The energy cost is too much. The technology is beyond our current scope. Leaving the planet right now- even a tiny fraction of a percentage- isn't viable. It's pure science fiction.
2006-08-09 16:21:23 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Wish people actually had half of a brain...
What did the Moon landings do.. It set a nation on the path to recovery during and after the Vietnam War...
Also, we have gained countless advances from the exploration (manned) of space in textiles, medicine, not too mention gadgets and gizmos galore, teflon, GPS... on and on...
Also, the only 1% or less of the US budget is spent on spaceflight (NASA), compare that to 30% on the military... if you really have no basis for what you say dont just regurgitate what mommy and daddy and the idiots of America say.
Space exploration is an important and necessary act. Without advancing our knowledge we remain at the same stage in our mind's evolution... More knowledge = More tolerance...
The more we learn, the better things will get here at home...
2006-08-09 17:28:04 · answer #4 · answered by AresIV 4 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I totally agree with you. I think it would be much better to think about ways of improving conditions here on earth instead of using the money to investigate into unknown affairs.
Personally I believe that there is more to be discovered on Earth if more effort and money is put into it as compared to and equal amount and time spent exploreing space.
2006-08-09 16:41:11 · answer #5 · answered by falexge 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
We're never going to solve all of mankind's problems. Trust me, we've had thousands of years to work on it and we haven't gotten it right yet. Best thing to do is colonize the planets so we don't have all our eggs in one basket.
2006-08-09 16:39:59 · answer #6 · answered by tkron31 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋