Why send rockets to moon, mars,etc.?

Question

Why do we spend so much money on manned and un-manned space slights when so much can be learned about our universe in other ways?

Such as: Large telescopes in orbit, building accelerators, etc.

Answer 1

A lot of people will give you the "man as explorer" myth. Its not true. Throughout history very few individuals have ever gone further than about 20 miles from home. Explorers are rare oddballs. A lot of the answer stems from simple inertia. Before WWII there was extremely little government funding for scientific research. It wasn't considered governments role. During WWII and the cold war funding for science skyrocketed. After the development of the atomic bomb (largely accomplished by refugee European scientists) Americans considered themselves the scientific lords of creation. When the Russians launched Sputnik ahead of us, it was a major blow to our prestige. Huge amounts of money were thrown into science education and scientific projects.
Big science is also big money. Companies have to build these things and this means jobs. Politicians like to promote jobs for people in their districts. So long after the space race ended, companies still exist, voters have jobs, and politicians still get reelected based on money being poured into scientific endeavors.

There is absolutely no way this scientific frenzy will benefit anyone except for jobs and political longevity. The other planets are utterly worthless. Yes, the sun is slowly heating up and in a hundred million years or so all life on earth will slowly die off, but the technology we are using now is too pathetic to be of any use in escaping that fate. Escaping that fate is very likely impossible.

Answer 2

No telescope or any other remote sensing instrument can ever tell us as much about the Moon or Mars as people or robots that actually go there. And the flights, especially the unmanned flights, do not cost as much as you are thinking. Most of the NASA budget goes to the space shuttle and space station. The unmanned flights are a small fraction of that cost. And the military spends twice as much as NASA on space, for things like spy satellites, star wars and GPS, although GPS has since been made available to civilian use, and not just for Americans, but the whole world. Isn't it nice of the U.S. military to spend billions of dollars building and operating a satellite based navigation system and then just giving the capability to the whole world for free!

Answer 3

WHY HAS INDIA despatched A ROCKET TO THE MOON? initially, get your question suitable! that's a satellite tv for pc no longer a rocket. we've landed a probe on moon too. Secondly usa does not very own the international or the area. usa and american think of that they are the ultimate in the international. properly they are no longer, they was the ultimate skill of the international yet now they are between the ultimate. usa concept they have been the ultimate and went to war with international places, lost trillions and despatched it is human beings and different international places into bare poverty. India did this to teach our element. we at the instant are between the ultimate international locations too. India have a extensive say in stuff merely like the US. even nevertheless we do have some inner problems, we are between the ultimate international locations in the international. The Indian flag has been dropped on moon and this shows how we are in the elite club of international places that have achieved this. Why did US try this- to attain attractiveness. India have achieved basically for an identical reason. US have no skill or authority to renounce a rustic from sending rockets or missiles even. in the event that they did, they could have captured RuSSIA and China. Us have long gone down. the rustic is in shambles as a results of their OVER AUTHORITY of the international. final remark. that's INDIANS no longer PAKISTANIS.

Answer 4

I am guessing from what I have been hearing is that they are doing that because scientists want to learn more about other planets and they want to see if life can or has ever existed. Plus, this is also so they can discover new planets and solar systems, also so they can explore the planets and other stuff in space without having to send astronauts into space for many months or years. I don't know if you have heard but they have recently discovered that there are about 12 or 13 planets in our solar system. They made Pluto's and Saturn's(i think) moons into planets and also an asteroid. You should go to NASA.com to do some research or you can always google (or you could use whatever search tool you use) to find out why they do this and you can get really good answers. I hope you find what you are looking for.

Answer 5

The sciences of space study and exploration go hand-in-hand. All branches contribute towards and compliment each other for a combined learning.

It is like saying 'why have multiplication when addition, subtraction, and division work just fine'.

Sure there are things that are learned from telescopes and accelerators. This does not mean that we should simply limit ourselves to these things and not use other available technology to learn things which telescopes and accelerators are incapable of teaching us. Rockets and probes and spacecraft exist for very good reasons. They supply knowledge that cannot be gained in other ways.

Probes give us detailed data on the chemicals that exist on planets and moons and in the gasses of the Solar System and it's surrounding photosphere. Hopefully, by 2015, also the gasses of interstellar space. Probes send back data on the magnetic field of Earth and other planets and the Sun. Probes land on asteroids to give us a better picture of how to divert their orbits if the need arises. Probes give detailed pictures and composition data about the other planets and moons of our Solar System that telescopes could never provide. Probes can enter the atmosphere of Venus and land on the surface of Mars to provide scientists with valuable information that could not be obtained any other way.

I am not going to go into all of the technological advancements which the space program has given back to America and the world. From computer technology to medical advancements. One has to be ignorant to not notice how your daily life has been affected and improved because of the space program.

Space exploration has yielded advances in communications, weather forecasting, electronics, and countless other fields. For example, image processing technologies used in lifesaving CAT Scanners and MRIs trace their origins to technologies engineered for use in space.

All this return is provided to persons like you for less than 1 percent of the Federal budget. Our Nation's investment in space is reasonable for a tremendously promising program of discovery and exploration that historically has resulted in concrete benefits as well as inspiring Americans and people throughout the world.

Google it for yourself or use these. Technological benefits for the average person are abundant. All you need to do is look around you each and every day to find them.

http://www.thespaceplace.com/nasa/spinoffs.html

http://www.spacecoalition.com/benefits3.cfm

Telescopes and accelerators alone could never have provided us with such knowledge and benefits.

Answer 6

1) To learn what is out there first (or second) hand
2) To satisfy our innate need to explore, to see what is beyond that next hill

Think of it this way -- do you purchase everything you buy all year long online? Groceries, clothing, water, books, games, automobiles, entertainment, etc.? Do you ever attend a sporting event, or a concert, or go to a movie, or the theater? Do you ever take a test drive in a prospective new car? Do you go to the store to try clothes on, rather than just order from a catalog?

Why? Theoretically, you can do it all from the comfort of your home. But there is something inherently more satisfying about being AT the concert or the ballgame or the show, rather than just seeing it on television or on a DVD. there are some questions you just CAN'T answer without physically being there.

That is why we explore in person (or by surrogate, in the cases of robotic explorers), rather than exclusively by long-range detection devices.

Answer 7

Right, why waste all that time and money trying to learn things that nobody needs to know? We should all just stay safe in our nice, lukewarm caves, and let the future take care of itself.
Say, what's that big thing up in the sky? I never noticed it before! It seems to be getting bigger, really fast!
KER-BLAAM!!!
Forewarned is forearmed. The more we know about our universe, the safer we are. There is no way of knowing which little tidbit of info might be the one to save our civilization, if that's the right word for a society with people like you in it. You should be asking, "Why is NASA's budget less than 1% of the overall federal budget, the SMALLEST program in the federal budget?"

Answer 8

Because...

(a) many things cannot be learned through the use of telescopes and accelerators...for example...we can learn basically nothing about biology or geology by using telescopes and accelerators

(b) there is more to be had, more to be gained, more to enjoy in this universe than can be accessed with the equipment you list. Exploration enriches in its own right.

Answer 9

If we hadn't sent rockets, oversea phone calls would likely cost about $30.00 per minute. When I was in the Navy, stationed on Guam, a phone call to my grandfather (who was in the hospital) cost a minimum of $12.00 then (1968). No satellite television. None of the fancy boxes showing exactly where you are. All are made possible by satellites.

Most of what we learn we then learn to apply in practical applications. Anti-matter? It exists and is used in some imaging techniques. Imaging on the human body, used in medicine.

Just a couple of points to ponder :)


Best regards,
Jim

Answer 10

to better our technology and to explore, to see if we are alone or not, to find new resources, to find a new home world once ours is gone or our sun dies out, somethings can better be explored in space, to prove to ourselves and anybody we come into cotact that we have reached point where we can send humans deep into space, not just to the moon and back but to mars and beyond. this will be something all man can take great pride in, the world will for a long time maybe even forver have problems, when will it be the right to fund nasa and other orginizations like this. the world ill always have problems, look at history and look at now, the world is still screwed up. its better to be a part of this now than to be sorry later