I read today that NASA is getting ready to send more people into space, but the article didn't elaborate a reason why. This seems to be the case quite a bit in my experience. Am I just not reading the right sources that can detail a reason, or are the reasons for space travel being kept under wraps?
2007-12-06 04:06:02 · 8 answers · asked by iittghy? 4 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
I have a life, thanks, and no, I am not a homosexual. I'm sorry my curiosity makes you so angry.
2007-12-06 05:00:07 · update #1
The launch today is to add the European Built Columbus Module to the International Space Station. The ISS is mans outpost in Space. The reason we have it is to have an internationally colaborated space research station. We have had a lot of stations in space and these are useful for performing experiments that cannot be duplicated on the ground. The reason we explore space/moon is, as NASA's directive puts it, to learn more about our origin and surroundings. There are a number of reasons for a human presence both in space and on the moon. One of the prime reasons we need to keep exploring and advancing is because we are not doing a very good job at maintaining an equilibrium on Earth and if we keep consuming at the rate that humans do we will eventually need to look for another place to live.
As for space travel being kept under wraps.....this isn't the case. NASA is very public and on the NASA websites you can find all of the information about the missions they are currently planning. Hope this helps.
2007-12-06 04:13:22 · answer #1 · answered by beveridgio 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Like Richard R said, explorers are oddballs and most people are homebodies. However, explorers are the ones who enlarge the world for their race. The homebodies don't do this. And sometimes a government understands the advantages of gaining new territory for homebodies to live in, harnessing new resources for homebodies to live by, or at least getting into a position from which those things can be acquired later.
A very few people with the ability to choose whether, or to what extent, humans will advance into space might appreciate the wisdom of creating a permanent human presence in space. An independent country on another planet, or inside an asteroid could be the means of recovering civilization on Earth after a nuclear war or some other global disaster, so that the learning and technology of mankind are not completely lost.
2007-12-06 05:55:03 · answer #2 · answered by elohimself 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Forget people telling you that man has some urge to explore. Thats untrue. Throughout history people have been homebodies. Most people in history have never been more than 20 miles from home. Explorers are crazy oddballs.
Space exploration today is largely because of intertia from the original space race with the Russians which wasn't really a race.
Shooting stuff into space requires large companies to build the rockets and other stuff. Large companies hire lots of people. JOBS. Large companies earn big profits for their suits and wealthy investors: MONEY. Large companies donate large sums of money to politicians who can then stay in power : POWER. Politicians who recieve such largess vote for space projects..Scientists recieve data from these space probes, at least the ones that work, and the data is then processed, analyzed and then stored, and no one ever looks at it again. And this is all at taxpayer expense.
2007-12-06 05:01:15 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
There is no secrecy at all about space exploration by agencies of the US government, and there is nothing "under wraps." Not sure how you get that impression.
You can find out anything you want to know about space exploration, past, present, and future, at www.nasa.gov.
Have fun!
2007-12-06 11:35:41 · answer #4 · answered by aviophage 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
They usually go to repair the shuttle and conduct experiments. They probably dont go into detail anymore because most people dont care about space travel. I would love to think that there is something strange going on up there that they dont want us to know about, but that probably isnt the case.
2007-12-06 04:09:46 · answer #5 · answered by helplessromatic2000 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I believe that reason can be summed-up in one word: EXPLORATION. Do a bit of reading in the scientific literature, try publications such as Scientific American, National Geographic, and other such.
2007-12-06 04:12:39 · answer #6 · answered by Stephen H 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Man has always felt the need to ex[plore and that is how we learn you can read more about space missions at jpl.nasa.gov and also at space.co0m as well as discovermagazine.com and also atronomy.com,
2007-12-06 04:10:15 · answer #7 · answered by SPACEGUY 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Species survival.
Eventually, the Earth will become uninhabitable for our species either because it will be hit by a meteor or comet or because the sun eventually dies.
Logic says that unless we find a way to survive off-planet, we will cease to exist altogether.
2007-12-06 04:13:05 · answer #8 · answered by lunatic 7 · 1⤊ 3⤋