On Aug 17, 7:24*pm, "Jonathan" wrote:
"giveitawhirl2008" wrote in message
...
We need to stop human exploration and physical enjoyment of the Earth.
Robots can do it cheaper!
Only robots should be allowed to climb Mt. Everest and go on other
such adventures. There is no practical reason to climb mountains.
"Because it's there" is ILLOGIC of the type us STUPID HUMANS are
always coming up with!
Let's stop allowing humans to explore the earth, first! That will open
the way to leave the rest of the solar system (and beyond) to robots,
only, also!
In fact, next time you are tempted to take a walk in the woods, put a
transmitting webcam on top of an RC model car instead, and look at the
woods on your TV or PC! Stop this "personal exploration" stuff, NOW!
You're mixing the issues of personal liberty, with how taxpayers money
should be spent. I have no problem at all with someone going to the moon
and mars. But if they're going to spend my money to do it, they better
use it wisely. Manned missions to Mars will take fifty years and cost
trillions of dollars. While a robotic mission can take as little as three
or four years, and cost millions instead of trillions.
I want to know more about Mars, but I don't want to wait FIFTY YEARS!
When I could find out 99% of the same information in FIVE YEARS!
What do you want? A glorious gilded safari for a handful of people
that'll only serve to discredit, if not ruin NASA, from the costs and
lack of benefits?
Or the data?
What do you want, and what's the best way to get it???
s
" You're mixing the issues of personal liberty, with how taxpayers
money
should be spent"
No, I'm not mixing up personal liberty with spending taxpayer money.
It is a symbolic statement about human, in person exploration, vs.
machines-only.
I know the public has a choice in a free society; that's why this
would have to have the support of significantly more than fifty
percent of the citizens in participating countries. So the idea is to
sell it to the public. Admittedly, the public may never "buy" it. But
it's worth a shot.
Why did we go to the Moon? From the government's POV, it was
essentially a military expenditure as part of the Propaganda/Prestige/
Psychology Front in the Cold War. Beating the Russians was the main
idea.
The American public, and possibly some of the public in other Western
nations, was glad for this beat-the-Russians objective. And the Apollo
program is majorly responsible for technological advances such as the
computer chip, used today all over the world, including in life-saving
medical equipment. The public is glad about that.
The Apollo program created 400,000 jobs. The public, at the time,
probably did not think too much about that but might have been glad
for it, if it had.
But what do most people think of when they remember the first Moon
landing? At least those who are old enough to remember watching it,
live? What makes many gladly celebrate that event?
NOT: We beat the Russians!
NOT: We invented the microchip as a spinoff of this!
NOT: We created 400,000 jobs to get this done!
But rather: WOW! HUMAN BEINGS ARE WALKING ON ANOTHER WORLD!!!
For many, if they are very glad that someone landed on the Moon and
would look forward to things like that happening again, the prospect
of ever further exploration would be at least as thrilling. And there
are those side benefits! Technological advance, etc.
I realize this may never sell to a large enough part of the public.
But it's worth a shot.
---------
jobs, etc.]
http://groups.google.com/group/sci.s...thread/thread/...
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.t...hread/thread/4...
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