Thread: Organics found on Mars!

Originally Posted by honedright

That's it?

I want my $8.00 back

Mars Rover Curiosity Cost Each American $8 - Business Insider

Originally Posted by honedright

I think $8.00 spent on a six pack of craft brewed earthly organics is a better investment.

Seriously - spending $2.5 Billion today, to poke around at martian dirt when people here on Earth are starving, and dying in the streets due to lack of sufficient health care? I doubt people living below the poverty line will be dancing in the streets over this.

Food for thought. NASA and space exploration is one of the reasons we have the technology we have on earth. We need a maned mission to mars imagine what that would bring to this economy. The tech that would be developed and the industry created.

Your right Endofab, that budget is nothing. We can buy 18 seats to the space station for what the president spends going to Hawaii for Christmas. Oh crap I said the C word. I mean winter holiday...don't want to offend anybody.

Originally Posted by 10Pups

Your right Endofab, that budget is nothing. We can buy 18 seats to the space station for what the president spends going to Hawaii for Christmas. Oh crap I said the C word. I mean winter holiday...don't want to offend anybody.

The defense budget is always a soft spot with everyone. But the bank bailouts where more than the NASA 50 year running budget. And what about govt waste and do politicians really need to get paid that much and failed social programs? From Neil Tyson and I am loosely quoting him, "its not that we don't have the money its that our priorities are all messed up."

Originally Posted by honedright

I think $8.00 spent on a six pack of craft brewed earthly organics is a better investment.

Seriously - spending $2.5 Billion today, to poke around at martian dirt when people here on Earth are starving, and dying in the streets due to lack of sufficient health care? I doubt people living below the poverty line will be dancing in the streets over this.

With that attitude, why bother doing anything?

Originally Posted by Bruno

With that attitude, why bother doing anything?

So are you saying that my suggestion that we prioritize spending means that somehow we should just do nothing at all? I don't see how that comment makes any sense. Or were you intentionally asserting a fallacy to discredit my previous post?

Originally Posted by honedright

So are you saying that my suggestion that we prioritize spending means that somehow we should just do nothing at all? I don't see how that comment makes any sense. Or were you intentionally asserting a fallacy to discredit my previous post?

Your argument was that it was a waste because there are hungry people.
By that logic we shouldn't do anything as long as there are hungry people, except feeding the hungry.

Scientific progress always pays off in the long run. And given the teeny amount of money allocated to nasa, there is no reason to play the 'hungry people' card over anything nasa does. DOD spending is orders of magnitude bigger.

Instead of complaining about the 8$ for nasa, why don't you complain about the 100s of $ of your money that was spent on the war in Iraq? You are complaining about cents and ignoring the dollars.

Originally Posted by honedright

So are you saying that my suggestion that we prioritize spending means that somehow we should just do nothing at all? I don't see how that comment makes any sense. Or were you intentionally asserting a fallacy to discredit my previous post?

I am not Bruno but I think he was trying to point out just what you said.. Prioritized spending. This would mean increasing the NASA budget not cutting it off completely. Science and space exploration are what create discovery in this world you take away discovery and we live in the Stone Age. Not to mention it is better for the economy than defense spending or bank bailouts.

NASA currently gets .5 cents from one tax dollar that is for every tax dollar NASA receives one half of a cent. Is that a lot? I honestly thing we could afford 1 full cent but that is just me.

Originally Posted by Endofab

I am not Bruno but I think he was trying to point out just what you said.. Prioritized spending. This would mean increasing the NASA budget not cutting it off completely. Science and space exploration are what create discovery in this world you take away discovery and we live in the Stone Age. Not to mention it is better for the economy than defense spending or bank bailouts.

NASA currently gets .5 cents from one tax dollar that is for every tax dollar NASA receives one half of a cent. Is that a lot? I honestly thing we could afford 1 full cent but that is just me.

Is that what you got from his statement? I'd call that extrapolating, but good on'yas anyways.

So you think poking around on mars might result in a sort of gold rush? The next economic boom? Also, how did you derive that NASA spending is better for the economy than defense spending? Doesn't defense spending create jobs as well?

Originally Posted by honedright

Is that what you got from his statement? I'd call that extrapolating, but good on'yas anyways.

Then please explain how your $8 would be better spent? Taking I to account all the other govt. spending..

Originally Posted by Endofab

Then please explain how your $8 would be better spent? Taking I to account all the other govt. spending..

All the other gov't spending is really the point, isn't it?