NASA and Space Exploration

[s09119]

I was recently linked by a friend to a video on YouTube. Someone decided that NASA's inability to promote its work and space exploration at large to the public was a travesty. They thought that such programs were instrumental to the future of humanity, and that the space agency's failure to popularize them again was a major problem. So they produced this, using quite beautiful imagery, minimalist but moving music, and one of Carl Sagan's most famous and enduring quotations. To put it simply, the video moved me.

So I think, our sci-fi love aside, we need to have a serious discussion. With all the problems on Earth, with all our poverty and war and famine and disease, is it necessary or even right to give greater funding to organizations like NASA? Or, on the flip side, knowing our species is quickly eclipsing our homeworld's ability to provide for us, is it imperative that we find new ways to explore and hopefully colonize the stars?

[Ukko]

I think it does deserve the funding. But on the other hand i dont believe its the soloution to our problems right now. Because i think (Im no expert) the ability to colonise space (Other worlds/stations etc) to the extent that it begins to ease our popuation and consumption of earths natural reasources is a long way off. I personaly believe it would take global effort to achieve something on that scale.

[Cold Fuzz]

I have always been a strong proponent of the advancement of science and space exploration. However, I think we're reaching a critical phase where our technology is greatly outpacing our humanity. We'd be fools to believe that space exploration is the key to solving all of our problems here. The technology isn't the problem. We ourselves are the problem, or more specifically our inability to get along with each other and our inability to properly manage the resources of our homeworld. If we can't get our collective act in gear here on Earth, we'll surely botch it if we go to the stars prematurely.

[General Jumper One]

I have always been a strong proponent of the advancement of science and space exploration. However, I think we're reaching a critical phase where our technology is greatly outpacing our humanity. We'd be fools to believe that space exploration is the key to solving all of our problems here. The technology isn't the problem. We ourselves are the problem, or more specifically our inability to get along with each other and our inability to properly manage the resources of our homeworld. If we can't get our collective act in gear here on Earth, we'll surely botch it if we go to the stars prematurely.

That's why we will eventually have a WW III and then it will all change.

[Cold Fuzz]

That's why we will eventually have a WW III and then it will all change.

With over 70 million deaths in WWII, I think it's safe to say that it's in everybody's best interest to avoid another such conflict because another world war with our current level of technology would likely result in hundreds of millions of deaths.

[General Jumper One]

With over 70 million deaths in WWII, I think it's safe to say that it's in everybody's best interest to avoid another such conflict because another world war with our current level of technology would likely result in hundreds of millions of deaths.

And the survivors would get along a lot more than the current population is.

[bradly08]

With over 70 million deaths in WWII, I think it's safe to say that it's in everybody's best interest to avoid another such conflict because another world war with our current level of technology would likely result in hundreds of millions of deaths.

"If the Third World War is fought with nuclear weapons, the fourth will be fought with bows and arrows"

This quote sums it up, it's not going to be hundreds of millions but billions. And the sad fact is i can already see us sliping towards that fateful war...

[Goose]

As much as space travel fascinates and inspires me, it is ultimately not the solution to our problems. Science and exploration, trying to understand the Universe and what goes on in it is all very important, but not more important than what goes on here at home, on Earth.

[Cold Fuzz]

And the survivors would get along a lot more than the current population is.

So you want hundreds of millions or billions of deaths?

[Spimman]

That's why we will eventually have a WW III and then it will all change.

Just like in the movies right? Don't be naive

[jmoz]

Don't have the technology to get very far regardless or withstand a prolonged level of radiation anyways. The best method is as Fuzz suggested, world needs to get together and become better cooperative beings that display that oh so superior intellect. Everything will result from that anyways. As certain societal issues go away, people are more able to focus on intellectual pursuits and one of them can be faster and more economical space ventures.

[SoulReaver]

rats in a cage. the more rats, the more rage :|

[SF_and_Coffee]

I'm kind of in Stephen Hawking's camp on this. While we desperately need to resolve our problems here on Earth, it is also imperative that we do at least something toward seeding our species elsewhere, in case we manage to screw things up so badly here that we guarantee our own demise. Between damage we've been doing to our climate and our environment, combined with the way we seem to foment conflict at every turn, and the fact that we do have nuclear weapons, we'd be foolhardy not to place at least a minimally-sufficient breeding population somewhere else as soon as we can manage to do so. Doesn't have to be extrasolar, either; we aren't far from being able to colonize a place like Mars or wherever else in the Solar system we can find adequate raw material to use as resources. Oxygen, water, basic minerals, carbon, energy from the sun... you can feed an artificially-devised ecology if you have these things. Okay, so maybe living in a dome would be weird, but it beats being extinct.

[mad_gater]

With over 70 million deaths in WWII, I think it's safe to say that it's in everybody's best interest to avoid another such conflict because another world war with our current level of technology would likely result in hundreds of millions of deaths.

I'd say that estimate is a bit generous....I think our weapons tech is such that a 3rd world war may well obliterate the whole world

[jmoz]

Spoiler:

I'm kind of in Stephen Hawking's camp on this. While we desperately need to resolve our problems here on Earth, it is also imperative that we do at least something toward seeding our species elsewhere, in case we manage to screw things up so badly here that we guarantee our own demise. Between damage we've been doing to our climate and our environment, combined with the way we seem to foment conflict at every turn, and the fact that we do have nuclear weapons, we'd be foolhardy not to place at least a minimally-sufficient breeding population somewhere else as soon as we can manage to do so. Doesn't have to be extrasolar, either; we aren't far from being able to colonize a place like Mars or wherever else in the Solar system we can find adequate raw material to use as resources. Oxygen, water, basic minerals, carbon, energy from the sun... you can feed an artificially-devised ecology if you have these things. Okay, so maybe living in a dome would be weird, but it beats being extinct.

They can still be terrestrial and do that just fine with subterranean earth.