NationStates Jolt Archive

I believe that space is the future. The exploration of the solar system will bring many benefits to mankind, and yet people disagree with me quite often, saying that problems on Earth are greater in importance, and other comments along those lines. I want to see what others think about this, but more importantly, why they think as they do...

It's too early to tell.

http://ci.uofl.edu/tom/photos/Japan/tokyo-shinjuku.jpg
GET ME OFF THIS PLANET NOW FOR GOD'S SAKE!

It is my belief that an early investment pays better in the long run, especially up there.

I believe that space is the future. The exploration of the solar system will bring many benefits to mankind, and yet people disagree with me quite often, saying that problems on Earth are greater in importance, and other comments along those lines. I want to see what others think about this, but more importantly, why they think as they do...
I completely agree.

But the government can't always fund it. Corporations MUST be brought in, space travel must be made profitable...first with rich tourists, then onto mining, until it is self-sufficient like airplane travel.

I am especially happy with the recent success of SpaceShipOne. Cheap space travel. I might *actually* be able to go.

The question is why there is such resistance to space enterprise. The US government until very recently quietly discouraged it.

Like George Carlin, I question the wisdom of infecting outer space with our DNA.

But I spent too many nights looking at the stars to condemn space travel.

You mean by that contamination? I thought we sterilized everything.

Corporations will end up getting farther in the long run than the government. Humans can't live on this planet forever. If we start investing in the technology today, there, in the long run, will be more planets for humans to live on. Earth cannot possibly be the ONLY planet in the universe for us to live on.....but no....most people only care about their pathetic lives on this planet.

The reason I asked the big question is that I was in a debate with a friend of mine, who is a democrat. He thought that money taken from social programs is 'burned by rocketships'.

Meh *gives a little shrug*

Many will pay for their lack of vision in the future, and then get angry at us, etc.

Space will be the proving ground for anarcho-capitalism and true technocracy. I wonder how that will go.

Well, its time for me to go and watch Star Trek. I go now...

It IS the final frontier..

It is a huge amount of money, but then it pales in comparison to the amount spent on the Military worldwide and SPace travel has never had a negative impact on our lives (the opposite in fact - it gave us Teflon!). Also I think it gives us optimism about the future. And it's cool. So I'm for it.

I have to agree with the magority of posters on this thread, that space travel is the future and an excelent investment just look at all the ivintions that came from trying to reach the moon. As for what Colodia said amen to that.

The natural trend will be toward space, but I have very little faith that any government can do it. I guess it just stems from my undying faith in the free market, but I agree with you. And from a purely economic prespective, space has great profit potential.

The natural trend will be toward space, but I have very little faith that any government can do it. I guess it just stems from my undying faith in the free market, but I agree with you. And from a purely economic prespective, space has great profit potential.
Yes. Go SpaceShipOne!

Space will definitely be worth it in the long run.

BTW, Letila, please don't use as an argument against space exploration that it will lead to 'a Mobile Suit Gundam future'

screw spaceshipone we need the space bridge concept to get off the ground.... no pun intended

Here's the bigger question: Will we have a choice about whether or not we have to go?

"Planyeta yest' kolybyel razuma, no nyelzya vietchno zhit' v kolybyeli"
-Konstantin E. Tsiolkovsky [Ciolkowski] (1857-1935)

("A planet is the cradle of mind, but one cannot live in a cradle forever," from a letter written in 1911)

What he actually means is:

"Earth is the cradle of humanity, but one cannot live in a cradle forever."

---END quote---

Sooner or later, we gotta take those brave steps. Their will be blood, there will be tears. But we simply gotta do it to survive as a species.

As for those who say humans are only going to 'mess up' things 'out there' , mores the reason we should find somewhere to 'mess up'. Humans need to consume resources to survive, thats what we do.

Lets get off this damned cradle! First step, lunar colonies!

I think it is ultimately a necessary transition from the point of view of pragmatism... that is, at the moment, one Extinction Level Event can completely remove all human life.

If we can set up colonies, either in self-sustaining space environments, or, prefereably, in colonies, at least we can potentially preserve something of a legacy if our collective 'number' comes up.

How many people here can WOULDN'T want the option of joining an 'alien world colonist' program?

psyker:
space travel is the future and an excelent investment just look at all the inventions that came from trying to reach the moon.

Good point. Maybe we'll find nothing out there, but in the process of exploring space we are inventing all sorts of new technology.
Some ppl say space exploration is a waste of money, well how much money are we wasting on sport and art? Space exploration at least gives us back new technology (what did the Mona Lisa ever do for us?).

Another nice thing of space programs is that you can make them an international effort. The world may be divided on political issues, but our interest in space unites us. When people see that international cooperation on space programs works well, they may try it out at on other things too.

I agree.
[Generalisation and possible extremist view coming up]
People are always saying about how we've ruined planet Earth. I don't dispute that. We've started the Earth on a downward track, and have already consumed a great deal of the resources our society runs on. So theyir answer is to stop consuming the resources and live in harmony with nature. Great. So we sit around until, as has been said, an Extincition Level Event wipes us out.
Alternative option, and my preference, is we use what resources there are left to get us off this planet and expanding into space. The more colonies we have, the greater than chance of the survival of the human species.
The longer we wait to go into space, because sooner or later it must happen if we are to survive, the harder it will be.
I recall a short story by Isaac Asimov. I can't recall the title (perhaps it was "Eternity" but I'm unsure), but it was basically about an alternate timeline, where humanity had developed temporal technology instead of space technology. Far into the future, humanity had ceased to exist, and it was later discovered that the reason for this was that Man had finally expanded into space in his thirty-thousandth year or something, but found the galaxy colonised by fairly unfriendly races who drove him back to Earth. There the human spirit was defeated, and Man's existence just petered out. Had Man expanded into space earlier, he would have been the dominant race.
Of course the short story is an extreme possibility* but the principle message of Asimov is the same. The sooner we expand, the better.
Territorial wars are fought all the time (a slight exaggeration, but oh well), as there are too many people occupying too small a planet. With space, space is infinite!
It is in the best interests of Humanity as a species to go into space, and personally I would take funding from anything not falling under the catergories of Health, Education, and I suppose Law and Order and put them into a space program, if I could. Unfortunatly I don't rule the world with an iron fist of technocratic dictatorship yet and so I can't, and we shall have to rely on politicians and businesmen...

We could be doomed.

*or is it..?

I prefere the Man-Kitzi series... where the savage, warlike Kitzi pounced on a merchant ship filled with "passive monkey boys" and learned the real reason man no longer practices the art of war... it's because we became very, very good at it. :D

The Earth is going to die. If humans don't kill it first, the eventual death of our Sun (while we roast on what's left of the planet) will kill us off if we don't do it first. Humans simply have to go into space in order to survive. Unfortunately we'll have to leave the solar system in order to survive. That takes a lot of time and research to figure out. We have to start now, even with very tiny steps.

For those who say space travel is a waste of time, the idea of science was condemned ages past. Even personal computers were considered a waste of time.

Look at us today.

Look at us today.
*Looks at all of General*
Oh god I must go back on time and fix this mess! To the Batmobile, I mean Time Machine.

I agree that space may be a valuable investment, especially while living conditions here on earth deteriorate. However, I firmly believe that space should be a private affair - Earth's governments need to be spending as little tax as possible.

However, there's a problem with space. Sure, we can colonize the planets of our solar system, but once we hit pluto, that's about it. The nearest star even is to all intents and purposes unreachable, and not just because of our current technological state - because of the laws of physics. It's just too damn far.

Still, I think we should make use of the space/other planets which are available to us.

anythings possible and in the quest for knowledge, any attempt is "worth it"

Space is a waste of money for governments to spend it on.

Its possible (inevitable?)that some form of earth orbital space tourism will become an option for the ultra rich in the next few decades

However as to the idea of mining other worlds//moons in the solar system, I cannot see that happening until a non rocket based propulsion system becomes viable for space exploration//exploitation. Im reminded of the oft quoted statistic that it costs $20,000 a pound to hurl something into space. Until some form of scientific//engineering breakthrough dramatically lowers that figure real commercial exploitation of space is hamstrung.

I do hope that the future of humanity lies in the stars, but surely we are a long, long way off colonising other worlds.

I do sometimes wonder what it says about humanity that we can launch a man into space, but we cannot guarantee all humanity a minimum standard of food, clothing , shelter and education..

Having said that Britain alone spends billions of dollars per annum on nuclear weapons, it appears the world cannot afford both guns and bread for all its people.
Perhaps if we got rid of the guns humanity could afford bread and rockets instead?
[/end ramble]

I read a verry interesting article about the new 6 persons spaceship (rocket + capsule) that will be in use by the Russians in 2010/11. A launch will cost 50 million dollar while a Space shutlle launche costs 500 million and is less safe.

It will replace the old soyuz rocket and capsule and will have the possibilities of being launched at 2 new sites (Moscow is now hiring the site in Kazcacstan), one in Siberia and another one in Russia, it will also be launched from the European ESA base in Guyana (Where Arianne isz launched). The capsule will be like the Soyuz reusable.

Hmm who had tought that of our Russian friends.
They will have it in Space in 6 years while Nasa even don't have a study about a replacer of the old and unsafe shutle. I think that Nasa better continues to work at ISS instead of the Mars dream. Perhaps it budget does not allow to do both.

Sorry, it was a article in Dutch so I don't give the link.

yes

I do believe that finding out more about space *is* beneficial to mankind, however, is SHOULD be secondary to imperative difficulties.
with the wars, famine, starvation, homelessness, prejudice, etc, and 100's of other problems in the world, the money spent on experiments concerning space could be actively used elsewhere, and be of more immediate use.

the money spent on experiments concerning space could be actively used elsewhere, and be of more immediate use.

Isn't that true for a lot of things? Sport, art, entertainment? I'd rather throw out the olympics and the art galleries then stop space exploration.
Ok, one problem is that space explo is a government expenditure while sport/art etc are mostly private. To abolish a private expenditure sounds a bit communistic ;)