I can't believe I'm the first to make a thread for NASA's latest big achievement. I can't wait for the high-res pictures without dust covers. I want to see where some of you people came from!

NASA - Mars Science Laboratory, the Next Mars Rover

 

This video really gives you appreciation for what they did.

 

As long as it doesn''t look as fake as the moon landing did...but that was decades ago. Hollywood and government funded movies really have come a long way since then.

 

I don't know about you guys but I'm ------- excited.

 

 

So you're saying we should expect Optimus Prime picture anytime now?

 

I stayed up Sunday to "watch" it. Pretty much it was a room full of people just waiting for the right signals to come back. Was pretty tense. Pretty awesome to see those first 64x64 pictures. If you look at how that rover was landed....just amazing stuff. Hopefully this will rekindle some interest in space in 'Merica.

 

Why are we wasting money on this? How many millions did this cost?

 

If it wasnt for human curiosity you'd still be living in a cave and riding a horse funny guy.

 

This kind of "waste of money" always yields great technological and cultural advances. Please get out under the rock you live more often.

 

Article in the paper said $2.5 billion for the vehicle and launch.

 

Shut up.

This is always a horrible argument. If anything we should stop wasting money on other stupid ---- and give it to NASA.

Human advancement >

 

It cost a hell of a lot less than the olympics did, for starters. And we (collectively) do that every 2 years.

 

Or feed starving people, or build nuclear power plants, or breeding programs for endangered animals, or cut taxes, or create new pharmaceuticals, or finish FailFlora's miata.....

I've had this argument many times. It comes down to, do we want to do things that benefit people; or spend billions inflating our egos? Tell me sir, what great knowledge that will help create food, energy, and medicine will we learn from a currently dead planet that lost it's atmosphere before our species existed?

 

That tells me it's an unpopular opinion that you bring up whenever you feel you have an audience. It's unpopular because it's stupid, and you should feel stupid.

 

Explain to me what we gain from mars. Rocks? Red dirt? Frozen water?



This is where the argument usually ends, because the guys riding NASA's dick, can give me ZERO examples of how mars will benefit us. The Moon is the same basic thing, and it's closer. Sure, we know more about it, the 1% of the population that will know basic scientific principles.

 

Black and white fail.

 

I don't understand why that picture is fail, but anyway...

The point of Curiosity is to explore Mars and gather information for potential manned missions and colonies. Eventually Earth is going to cross paths with a comet or we will ruin it and it would be nice if there were somewhere we could go to avoid certain death. Once we know what the end of the earth looks like, it would be too late to start exploring options.

Feel free to volunteer yourself to stay on Earth if that day comes sooner than expected.

That's just the one benefit I could think of off the top of my head. History of life, the solar system, and the universe is other good stuff to explore.

I'm glad some people weren't as stubborn and cheap as you when explorers asked for money to sail west a few hundred years ago.

 

This thread went from awesome to painful. The fact that you think going to Mars is an ego inflation tool makes me want to push a bullet through my skull with my bare hands.

Also think about this:

Spend money on saving some species on Earth now....OR

Spend money on saving LIFE later.



---- YEAH, NASA. Have you seen what this country spends money on? NASA's funding is pathetic, don't act like we give them tons of money.

 

Yeah, we'll put all the life on a planet with no atmosphere. And it costs $4,729 per pound to chuck something into orbit. Good luck saving the redwoods. I hear solar wind is great for chloroform.

We went to the moon for 1 reason. Just one. Sputnik 1. Had the Russians not launched that gloried radio, this conversation wouldn't be happening.

I assume your point infers that life exists no where else in the universe, but earth?



I will agree that NASA has a small(er) budget than many other programs.