rusty@infonode.ingr.com (Rusty Wiginton) (11/12/90)
I'm interested in your thoughts about the importance of space
exploration and other NASA activities -- Not so much from a
scientific or technological standpoint, but from a personal/
philosophical one. Why, for example, do you feel it is important
to pursue long-term programs, such as Space Station Freedom or
say, a manned mission to Mars? Why should billions of dollars
be spent on projects that cannot promise success? I know this
question has been asked before but with current issues leaning
toward budget constraints and NASA's reliablilty, I'd like to
see a different point of view.
--
.| Rusty Wiginton .
.| uunet!ingr!b17a!rbw!rusty .
.| .schaper@pnet51.orb.mn.org (S Schaper) (11/13/90)
Because it might produce success. You can fish or cut bait. You can eat all
your seed during the hard winter and starve the next, or you can tighten your
belt and save seed for next year's crop.
Human Beings are creative in nature, and it is part of our mandate to use
such creativity to make a better world/universe.
"It is the glory of God to hide a matter, it is the Glory of Kings to search
it out" Prbs 16.
We could all still be living on the Anatolain plateau, but our distant
ancestors took a risk and moved out to settle new, unknown lands. (Anatolian,
that
is).
Zeitgeist Busters!
UUCP: {amdahl!bungia, uunet!rosevax, chinet, killer}!orbit!pnet51!schaper
ARPA: crash!orbit!pnet51!schaper@nosc.mil
INET: schaper@pnet51.cts.comcarroll@cs.uiuc.edu (Alan M. Carroll) (11/13/90)
In article <1990Nov12.034438.29656@infonode.ingr.com>, rusty@infonode.ingr.com (Rusty Wiginton) writes: > Why, for example, do you feel it is important > to pursue long-term programs, such as Space Station Freedom or > say, a manned mission to Mars? First, I don't see NASA research projects as any different than other gov't research projects. Without arguing the merits of the projects you mentioned, I would say that I don't believe that the gov't should be involved in research at all, being the pseudo-Libertarian that I am. On the other hand, I believe that we should support long-range projects, because they are really long-term investments. Increasing the human store of knowledge is a profitable activity. It's also a lot of fun. And, of course, monkey curiosity is a factor. Sometimes, you just _gotta_ know how it works. > Why should billions of dollars > be spent on projects that cannot promise success? Well, the gov't currently spends HUNDREDS of billions of dollars EVERY YEAR on projects that not only cannot _promise_ succes, but in fact are _known to be failures_ (cf. primary education). NASA, at least, has had _some_ successes, particularly in the "pure science" area. Not to flame on you, and I'm not a fan of NASA, but I don't understand why such questions are directed at a place that at least has done _something_ succesfully, when there are far larger budget areas that have been complete failures for decades (cf. foreign aid). Besides, if you wait for expensive projects that promise succes, you'd still be waiting for fire. -- Alan M. Carroll Barbara/Marilyn in '92 : Epoch Development Team + This time, why not choose the better halves? CS Grad / U of Ill @ Urbana ...{ucbvax,pur-ee,convex}!cs.uiuc.edu!carroll
gary@ke4zv.UUCP (Gary Coffman) (11/13/90)
In article <1990Nov12.034438.29656@infonode.ingr.com> rusty@infonode.ingr.com (Rusty Wiginton) writes: > > I'm interested in your thoughts about the importance of space > exploration and other NASA activities -- Not so much from a > scientific or technological standpoint, but from a personal/ > philosophical one. Why, for example, do you feel it is important > to pursue long-term programs, such as Space Station Freedom or > say, a manned mission to Mars? Why should billions of dollars > be spent on projects that cannot promise success? I know this > question has been asked before but with current issues leaning > toward budget constraints and NASA's reliablilty, I'd like to > see a different point of view. I consider space exploration important for two non-rational reasons. 1. I'm intensely curious about what's out there. This need to know is a personal hunger that drives me in many facets of my life. 2. I believe that exploration and basic research almost always pay off. Often the payoff is in a totally unexpected direction. I don't know what will be discovered. If I did, we wouldn't need to go look. But, I believe that a prolonged open minded presence in space will discover things that will profoundly change the way we think about some aspect of our everyday lives. Programs that can guarrantee success probably won't discover anything worth while. "Safe" programs seldom deliver anything new. Therefore we must be risk takers in space. I don't mean that we should take foolish risks like space stations made of balloons, but instead take the risks of bold steps outside our cozy LEO. The interesting things are usually in the far corners. I consider manned exploration essential because machines only look for what they're told to look for. A machine won't casually look around and say, "Hmm that looks interesting. I think I'll stop and take a closer look". No matter how good the pictures, a person on the scene has better perception of his enviornment than anyone viewing a TV screen. Gary