Importance of Space Travel

[Ranger]

If you have been keeping up with the news you should be aware of the spacecraft Phoenix Mars Lander and its goal to land on Mars and take a soil sample for evidence of water and other conditions that could have supported primitive life. I am very intrigued with space travel . I love to read about the landings and their findings.


Have you ever wondered what the real importance of Space Travel is? Do ever think that no matter how many times we go into outer space there is no real benefit to us as human race other than the fact we just got more information to put in our books? What about all the money that the government puts into the space travel?

How important is space travel to the human race?


I know this is an off the wall subject but I am know for crazy topics.

[chill]

I think I got hooked on space travel when I was little. I think watching Star Trek got me.

The only thing I wonder about is whats really going on up there with the space station. They have been up there for years now and I never hear anything on the news about what they are doing or how our money is being spent. What experiments are they conducting?

Why haven't we been back to the moon? Why don't we have a space station on the moon?

I hear that Elvis is currently living on international space station. LOL

As for the original question, I think space travel and exploration is very important. One day, with the way global warming is going on and they way we are using our natural resourses, our childrens grandchildren will probably need a place to live.

[mintshows]

Well, working for NASA, I'm a little biased, however I believe that space travel is VERY important to our society. Now, do I believe that our next trip to the moon will bring about some huge change to our lives?? ...probably not.

Despite sometimes laughable mis-management (either caused by NASA itself, or the policy makers in DC), NASA has served us pretty well. I remember seeing a website a while back that listed over 1000 products that we use every day that originated at some point by NASA research.

Space exploration / experimentation has given us GPS, tremendous military advantages, tons of hi-tech materials. The Hubble Telescope has allowed us to gain more information about the origins of the universe than ever was conceived.

I do however believe that we would benefit from a strong private sector involved in space exploration. Currently the government has a pretty good monopoly over this...I believe the private sector could help off-set some of the costs....but that's another story.

[Ranger]

Thanks for the comment Mint. I would agree that NASA has developed a lot of things that have been very useful and easier for us.

What advantage have we gained from learning about origins of the universe besides just information for our knowledge. As far as the private sector for space travel. My home town right now, is the site for Blue Origin, which is a private sector for space travel. You can go here to read more about Blue Origin from wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Origin

[mintshows]

I think any further arguments against NASA are null after reading this article:

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2...htm?list832167

I mean...who DOESN'T want to know about the intricate relationships between the solid, liquid, and vapor state of whipped cream???

Back on topic, the more we understand the origins of the universe, and enhance our knowledge of the advanced laws of physics, the further we can advance technologically......it's one step closer to flying cars that use garbage for fuel and such

[Kagan]

	Quote:	chill
	I think I got hooked on space travel when I was little. I think watching Star Trek got me.

You are not alone. However, I remember watching the subsequent moon landings...not the first. I loved everything space. When I was six I wanted to be an astronaut; however, I broke my leg shortly before I turned 9. At that time, NASA wasn't taking anyone who had had broken bones because the theory was that the g-forces would re-break previously broken bones.

My parents carried me to Florida to watch the lift-off of the Apollo-Soyuz mission in the late '70s. Watching that Saturn V rocket lift-off and disappear into the stratosphere is still one of the most thrilling moments of my life.

I also still recall the anguish and heartbreak of that January 1986 afternoon I spent watching the TV in the William Carey College student center after the Challenger exploded shortly after lift-off.

Is the space program important? Yes. NASA research scientists have been instrumental in the advancement of medical knowledge along with human physiological studies in weightlessness of space.

Is space travel important? Who's to say? We've never been to Europa or Io, two of many moons in our solar system. One may have a substance that is a cure for cancer. Why not let's go find out?

Is NASA living up to my childhood expectations? No! It is stalled out and mired in nothing more than a bus service between here and the international space station. Then again, I guess Elvis and Howard Hughes have to have someone bring in the groceries.

The only thing I wonder about is whats really going on up there with the space station. They have been up there for years now and I never hear anything on the news about what they are doing or how our money is being spent. What experiments are they conducting?

Why haven't we been back to the moon? Why don't we have a space station on the moon?

I hear that Elvis is currently living on international space station. LOL

As for the original question, I think space travel and exploration is very important. One day, with the way global warming is going on and they way we are using our natural resourses, our childrens grandchildren will probably need a place to live.[/quote]

[parrotthead]

too many lives they spent across the ocean
too much money they spent upon the moon
until they get it right I hope they never sleep at night
they better make some changes and do it soon

[Bane]

I think space exploration is vitally important for the continuation of the human race. With the current rate at which we are destroying our environment and depleting food and water supplies, future generations are going to be left with little choice but to either drastically limit the population on this planet or find another planet for the excess population to live on.
It's unfortunate that the human race has allowed money, greed, and fear of our neighbors to limit what we can accomplish.

[Kagan]

	Quote:	Bane
	It's unfortunate that the human race has allowed money, greed, and fear of our neighbors to limit what we can accomplish.

You are so right. The Star Trek episodes that chill and I grew up on always hinted that the human race had basically "outgrown" all of its social problems. Wouldn't it be nice if we were to grow up?