why do we explore space? because it is there

curiosity has a way more greater influence on humans than on cats

consider that the us space budget is only a fraction of their defence budget, i have a better question on their fund management

in 2006, USA have a defence budget of USD985billion compared to USD1158billion for the ENTIRE WORLD. the second highest (UK) only have arond USD60billion. Of the countries that are not firm US allies, the highest defence budget is China with ~USD50billion. Compared with the average %GDP for defence of 2%, USA spends a total of more than 12% of its GDP for defence.

In comparison, NASA's annual budget average to around USD8billion per year. or less than 1% of the US defence budget.

so if you say its better to cut NASA spending to better citizen's life......

space exploration is expensive, but not as expensive as you think

as a result of NASA's space exploration programs, NASA has over 5000 patents on inventions including the following more useful ones:
invisible braces (for teeth), scratch proof lenses (for spectacles), memory foam (for pillow), ear thermometer, shoe insole (those special sports shoes that athletes wear), long distance communication (thank NASA for your handphones), adjustable smoke detectors, safety groove (those lines on the roads Y-junctions/zebra crossing), cordless tools (drills, etc), water filter, kidney dialysis machine, physical therapy, CAT scanner in hospital, MRI scanner in hospital, freeze-dry food preservation method, insulation foils, non-stick pans, race car suits, and many many more


This post has been edited by lin00b: Jun 22 2009, 11:13 PM

see my edited post.

point is, space exploration benefit the people of earth. if you want to fight poverty, increase education, etc. find something else to cut

plus, if you look at the numbers, USA outspends the rest of the world by a large large margin for defence. as the only remaining superpower does it really have that much to fear?

so dont say space exploration is depriving people of benefits. for a relatively small amount, it offers a lot of benefit (unlike some other US programs)

This post has been edited by lin00b: Jun 22 2009, 11:19 PM

are you sure pluto is 5 light hours away?

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Added on July 3, 2009, 2:14 amexploring is exploring, take care of earth is take care of earth. they are not mutually exclusive. nor are they dependent on one another....

This post has been edited by lin00b: Jul 3 2009, 02:14 AM

pluto has an elliptic orbit, so the distance from sun is not constant; but the average value is around 5 light hours away

actually, thats one of the main reason for space exploration - the eventual severing of humanity's ties with the planet that spawned them. humanity would want to survive regardless of what happen to earth. try looking up the pale blue dot.

it isnt mutually exclusive you know, you can repair the earth AND explore space at the same time

lol @ Deadlocks, if wanna buaya vivienne85, please do it at kopitiam

no rules saying you cant do both at the same time, both has its challenges and rewards.

you know whats more ironic? the trillions spent on "defence" budget. compared to it, space budget is spare change. if you ask me, that money is better used for charity/welfare/medical purpose.

but sadly, thats not how the world works.

thing is, there are far more pointless thing to cut money for charity/humanity than space program.

and space program already has it tough from politician and public who are spoiled from hollywood and demand not just results on a shoe string, but glorious sfx-laden results on a shoe string.