Philae has landed.

AMAZING, Has anyone else heard the Comets Radio sounds it is emitting, Coast to Coast played a bit of it last night, and it is very very weird sound. I think the ISS were the ones to record the sounds, and some people believe it the only reason we went to that specific comet.


www.space.com...
supposedly it is coming from the comets oscillation in the magnetic feild.

a reply to: WanderingSage

Well aren't you just a regular bucket of sunshine? Tell me how something like a military jet for example, in the neighborhood of $100 million plus is any less wasteful? We're learning from this probe, whereas all the fricking plane does is target something & obliterate it. In the long run, the scientific payoff from Rosetta's investment is much more useful to us than that fighter jet is (eventually, it's an obsolete hulk withering away in a boneyard)

If you have a wasteful spending bone to pick, start with the military projects, black or otherwise. Rosetta is chump change by comparison and not an issue.

originally posted by: eriktheawful
a reply to: WanderingSage

Why not do all that, and this?

There is no reason why everything you listed, and space exploration can not be at the same time.

Until our home has been taken care of, the other should wait IMO.

The money and resources used for glory and curiosity only take away from what is needed here on Earth. Can't serve 2 masters.

Peace

a reply to: WanderingSage

Are you for real? I mean come on! Can´t you see how this will benifit us all on earth? Talk about tunnel vision.

a reply to: WanderingSage

Look at it this way: if your house is dirty, and continues to get dirty no matter how hard you try and clean it with water..wouldn't you rather try and go somewhere away from your home to try and maybe find a better way to keep your house clean instead of staying at home and repeating an unproductive process? Even with however much gas money you have to spend to make that trip?

I'm not saying landing on a comet is going to save the Earth, just that learning about a world outside the Earth could still benefit our world here.

Great news for EUROPE !
Some respect for European effort, Space do not belong to Russia, USA, China or any country, respect the joy Europe has for this Even it is not about reducing pollution or anything else benefical but something like this uplifts the spirit and increase appetite for knowledge.

originally posted by: jude11

originally posted by: eriktheawful
a reply to: WanderingSage

Why not do all that, and this?

There is no reason why everything you listed, and space exploration can not be at the same time.

Until our home has been taken care of, the other should wait IMO.

The money and resources used for glory and curiosity only take away from what is needed here on Earth. Can't serve 2 masters.

Peace

There are plenty of other things we can snip the budgets of in the meantime. We all are well aware of the grossly bloated military budget. Why don't the same people that complain about scientific projects like this complain as loudly about the military budget?? That's the obvious place to audit first & foremost, so why be quiet about that?

Edit: We also need stricter ways of controlling political pork. Imagine how much could be saved if everyone's Bridge to Nowhere pork project money grabs came to a screeching halt? We have poor money management in the US, but the sciences aren't the sole problem -- they tend to be some of the smallest budgets out there.

originally posted by: WanderingSage
a reply to: Soylent Green Is People

Well if I have the time or the money to spend on frivolous things (which I don't lol) then sure. But if I'm at the brink of economic collapse or have more important things to take care of. This kind of thing isn't a necessity. Funding could have gone to things with more priority.

I didn't say "frivolous". I said "not an immediate and direct benefit to society".

Landing on a comet may not have an immediate and direct benefit to society today, but it certainly isn't frivolous, either. As someone mentioned above, what we learn with this mission may one day allow us to deflect a comet of asteroid that would otherwise cause destruction on Earth....

...Or maybe we won't ever need this knowledge -- but we have no way of knowing that. One thing is for certain, if we don't learn more about comets, then we certainly won't know enough to help us prevent a future impact.

The science learned while on the moon during the Apollo Missions to the Moon of the 1960s and 1970s really didn't provide any direct benefit to society (not the actual science learned while on the moon). HOWEVER, what the Apollo missions DID to was to create a need for engineers and mathematicians in the U.S, and created an entire generation (or two) of people who decided to follow a technological career path, which opened the door to the global technological explosion of the late 20th century.

That was the indirect result and benefit of the Apollo Program.

originally posted by: Tenacious8
a reply to: WanderingSage

Look at it this way: if your house is dirty, and continues to get dirty no matter how hard you try and clean it with water..wouldn't you rather try and go somewhere away from your home to try and maybe find a better way to keep your house clean instead of staying at home and repeating an unproductive process? Even with however much gas money you have to spend to make that trip?

I'm not saying landing on a comet is going to save the Earth, just that learning about a world outside the Earth could still benefit our world here.

The only problem with this is that neither you nor I will be going away from home when/if that happens.

Only those with the means to do so. And those are the ones that have killed off this planet faster and more efficiently than you and I ever could.

Rape the Earth, pollute it, poison it...then look for an escape hatch.

Peace

a reply to: jude11

Dude, seriously, you know that someday we can ALL go to space right? Just as easily as taking the buss. Of course in the beginning it will be pretty darn costly, but it is because this stuff is pretty new to us. That is exactly why we need to explore space even further to increase our knowledge make it more accessible and more common. That way, our grandchildren, or maybe our grandchildrens grandchildren can go to space. How friggin egoistically is it of you to feel that just because YOU cant go, nobody should?

Great achievement altogether!
There was some mention of the harpoons not engaged on the BBC news earlier, anybody hear anything more?

a reply to: jude11

You or I don't need to go away from home. Leave that up to the scientists, even if some of the agencies are suspect. And you assume people will have to get away from the planet. The point is not to find an escape, but to advance where we are. Our effect may be harmful but the sun has much more say than we do.

www.theweathernetwork.com... 819/

A good illustration OF WHATS TO BE EXPECTED OF THIS LANDER.....IT IS AMAZING!

originally posted by: Nettlas
a reply to: jude11

Dude, seriously, you know that someday we can ALL go to space right? Just as easily as taking the buss. Of course in the beginning it will be pretty darn costly, but it is because this stuff is pretty new to us. That is exactly why we need to explore space even further to increase our knowledge make it more accessible and more common. That way, our grandchildren, or maybe our grandchildrens grandchildren can go to space. How friggin egoistically is it of you to feel that just because YOU cant go, nobody should?

Given humanities track record, I dont think we should be allowed off this planet. All we'll do is just go look for more wars to fight and worlds to pillage...you know..spread some galactic democracy.

To the people that say "whats the big deal", forget for a second what we may learn from the data collected from samples etc.

They landed a spaceship probe remotely on a comet 300 million miles away, even at the speed of light, thats nearly half an HOUR to get there! Some people can't park a car and they are INSIDE IT!!

originally posted by: Hanslune
Its also useful practice if we need to land a ship on a comet with a diversion engine sometime in the future.

By 'diversion engin'e I mean an ion engine to shift a comet out of its orbit so it will not hit earth.

Definitely a worthwhile endeavor!
to ESA!

originally posted by: Biigs
To the people that say "whats the big deal", forget for a second what we may learn from the data collected from samples etc.

They landed a spaceship probe remotely on a comet 300 million miles away, even at the speed of light, thats nearly half an HOUR to get there! Some people can't park a car and they are INSIDE IT!!

We have already crash landed a probe onto a comet a few years ago. As of now that's all they have achieved. Lets wait and see if the Lander has survived before we start the back slapping.

originally posted by: jude11

originally posted by: eriktheawful
a reply to: WanderingSage

Why not do all that, and this?

There is no reason why everything you listed, and space exploration can not be at the same time.

Until our home has been taken care of, the other should wait IMO.

The money and resources used for glory and curiosity only take away from what is needed here on Earth. Can't serve 2 masters.

Peace

So you do not think that the human race can multi-task?

It must be all or nothing?

That instead of being able to dream and look up, each human should have their head forced down?

We can be good stewards of our planet AND explore space.

This all or nothing has to be one of the most short sighted things I have ever seen.

originally posted by: jude11

originally posted by: Tenacious8
a reply to: WanderingSage

Look at it this way: if your house is dirty, and continues to get dirty no matter how hard you try and clean it with water..wouldn't you rather try and go somewhere away from your home to try and maybe find a better way to keep your house clean instead of staying at home and repeating an unproductive process? Even with however much gas money you have to spend to make that trip?

I'm not saying landing on a comet is going to save the Earth, just that learning about a world outside the Earth could still benefit our world here.

The only problem with this is that neither you nor I will be going away from home when/if that happens.

Only those with the means to do so. And those are the ones that have killed off this planet faster and more efficiently than you and I ever could.

Rape the Earth, pollute it, poison it...then look for an escape hatch.

Peace

Well no one knows exactly the future, but for sure this planet has a time limit. What can be gained from this comet's visit is the real start of long-term space planning for everyone's future, as well as any side benefits for Earth that might come in the near present. The space race is over, from here on in, it will be all incremental steps down a very long path.

BTW, here's the picture taken from the lander as it descended,

originally posted by: WanderingSage
a reply to: JadeStar

The big picture is the Earth is at the brink of world war, disease, famine, etc. Landing a hunk of metal on a comet does nothing for us. This comet isn't going to all of a sudden change the universe for us. If the human race keeps going the way it is none of us will have descendants in 500 years. I'd rather see that funding for this go to something way more effective in helping the Earth.

The amount of money we spend on entertainment annually is a much more dire concern then because we spend many billions per year. What about drugs like alcohol and tobacco? We also spend untold amounts of money on bureaucracy. And there's a huge rich/poor gap which is leaving many people without health insurance and a modern standard of living. There're numerous ways we live which're wasteful and expensive too. Scientists say human-caused global warming is the biggest threat facing us. Yet we continue to belch fossil fuel emissions into our atmosphere from coal and gas burners. And the immense factory farming of animals is also contributing greatly to greenhouse gas emissions. We could reduce our meat consumption and still maintain proper nutrition through supplements and diet choices. We could also greatly reduce animal cruelty by regulating the farms. (note I am not saying we should not eat meat, but we could be a lot smarter about things.)

There're so many things I could bring up because we're far from perfect beings. It's sad there's so much crime. How many millions of people are in prisons right now? How many millions (or billions?) of dollars are spent just on courts and lawyers? And what of war? We still can't get along wiht each other. People seem blind to the rest of the world and too willing to support their country despite corruption and abuse in leadership. As result, we spend trillions on war.

www.psychologicalscience.o rg - Why Do People Defend Unjust, Inept, and Corrupt Systems?...

Before you start telling scientists to stop exploring you should tell murderers to stop murdering, liars to stop lying, abusers to stop abusing, people with addictions to kick it and rehabilitate and so on. We've got so many other more visible and outright offensive problems than scientists landing probes on comets.