Why is the American gov wasting money on moon and mars?, page 1
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reply posted on 23-2-2008 @ 11:31 AM by merka
reply to post by ian990003100


The simple answer: Because it would look bad if the goverment wasted all that money on prostitutes.

The official answer: The moon is close enough for permanent settlement and Mars is considerably easier to explore than Europa.


reply posted on 23-2-2008 @ 11:48 AM by lightworker12
We need to start with baby steps.



reply posted on 23-2-2008 @ 01:37 PM by DaleGribble
reply to post by ian990003100





while i dont believe the true reason may be known for quite some time, man has an inherit drive to explore and conquer the unknown. although there is still much about our home planet that we do not yet know we also have the technology to begin to explore space that is relatively close to home. so why not gain as much information as we can in as little time as possible?



reply posted on 23-2-2008 @ 02:53 PM by jra
Originally posted by ian990003100
Being a little bit of a business man i would not throw money at something that is dead in the water....The whole moon mars budget would probably pay for a trip to Europa were a team could set up base....


You're talking about a manned mission to Europa? I don't think so. It would be a very long trip. You'd need to bring tons and tons of supplies just for the trip there, let alone for the stay time and the trip back. If any problems were to happen, no help could be sent in time. Plus a mission to Europa would have to deal with the long term effects of radiation in space. The whole point of setting up a base on the Moon is to learn more about these things and how to live in a harsh environment for long periods of time and to improve our technology and understanding of how to do it. We have to set up a base on the Moon first, before trying it anywhere else.

Also, I would imagine that a manned mission to Europa would cost a lot more than the planned missions to the Moon and Mars. It's just not feasible at this point in time.

It's the only logical mission....


No it's not, not for a manned mission anyway. For robotic exploration, yes.

It maybe cheaper to send man to the moon to say hey look what we can do but it's tired now we need to move on.


I think you miss the whole point of sending people to the Moon. Like I said before. We need to learn how to live and survive in that harsh environment first. The Moon is close and easily accessible. It's perfect for setting up the first off world bases. It makes perfect logical and financial sense to do it. A manned mission to Europa does not.
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