Why Mars?

I'm not sure if this has been discussed, but what the heck!

Why is soooooo much money being spend in Mars and other planets? It disturbs me on the amount of money that is being spent, instead of using the money for research we can use in our own planet.

I don't think we can find anything in Mars to make our lives any easier or better. How the old saying goes, "why worry about your neighborhood, when you can't fix your own home?"

I think it is extremely important. We need to learn how to live on other planets. Our natural resources won't last forever and we need to think of future generations

Good thinking! With the Billions already being spent on weapons manufacturing and the funding of wars, all that money could've been used for more humanitarian pursuits. It's suspicious that Governments are exploring space while they neglect spending on the Earth problems.

But, I think they have their own agendas because overall, they are a group at the top of the pyramid while the mass of humanity is below them. If we don't do something to change the ways on this planet, most likely we will be left in a wasteland while the elite leave this planet with a few thousand other people.

Why spend 386,000 million US dollars on the military? Next to the US the second bigest spender, china, spends about 12,000 million. If you want more money for something leave human exploration alone and take a good hard look at the stockpiles of 0.7 million dollar cruise missiles. Thats $700,000 PER one missile.

I'm fine if people talk about the money spent on space exploration IF it accounted for even a drop in the bucket compared to other spending.

That is what I am talking about IMMORTAL.

Yes, to some extent it's important to learn about other planets, but we haven't even finished learning about our own planet. I feel TOOOOO MUCH MONEY is being put towards Mars research. What about Cancer, Aids, Health research and many other researches that we can use in our OWN planet.

Originally posted by subzero360
I feel TOOOOO MUCH MONEY is being put towards Mars research. What about Cancer, Aids, Health research and many other researches that we can use in our OWN planet.

With over 6 billion of us here loosing many too disease isn't that big of a problem from a progressives view. Those with disease need to seek and find there own remedies and help with research.

Man needs to spread out, our planet wont be habital forever and with overpopulation we may get there sooner than we want. We are explorers by nature and need to utilze our existing technology to assure us that we will have future generations, and having colonies on the Moon and Mars is the next logical step.

Originally posted by nyarlathotep
I think it is extremely important. We need to learn how to live on other planets. Our natural resources won't last forever and we need to think of future generations

agreed! also, do any of you know how much technology eventually makes its way down to the public sector over time? computer chips, color video cameras, lcd screens, modern medicines, better weather forecasting, laser pointers, vel-cro, and TONS of other things.

How much money have we spent in Mars so far? I don't have the accurate number but I'm sure, BILLIONS! What have we gotten back from Mars that we have used?

I do think we should go to Mars and explorer but not use so much money on it. There just needs to be less greedy people in this world, so things wouldn't be so expensive, but that will never happen. I'm greedy too, lol.

Each lander/rover and orbiter runs about 800 million dollars to 1.2 billion dollars.

For a total around 5 billion dollars over the history of Mars Exploration.

Now... in that same time frame the US has spent about 6000 billlion dollars on the military.

Thats six TRILLION dollars on ways to kill people. And yet you want to stop exploring on humanitarian grounds?

I think the entire budget for the current NASA MER mission (Spirit and Opportunity) was under $1 Billion. Something like $800Million?

Incidentally, because the Rovers are running so damn well up there. Some of the team members will actually have to be taken off the teams due to budgetary constraints. Thats how bad the funding for those guys is.

When you put that up against the cost of the ongoing military actions in Iraq and Afghanistan alone. NASA is getting bugger all.

I totally agree with you Quest.

Once again, I do agree with the Mars missions just don't understand why it costs so much. And yea 6 Trillion dollars to kill people is ridiculous.

I hope that if we ever go to mars or any other planet, life wouldn't be fill with so much of the $hit we are facing now at least.

religion-sect: its eden
economics : there might be oil, there might be water, there might be heavier elements

pride: we got there first, just like in the cold war
aliens: old tech from abandoned outpost

just some theorys of mine. im not sure about the eden thing, and i dont see how its economically feasible to ship water or oil back. but the heavier elements for nuclear? is it possible mars could have heavier elements?

and the aliens cant be proven. just a way out there guess

You vermin make me sick! Have you ever heard the expression, "You've made your bed, now lie in it"?? Humans ultimately need to stay grounded, instead of leaving their mess behind and making another elsewhere.

I support space exploration for the purpose of learning, but I do not support it for finding other habitable areas. I fail to see the point in spreading, consuming and destroying a provider just to do it all over again at a different location. Our own actions are to blame for whatever problems we face, so lie in that little, messy, soon to be worthless bed of yours.

I really hope humans never succeed at the colonization of another orb.

We can't even take care of this planet and we are looking to screw other planets up. I just love this goofy species. We have absolutely no clue in hell of what we are doing...

Originally posted by Bangin
You vermin make me sick!

Have you ever heard the expression, "You've made your bed, now lie in it"?? Humans ultimately need to stay grounded, instead of leaving their mess behind and making another elsewhere.

I support space exploration for the purpose of learning, but I do not support it for finding other habitable areas. I fail to see the point in spreading, consuming and destroying a provider just to do it all over again at a different location. Our own actions are to blame for whatever problems we face, so lie in that little, messy, soon to be worthless bed of yours.

I really hope humans never succeed at the colonization of another orb.

We are going to run out of room for all of the humans that will be on this planet. Should we deny life to those who would be born by controlling population instead of finding more room for us to live?

You would have voted against Christopher Columbus in his day.

Our goals should be from the start to make each planet asteroid etc. to serve earth and humanity. We should go to mars to colonize it while exploring not just to explore. Let the colonization of space begin now not tommarow.

One day the arth will go boom period. The clock is ticking. Asteroid/comet/Blowing ourselves up/New deadly virus/Planet X with the 200 million year orbit . and one day no matter if none of the above occur the Sun will expand and turn earth into a fireball (fact).