Outlook dims for interplanetary trips

Planetary scientists would love to have some samples collected on Mars for delivery back on Earth, and they're itching to get a closer look at Europa, a moon of Jupiter that may harbor a hidden ocean and perhaps life as well. But they might be stymied during the decade to come, due to the federal government's tightening financial circumstances.

cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com...

Well, I may know of a couple places we could come up with a little of the extra coin needed to fund these projects.

Cost of War in Iraq and Afghanistan:

$1,162,257,710,938 and counting. Here is a running total costofwar.com...

And, the Obama administration has requested $3 billion in aid to be given to Israel for FY 2011.

Priorities people, priorities.

With how shortsighted our world leaders are and how self-centric your average individual is, you'll see us enter a hedonistic dark ages before we start focusing on hardcore space exploration. In my view, it will only come to the forefront if there exists an absolute need to leave earth, like space terrorists.

Personally, if we put some of the defense budget a few of these nations have and slightly altered taxes(cut a bit from one spot, add a bit to space related projects), we would probably see an explosion in the science field. Of course that will never happen.

Have faith OP, we're entering a new age. Once this one ends, people will wake up, and become much more spiritually awakened, and thus, more logical with their reasoning, then, hopefully if I am right, we will be space-born.

money limits our advancements. they say money is why society advances. people work and accomplish things for monetary compensation.

yet since money is a controlled supply, that could be infinite, because it costs nothing to print it, it has to be properly allocated.

since the richest country in the world uses this self limited resource on one sector, the military sector, we have weapons that are futuristic and heavily advanced compared to other sectors, like combating disease or improving infrastructure and transportation.

if we spread it out evenly, then every sector would be average, we'd have no stealth jet fighters, but then again we wouldn't have people dying of stupid diseases like malaria.

Originally posted by randomname
money limits our advancements. they say money is why society advances. people work and accomplish things for monetary compensation.

yet since money is a controlled supply, that could be infinite, because it costs nothing to print it, it has to be properly allocated.

since the richest country in the world uses this self limited resource on one sector, the military sector, we have weapons that are futuristic and heavily advanced compared to other sectors, like combating disease or improving infrastructure and transportation.

if we spread it out evenly, then every sector would be average, we'd have no stealth jet fighters, but then again we wouldn't have people dying of stupid diseases like malaria.

Exactly this, when people begin waking up, which they are doing as we type, the balance will begin into fruition.

You will have your interplanetary exploration, do not fret...

Originally posted by randomname
money limits our advancements. they say money is why society advances. people work and accomplish things for monetary compensation.

yet since money is a controlled supply, that could be infinite, because it costs nothing to print it, it has to be properly allocated.

since the richest country in the world uses this self limited resource on one sector, the military sector, we have weapons that are futuristic and heavily advanced compared to other sectors, like combating disease or improving infrastructure and transportation.

if we spread it out evenly, then every sector would be average, we'd have no stealth jet fighters, but then again we wouldn't have people dying of stupid diseases like malaria.

Let us get rid of the need for money. It CAN be done. If we do that, cures rather than patentable "drugs" which mask issues and create the need for more "drugs" because of side effects will be made available. Without profit as a motive...the poisons They sell us as "drugs" will have no purpose. And...

If we want to go out into space, we can. The only thing we will need to do that will be the will to do it.

Please read The End of Entropy and The Ethical Planetarian Party Platform linked in my sig.

Sorry but money is not infinite.
As you increase supply you will create inflation.

When your postal worker neighbor on one side gets an increase from $50K/yr. To $500K/yr you will charge him more to mow his lawn.
When your other neighbor finds out that you increased your mowing rates from $20/yard to $200/yard he will charge you $2000 for that $200 dollar mower you need.

The value of the dollar drops as you increase the supply. Check as see how the dollar has dropped against other currencies since the government has pumped money in to prevent a depression.

Nasa will be getting less money simply because we have maxed out our federal credit cards. The idea that we could cure all the worlds ills by printing money is too simplistic.