Why so much about Space, so little about the Oceans?

Hey folks
For the last few weeks I have found myself pondering why we hear so much about space, but never too much about our own oceans. I also wonder why, if we have mastered space somewhat, why cant we master the sea?
I realize we have done things like gone to the titanic etc., but when we have a thing like nasa for space, why nothing for the big deep blue sea? We do hear about privately funded things, but I really find it hard to believe with all the super subs the world has, there just isnt more to hear. I highly doubt the military is just puttering around under the sea doing much of nothing.except patrolling.

Just seems to me this is one area that seems to escape peoples notice of just how quiet it really is. Im not a scientist so I may have this all wrong, but are the pressures really that much different than space? Seems if we can put a man on the moon.... well, I hope you get my drift.

I don't know, but isnt anyone else rather curious as to what hasnt been said or what has been discovered?

reply to post by onehuman


S&F for you. I've been wondering the same thing for quite awhile. My Netflix queue and HDD are packed with Undersea/Ocean reports/videos/theories/etc.

I don't have access to anything at the moment as I'm at work, but you have to know something is hiding there. Conspiracy theories don't just come out of thin air. Something has to prompt them...

Maybe we don't reaaaally explore as that would lead to the exposure of Nuclear Bombs hidden everywhere or something.

Indeed... plus the numerous cave systems, I bet there's a hell of a lot down there that we don't know about and that has been found and covered up.


There have been a few amazing finds though, and some great documentaries like Blue Planet

en.wikipedia.org...


they also did a live show...


Some of the things they found were just amazing.


There truly are some aliens down there, which if we saw on land or flying... we would definitely call alien.
Someone did a thread on here about weird fish and sea creatures, was amazing and we all posted some others.

Can't remember what the name of the thread was now but it was fascinating.

We have definitely mastered more of the sea than we have of space -- mostly because of the shear size difference.

It is funny how little we do know about the environment of our oceans at extreme depths. I'm guessing it probably has to do with all the pressure.

I think the bottom of the Mariana's trench is somewhere around 8 tons per square inch.

reply to post by onehuman

I think the problem is what has driven me nuts for years. The militaries have their 'super subs' and that is an apt term, but those are combat boats. One purpose and one purpose only.... They putter around at the depths needed to hide and live in total safety, but no deeper. They are IN all the oceans of the world and all the areas of each ocean..BUT...they aren't *IN* them in the sense they know what is around them or much of anything else if it isn't related to the mission and their purpose for being.....

I'd LOVE to see 20 or 30 or 100 BILLION spent on deep sea capable research subs. There is world of wisdom contained in those waters, down to the bottom. I really believe that. We just have a whole planet worth to explore and almost nothing capable of getting there as more than a remote control toy or very limited touch an go's like Cameron and the Navy dive that set the record before him. Space is easy....it's only a vacuum that boils someone after a mistake. The oceans? Yikes! That pressure just makes ya vanish into a little bubble.

OK found something I posted before...

Originally posted by blupblup
I was saying exactly this to someone the other week.


Aliens are already here.... in the ocean.

You look at some of the stuff they find on things like "Blue Planet" or "life" and tell me those aren't alien.
But I'm actually semi-serious, we're constantly looking at the skies for alien life but maybe it's been here the whole time, in the ocean.

Tell me the things in this video are NOT alien...

The original video I posted was removed, but that's similar

Originally posted by iamhobo
We have definitely mastered more of the sea than we have of space -- mostly because of the shear size difference.

It is funny how little we do know about the environment of our oceans at extreme depths. I'm guessing it probably has to do with all the pressure.

I think the bottom of the Mariana's trench is somewhere around 8 tons per square inch.

edit on 1-5-2012 by iamhobo because: (no reason given)

FYI at 6.78 miles deep that calculates out to 15,464.91 pound per square inch. So that's 7.73 tons....right around 8 tons...that was a good guess, I wouldn't thought it would be that much and I calculate stuff liket this all the time.

reply to post by blupblup


Yes I have enjoyed the Blue Planet documentaries on the ocean.Watched them a few times actually. Lol growing up Sea Hunt was my hero.

It is great to see all the new life down there, but like others have mentioned there has to be caves and Im guessing they have to of come across some sort of cities as well. Just seems like we hear a lot of surface things basically and not really in depth kind of thing. It really is strangely quiet to me considering all the tech. we have these days.

There is no pressure in a vaccum. There is however massive amounts of pressure in the Ocean. In many ways the Deep Ocean is even more of a challenge than space!

But look at recent news it is being explored again...by the super rich but still it is being explored!

As with all things that are extreme or difficult it takes lots of money...

It should not be a case of either/or.

There a valid case for the exploration of both.

As a species the amount we spend on either is pathetic.

Unfortunately most people just don't give a toss about either.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


I'd love to see them spend that kind of money as well, but I suppose that would just turn into another big secret like Nasa has. For that matter they may very well all ready have something we just aren't aware of funding by the black budget perhaps. At least every now and then we get a glimpse of something to kick around from Nasa video, be nice to have some stuff to speculate on from the sea as well besides curious entities and things found by divers.

Guess in this day and age it is hard for me to believe that a little thing like pressure would slow man down... lol I know its a big thing, but still...

The Oceans have an end thought, space does not.

I guess people are just more interested in space. Easier to imagine aliens coming from space, lol.

I can remember a book by Arthur Clarke, that was about space, and in it, the main character had this huge discussion with a friend of his, that was a marine-researcher, and the discussion was exactly in the same vein. Pity that I cannot remember the name of the book now. It was sort of a prequel to 2001: A space odyssey.

There are a couple of marine-research institutions. One of the largest is the Woods Hole institute.

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is the world's largest private, non-profit oceanographic research institution and a global leader in the study and exploration of the ocean.

www.whoi.edu...

another link with lots of oceanographic information is here : www.rovworld.com...

reply to post by onehuman


Maybe because of sooo many stories of UFO's coming out of the oceans.....There are a lot more cases of UFO's coming out of the ocean and into the ocean than there are of UFO's going straight up out of our atmosphere and out into deep space!

They already know that there are intelligent beings below the waters of our own earth and the deep space missions are a diversion to keep people thinking they come from the stars!!

Think about it, a UFO would be much more efficient at cutting through water as a disc shape or cigar shape.....Wherever TPTB want your focus, that's where it will be for most people on earth!! Look where they aren't talking about.....Only private sects plot out deep sea missions.....

It's quite simple actually: most of the Earth's composition and chemistry have been mapped. That's not so with space. The only thing we could possibly hope to attain by exploring the oceans has to do with biology, which doesn't necessarily concern the astrophysicist or astronomer.

To the astrophysicist, the Earth has already been 'conquered'. For instance, only two types of radiation penetrate the Earth's atmosphere, visible light and radio. We have to transcend the Earth's atmosphere with instruments like the Hubble Telescope to see the rest of the spectrum, etc.,

as you can see from here, there are lots of oceanographers/marine biologists and normal people feeling the same way as the OP. (Me too, I love both with a passion, and can clearly see the imbalance)

marine-research-vs-space-research

reply to post by onehuman


There is said to be a space NAVY who handle these interest since EA*RTH is most water it makes sense. There may be homes & bases down there under a treaty of non contact FOR NOW

Maybe one day soon new materials like graphene will make it possible to really explore down there. Imagine a holiday on a huge luxury sub, cruising about under water to various places. Can't wait.

Well OP at first I was going to say the same thing as most; that the reason is because of the intense pressures, but as I thought about it I actually came to the realization that the whole assertion is a faulty and biased one. I mean if you compare the effort humanity spends on space versus the ocean you actually see we spend far more man power and effort on exploring the oceans then space.

I don't have the actual numbers but if you add up all the marine biologists on the planet exploring the ocean, add to that both military and private submarines; there crews, and sonar and other forms of mapping the ocean floor and then compare that to the hand full of astronauts, a couple of shuttles a few probes a few radio telescopes, and a space station. It's not even comparable far more people are investing time and effort in exploring the oceans then space. We aren't even really doing much in space. Just because we haven't gone to the very bottom of the ocean doesn't mean we are not exploring it and hell we haven't even really gone to mars or back to the moon yet, so yeah I would say the whole notion is a biased one.

There are several reasons why the human race has seemingly spent more time examining our local space scientifically, than it has our deepest oceans.

First, is a simple matter of mechanical capability. It is in fact, easier to build a scientific instrument for use in a vacum, than it is to build one that will be compressed on all sides by tonne after tonne of water. It is also easier to build a hull plate capable of containing an atmosphere, than to keep thousands of times the weight of an atmosphere from crumpling a hull, killing the occupants, or ruining the equipment or both.

Second, space is largely unclaimed territory. I very much doubt that despite the flag placed there during the manned missions which landed there, that the moon is in fact a part of the USA, and any claim that was ever placed upon it by businessmen or nations for any reason is likely void, purely on the basis that such claims are idiocy placed upon a bed of foolishness. To explore space, a nation or organisation need only throw a rocket full of expensive gear, and/or people out into orbit, and have them go off and do thier thing. There are very few international boundary issues where space exploration is concerned, because no territory up there is owned. Fewer permissions are thererfore required for a detailed study of the solar system, than would be required for a detailed study of the whole North Atlantic.

The oceans are not just home to amazing wildlife, but also some of the most devastating weapons systems yet devised by mankinds darkest geniuses. Submarines that can remain underwater for nine months and more, before popping up and unloading terrifying arsenals of nuclear weapons, and capable of deploying torpedos that have heat and sound signature tracking capacity , for instance. They are also home to destroyer class ships from various countries, capable of placing mines, depth charging (in extremis), firing massive calibre shells, and having miniguns and thousands of armed men aboard. They are also some of the most hotly contested territories in military history. This makes them a very difficult realm to navigate, as well as having natural dangers that outwiegh those presented by outerspace.

The last reason I would like to bring your attention to, is one that harks back to mankinds first steps as a self aware, intelligent creature. When mankind began, it is said that he originated in or near the Africas. Africa is a huge continent, and on it, an ancient version man could walk ten miles a day nearly every day, and if he chose one path over another, never even come to a sea shore. But mankind has known the stars for an awful lot longer than he has known the sea. Real exploration of the sea only began very late in mankinds evolution, but his fascination with the sky at night is many thousands of years more ancient. It is only natural therefore that we have seen fit to go harder and further toward space, than the bottom of the ocean. We have been waiting an awful lot longer for space, than we have the murksome , crushing depth of the sea.