Anyone Following NASA's Mars Adventures?
 

I must confess I am totally into space and all that stuff.

Anyone else following the adventures of Opportunity and Spirit? (NASA's Martian rovers.)

I'm lucky, my TV area has the NASA channel and it has been great to watch the landings live and witness the joy of the NASA people at JPL when each rover landed safely. Hearing the telemetry coming in LIVE from the landers was FANTASTIC. Imho, it is an uplifting experience seeing mankind adventure out into the solar system. :D

Prefer Red Dwarf myself :D

Ha! I love Red Dwarf. :) ;) Red Dwarf is so cool. :cool:

One of my favorite episodes is the one with President Kennedy. At first I was a bit taken back by this episode and thought it was in very bad taste, but after a while it sort of grew on me. :eek:

Have every tape at home. Any idea when the movie is supposed to be coming out? There's been talk and then nothing. :(

Don't think i've seen the reagan episode. I've started buying the DVD's now and showed my American wife a couple of episodes the other day. She likes British comedies but I wasnt sure if she would apreciate RD...after watching one episode she was in fits of laughter and we ended up watching the whole series II in one sitting. :D

Those pics look suspiciously like the Mojave desert seen through a red filter to me. :D

Re: Anyone Following NASA's Mars Adventures?
 

Total freaking waste of money.

Re: Anyone Following NASA's Mars Adventures?
 

Perhaps you could elaborate beyond your conclusionary statement? Why, in your own words, is it a "Total freaking waste of money." :D

Re: Anyone Following NASA's Mars Adventures?
 

Because approximately 1 in 10 children in this country have no health insurance thats why.

20% of the population live under the IRS recognised poverty line.

Re: Anyone Following NASA's Mars Adventures?
 

Lets make that 50% once we work on getting a base on the moon.

Here is a link showing the poor souls who will have to pay for it all..

Paying for the trip to
Mars

Re: Anyone Following NASA's Mars Adventures?
 

So man is wrong to explore his environment (which includes the solar system)? There should not have been any British explorers because there was ABJECT poverty and ZIP health care back then. Hell, there was child labor too.

No research, no exploration, zip because there is poverty. So paralysis should be our aim?

So, Kennedy in his famous speech about going to the moon was wrong? There was plenty of poverty in the USA when Kennedy made that speech.

What of the enormous resources (for power generation) on the moon which would make America (and the rest of the world) less reliant on Middle East Oil? Discovered from visits to the moon. We should just ignore it?

Wow is all I can say.

Researchers see Helium 3 as the "perfect fuel":
http://www.space.com/scienceastrono...um3_000630.html

Re: Anyone Following NASA's Mars Adventures?
 

JFK and the USA space race of the 60's was primarily to compete for bragging rights with the USSR.
Is that a reason to go to Mars? I see the Rover exploration had a nosey at the rock that looked like a football, it appeared to be a kind of Basalt. Basalt for christs sake, I could dig some of that up from my back yard.

I am against this crap, because if GWB wins another term, then his administration will only be responsible for $1 bn of the costs implemented under his scheme (his scheme to bankrupt the country) and the poor bugger who takes office after GWB will have the job to find out of the budget the rest of the money to finance this undertaking. I am against it because GWB see's himself as some sort of Captain Cook wannabe, and history will proclaim if any mission is successful that he will get the credit, but didn't have to do any work to find the money or resources to finance it.

Re: Anyone Following NASA's Mars Adventures?
 

It is through efforts to find out things and exploration that we make strides in our technology. Treating disease came from gaining an understanding of germs, with the great efforts of scientists who asked questions. To stop research because there is poverty in the world is, well, just plain nuts.

OK, got the message. You've shifted from your original "reason" for shutting down space exploration. Now you say you are against NASA because of the politics in Washington. At least we got to your real "reasons". So everything at NASA should go on hold until you are happy with the politics in DC. What a great way that would be to run NASA. :rolleyes:

OK you NASA people, take a hike, we are arbitrarily shutting you down. You will come back later? We will ignore the HUGE resources on the moon we so badly need to power the next generation of generating plant and get us off reliance on oil (we will stick with the polluting oil stuff). The politics are not right.

Researches see Helium 3 as the "perfect fuel":
http://www.space.com/scienceastronom...m3_000630.html

Re: Anyone Following NASA's Mars Adventures?
 

PA, you are putting words into my mouth, I didn't say shut NASA down. I never said anything about being against NASA, just the people who make the decisions for them and tell them what to do.

I think the ISS was a successful attempt at miltilateral co-operation in space. and I applaud the entire project.

The current path is once again it seems, it for unilateral bragging rights.

Here is a question for you then, and it was asked a while ago on another board.
How will you split up the moon if natural resources are discovered there?
Is it a case of whoever plants there flag on it first owns it?
or how do countries like Mali and Benin get their share of moon?

Re: Anyone Following NASA's Mars Adventures?
 

This is incredible. NASA is BEGGING Congress for money to put a base on the Moon and Mars. BEGGING THEM FOR THE MONEY. It is what NASA WANTS TO DO!!!! It is the politicians (Congress in particular) that have STARVED NASA FOR FUNDS FOR THE PROJECTS THAT THEY WANT TO DO. Got that yet?

Not if (re: resources on the moon), Helium 3 is on the moon. It's a God dam reality. Helium 3 on the moon - got that yet? NASA astronauts found helium 3 on the moon in 1969 (the link between the isotope and lunar resources was made by research scientists in 1986). We have in our grasp one way of cutting down on CO2 emmissions - this is FANTASTIC, cleaner air. You would have us DO NOTHING because of the politics in Washington and some clap trap about bragging.

Researches see Helium 3 as the "perfect fuel":
http://www.space.com/scienceastronom...m3_000630.html

You mean to say that splitting up the resources should be a bar against establishing a moon base???? What back-to-front claptrap.

Hey, man has the ability to work things out. Under your "logic" we should not go to the moon because of some fears about how we split up the resources. Hell, most of the countries in the world would be glad to have cheap oil (because it would be a HELL OF A LOT CHEAPER) if the USA was not burning oil.

OK, so we do nothing. NASA: shut down the moon base project you SO MUCH WANT TO DO. We are concerned now about some fears, also worries about bragging rights, and the politics in DC are just not right. You got that NASA?

Jesus, first of all, lay off shouting at me I am not a kid.

I askd you how we'll split up the moon, I have no fears about it, I just asked you in the spirit of debate how to do it.

Next thing Captain Kirk.........

so if it is on the moon, why bother with Mars then?

If Nasa, which is underwritten by the taxpayers finds this H3, do we share in the profits when it becomes profitable?

Or will Shell / Exxon try and sell us back the stuff we paid for in the first place.

It is like Glaxo being subsidised by the taxpayer to find a new cold medicine and then being sold back to the taxpayers.