Nasa is a waste of funds!

[Rogan Josh]

He is almost right.

The manned space programme s a waste of money. NASA is not though, since there are lots of great unmanned research projects which NASA is doing.

The manned stuff is just public relations.

Oh, and by the way, the 'spin-off' argument is bull****. You would get the same amount of spin-offs by spending the same amount of money researching something useful on the ground. They might not be the same spin-offs, so you might have a cure for cancer rather than a cell-phone, but so what?

[Docfeelgood]

PS I can't believe I'm actually responding to your drivel. I'm certainly glad that your views represent an extreme minority.

Sorry to dissapoint you but these questions are being asked by others more and more who can do something about it.
I just post on the boards.

I have not started writing to my congressman, yet


Yall better come up with some better reasons than what your telling me here

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

75 technologies and spin offs to private sector and counting per Eli's link.

[Willem]

Originally posted by Docfeelgood



Yall better come up with some better reasons than what your telling me here

Knowledge! That's the only reason we need.

[DanS]

For context, in '03...

NASA will spend $14.3 billion
NSF (general science & engineering) will spend $4.9 billion
NIH (human health) will spend $27.3 billion

NIH spending doubled over the last 5 years.

[Velociryx]

No, no...Doc's got a good point.

It really IS a waste of time.

And by extension (gotta keep consistency of logic here), so is the whole of modern society.

The expeditions of Drake, Magellen, and Columbus were every bit as dangerous (and probably moreso) than space exploration, but yeah....they were a waste of time too. Who cares whether the world is round or flat, after all? It's no big deal.

Which means that the discovery and founding of America, and every invention that has sprung from this country....all a total waste of effort.

What were they thinking?

-=Vel=-

[chequita guevara]

And defense will be $300 billion.

Have some mother-f*cking perspective, people.

[Willem]

Originally posted by Docfeelgood



Sorry to dissapoint you but these questions are being asked by others more and more who can do something about it.

And they're the same sort of questions people asked when they said man would never fly in the air. And obviously no one's listening to them if even Bush is pushing for an increase in NASA's budget. Good thing too, if mankind as a whole had the same attitude as yours, we'd still be throwing sticks at our supper.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

$45bn in basic & applied research

What percentage of overall budget does this constitute?

[Japher]

This argument is absurd...

Why not argue that too much money is spent on marine biology, environmental sciences, geology, medicine, botany... or any science in general?

Why not debate that early exploration of the seas was a waste of money? Everything those early exlporer did was worthless, and that the Dutch, Germans, English, Spaniards, and Portugese were just wasting their money!

Why even bother to try and understand the world, galaxy, or universe we live in? Why don't we just sit on our hands, or better yet our thumbs, and do nothing? Why bother trying make the world a better place, and why bother attempting to increase the comforts of life?

Silly. Space exploration and the experiments that are performed up there in the name of medicine and technology (which are hone towards space exploration) is not something that will go in vain. Maybe one day we learn better ways to harness the power of the atom, the sun, or even planetary graviational effects. One day we may actually be able to travel the stars and take advantage of the rich, rare elements that lie within. One day we may be actually able to live on another planet, grow food their, and complain about our inability to maintain a stable envornment without terraforming it... Now that will be kewl.

Yet, to support the intellect of which this thread was started: Ya know, if we reach warp 1 the Vulcans will come down and impart their knowledge with us...

[Willem]

Originally posted by chegitz guevara
And defense will be $300 billion.

Have some mother-f*cking perspective, people.

Bush is actually proposing a defense budget of $500 billion at the moment.

[DanS]

$791 Billion total discretionary, so about 6%.

Bush is actually proposing a defense budget of $500 billion at the moment.

No he isn't.

[Docfeelgood]

Knowledge! That's the only reason we need.

WHAT knowledge?????

this is the best you can come up with?

Hey, I am not making fun of you or trying to belittel you.
You gotta do better than this


You know, I have not seen one reason worthwhile yet for continuing NASA.

[Ozz]

Originally posted by Docfeelgood Yall better come up with some better reasons than what your telling me here

Cause we want to. We want manned exploration, cause
we're men, not robots.

Humandkind does a lot of things that are expensive and
unprofitable. Ballet, Opera, Paintings-Art, Health care,
the world's entire military.

Logically, You should cut these first

Good luck

[Velociryx]

Doc - Were the voyages of Drake, Magellen, Columbus, and their contemporaries also a waste of time, in your opinion?

-=Vel=-
(waiting with baited breath for the answer)