Nasa is a waste of funds!

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Thanks Dan,

6% does seem a tad high but if research done correctly may be a worthwhile future investment.

The fuel cell funding I noticed was not included in your previous numbers either so it is a tad bit higher still.

[Docfeelgood]

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...

Eh...ehh..ehh..Star Trek

[Willem]

Originally posted by 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.

Ok, I'm off base on that one, it's $379 billion. Which means it's almost half of the entire budget according to your figures. Now there's a good example of waste! Spend billions in order to make things that blow up.

[chequita guevara]

A lot of modern medical equipment is based on equipment used to monitor austronauts. Lives are being saved because of manned space flight.

NASA needs an advertizing budget so that it can tell idjits like Docfeelgood the benefits of manned space flight.

[Willem]

Originally posted by Docfeelgood



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

That's your problem. It's pretty obvious to most intelligent people.

[Rogan Josh]

Originally posted by 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?

So you would in no way prioritise research by deciding which research areas deserve the most funding?

Absurd indeed....

[Combat Ingrid]

An example of knowledge you get:

Research on the Space Shuttle and the Russian space station Mir has indicated that protein crystals grown in microgravity can yield substantially better structural information, and disease-treating drugs are designed from protein structure data. Determining protein structure is the key to the design and development of effective drugs for the more than 100,000 different proteins important to the human body's everyday functions and the fighting of disease.

By understanding how a protein's structure affects its function, a drug can be created to "fit" into a protein's active site—similar to inserting a key into a lock—to disable the protein's function. This approach promises to help produce superior drugs for a wide range of conditions, and the ISS could become one of the world's premier sources for critical data on the protein structures needed for this new method of drug development.

ISS facilities will enable investigators to analyze crystals on orbit, decreasing the cost and increasing the quality of research. In addition, the station will be used to study and understand the physics involved in protein crystal growth, helping overcome the difficulties that currently limit much of this research on Earth.

http://nctn.hq.nasa.gov/innovation/Innovation_75/ftre.htm

Being a molecular biologist I can't really agree this is wasted money

[Docfeelgood]

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

sorry, but to me we are talkin apples and oranges.


I think you are just poking fun at me and trying to insult my intellegence.

[Andrew1999]

Originally posted by 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=-

They all had a goal! Columbus and Magellan were trying to find new trade routes, and Drake was trying to pillage them. NASA hasn't had a goal since the moon landings. They might claim they're gathering information a Mars expedition, but there's not one on the calendar any time in the next 20 years.

Remeber the Simpsons episode? "Oh no! Now we may never know if ants can be trained to sort tiny screws in space!" That's the kind of science we're doing. We're not sailing to America or crossing the Pacific. We're sailing around in circles 10 miles out of Lisbon, trying to pretend we're going somewhere. I'd support a real program of space exploration and colonization, but I've never seen one during my lifetime.

[chequita guevara]

I'd be for manned space flight even if no applied science resulted (which it does, in droves). Humans explore, it's in our genetic code. Space exploration is part of the growth and evolution of humanity. Neanderthals just don't get it.

[Willem]

Originally posted by Docfeelgood

I think you are just poking fun at me and trying to insult my intellegence.

No, you're doing a fine job of that all on your own!

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Docfeelgood
I think you are just . . . to insult my intellegence.

Believe me, there's no way our opinion of your intelligence could go down any further.

[Rogan Josh]

Originally posted by Combat Ingrid
Being a molecular biologist I can't really agree this is wasted money

And you don't think molecular biology could have come up with something just as worthwhile if they had been given just 10% of the NASA manned flight budget?

If they couldn't it's time to sack the molecular biologists....

[Docfeelgood]

Being a molecular biologist I can't really agree this is wasted money

Thats very good but...
.. why do we have to spend so much money and waste resorces to have man do this reaserch?

Could it be done cheaper?
Could it be done without a cost to human life?
Is this reaserch worth the ultimit cost of human life?










think!

[chequita guevara]

Buncha friggan neaderthals.