The Big Picture: Once Upon a Time in The Future

[ZeoAssassin]

if i am not mistaking didn't Obama INCREASE the NASA budget? despite the end of the shuttle program?

anyway yeah its a real shame. the government should probably lie to us and say that Osama Bin Laden is threatening to commit terrorist attacks on the moon. THAN Americans will be 100% excited and supportive about space travel technology again. =p

in all seriousness, the MAJOR expense about space travel is simply getting out of Earth's gravity. Escape Velocity can be a real ***** on logistics and the wallet when it comes to progressing technology. the good news is 2 things.

1. Once the Escape velocity can be achieved cheaply and efficiently to get supplies/ships up into space, it should be relatively smooth sailing from there because of the lack of gravity. this means the current system of MASSIVE rockets with billions of dollars in technology and however many million of gallons of fuel will NOT be necessary and become a thing of the past. (reducing cost greatly)

2. from what i know the space-elevator scientists keep talking about seems to be the realistic solution to the problem. there should be a lot more funding in researching the carbon-rods(?carbon micro fibers? tubes? something carbon), the material that is light as hell and stronger then steel. right now they can only make about a hairs width/length of it at a time if not way WAY less.

 

[Endocrom]

I get where he's coming from but it sounds a bit like an old man waiving his cain and screaming "WHERE'S MY DAMN FLYING CAR!"

That's an odd thing for people to want anyway isn't it? A flying car, really? My Grandma just plowed into one of the trees next to my Dad's driveway (Not exactly a good example, but it did just happen). You think the world would be a better place where Joe Everyman could send a one ton piece of metal and jet fuel down to a random patch of earth almost as if it was the hand of God doing some smiting.

I'm not sure what the point of that tangent was but, yeah, I kind of agree with Bob.

 

[pigmypython]

If it helps I agree with you 100%, Bob. I grew up seeing the space program as the end all and be all of scientific achievement...sigh.

 

[Exocet]

Actually,I'm all for individual countries cutting their space programs if it means everyone groups up for one super massive space program with a mind-blowing budget.

No more:"oh we can't finish this space station by 20xx,it costs too much" bullcrap.
Jesus,we have in our grasp the power to explore what Man once thought to be the domain of the gods and we can't even really unite to do so,opting instead for one or two goodwill "cooperation" projects and sending more and more communication satellites in the sky.

 

[Polock]

My biggest dream is for us to get off this rock and make some true discoveries.

 

[DarthFennec]

FINALLY someone agrees with me!
I don't know what the hell happened to space, but it pisses me off that nobody seems to give a shit about it anymore. Maybe I'm just weird like that, I don't know, all I know is I seem to be one of a small handful of people who still daydream about being part of the first Mars colony.

The universe is fucking gigantic, and there's so much stuff out there that we still don't understand. I don't see how anyone could possibly just not care about that.

 

[Orcboyphil]

I'm with Bob here but not just for the ohh wow where finally here reason (Though it is a frikkin large part of it). The choice isan't really feed the starving or go to Mars; its go to Mars and the technology that will be necessary to create a viable colony will also be the technology that improves the lot for the poor people of Earth.

I'm not so sure anymore. It seems to me that all the technology we'd need in order to go to Mars already exists, because technology has been improving on its own since it was created for the original space program. Feel free to prove me wrong though.

You could get to Mars easy enougth, but your going to have to comeback unless you want to spend trillions launching supplies to your colonists. For a start your going to need to engineer some pretty robust extremiophiles able to deal with intense cold and heres the kicker aridity. If we could create a staple food for the martians it would be a doddle to create a far less extremophile for those areas of the planet effected by drought. Getting to Mars isan't the problem, staying there is.

 

[David DeMoss]

Thank you, Bob.

You are not alone. Free Mars, and free Earth too.

 

[MrGalactus]

Bad move America, looks like it's up to Britian and the space S.A.S. to discover Prothean technology on mars. Don't worry, we'll share the discovery... for a price.

PAH! The closest one of us Brits has ever gotten to space was a Fathers 4 Justice member dressed as batman on top of Buckingham Palace.

 

[Don Reba]

A little perplexed at seeing a mention of India and China, but not Russia, which is launching the most rockets, supplying engines to the American space program, getting people to the space station, and building a brand new space centre. All without Mountain Dew ads or reality show actors.

 

[Russian Redneck]

I never gave space travel and extraterrestrial colonization any thought because I never had a reason to care, and I still don't have one even to this day. Not everyone is more concerned about improving the quality of nanotechnology over funding NASA's space programs with tax payer money. Some of us just never cared at all.

 

[vviki]

The SS mountain dew? This is where all the nice capitalism has brought us. Also voting for candidates on who wants to go to space via sms would make more money than the entire mission costs. Bob is right, the way we're heading is this. Do you think the space ships will be like the cars in formula 1? The good thing I see is that private sector sounds like more money (potential) and more freedom, although might be just the opposite, if you consider having to paint the shuttle green a restriction. On the other hand since when has the government done anything right, and it appears the more responsibility you give them, the more thy screw up. There should be a balance somewhere here.

 

[Warnolo]

I can't say i share your opinion just because i dont want the aliens to see how a bunch of jerks we are, but i really respect it.

God, fuck the humanity, i want cities on Mars too! I would even buy property there and live like in the old western movies.

 

[ethaninja]

Oh my god that canceled it?! This makes me quite upset. At least we know who to blame when the Earth is melting and there is nothing to get us off of it before it does so.

 

[Alandoril]

As much as it pains me to say this but if we can't keep our own planet in order then we have no business going to others. Also the reason many other nations, like India, can afford such scientific initiatives is because of western aid funds being used where they're not intended...

 

[Vault Citizen]

Cities on Mars do sound awfully tempting but being on the left of the political spectrum and having grown up in a country with an entrenched welfare system (If politicians tried to touch the NHS I'm pretty sure there would be a revolution) I'm on the side of the argument that money should first go to things such as food, housing, education, etc.

Cities on Mars and the Moon would be cool but what benefits would we get from them beyond the novelty of hsving them?

 

[Fensfield]

One word: Skylon [http://www.reactionengines.co.uk/skylon.html] ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skylon )

The UK and a few other countries in association are working on it, it would seem, what with the project being at least in-part government backed and all. And hey, this way the control of space exploration is finally out of primarily American hands and into the hands of multinational efforts.

Frankly, I'm glad NASA's handing over more and more to private firms - and they are. They're already making serious efforts to transfer cargo orbiter responsibilities to SpaceX, and that company's presently busy trying to prove its Dragon orbiters are capable of transporting human crew safely as well.

It's a shame it's set space exploration back right now, however, in the long run private companies getting involved is no bad thing. It certainly makes individuals and space flight coming together increasingly likely, and it's also increasingly likely that business will take (financial) risks in the economic development of space.

And S.S. Mountain Dew? Come off it. Who are you going to advertise to while exploring seemingly uninhabited space? It'll either be a grotty old mining/prospecting ship with little besides a company logo slapped on the side - if the meeting is unexpected - or it'll be an expected meeting and no government would allow a private firm to do that. Not unless corporations have already taken over government, and then it's a moot point. For a ship to have reason to carry advertisements and be in a position where it might be more likely to bump into aliens than established route-travelling shipping, space-flight would have to be so ubiquitous as for it to not matter any more.

One government, with a limited budget to spend on a lot of things before they even consider space, is going to be a great deal less likely to invest in projects that might allow off-world industry, research and habitation than various private companies, established and start-up.