Is government funded space exploration a waste of money?

It certainly doesn't come cheap. It's hard to calculate a total price tag, but over the 48 years that NASA has been launching missions to Mars, Americans have spent a significant sum. The Viking missions alone cost nearly $1 billion — in 1970s dollars. The twin rovers Spirit and Opportunity cost a total of about $1 billion to build and operate as well.
Curiosity, as the Mars Science Laboratory rover is known, is over budget at $2.5 billion.

The ISS Cost us over 150 billion just to make. This does not include operation, repair, and supply shipments.

Here is a link to the History of the NASA budget.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budget_of_NASA

 

I think the most telling part of that is that we spend less then half a percent of our budget on what could be one of the most important areas of research to mankind. Eventually we are going to either outgrow or destroy this planet. It may be a thousand years in the future but our population is not sustainable. But space exploration could be the answer. So I say spend more and be the first country too colonize space.

 

I happen to agree with you. Humanities ONLY chance for long term survival, is to get some of us off this rock permenatley.

 

NASA should receive more funding than the military.

 

Considering the immense cost of trying to keep NASA afloat, I do believe that it should be cut off from our budget spending. Just very ridiculous how they cannot put that kind of money into fixing the economy, and makes me more suspicious that they (the government) have that much money as the US and World's economy are going to collapse. Very asinine.

However, allow me to bring in a new dimension into this debate. There are little known facts that I resurfaced about NASA, of how:

1. Back in October 2002, NASA and the Pentagon was spying on European anti-war demonstraters and organizations such as Global Network. It was exposed by the ACLU, I believe, two years later in 2005. Here's the article that thankfully got preserved in the Archive website.

NASA & Pentagon Surveillance of Global Network
http://web.archive.org/web/20061007095901/http:/www.space4peace.org/reports/nasa_pentagon_spy_on_gn.htm

2. Another thing to think about: space debris on the planet Earth. Did you know that there's space debris in lettuce and milk?

NEW REPORT ON WIDESPREAD ROCKET FUEL POLLUTION IN NATION'S FOOD AND WATER
https://web.archive.org/web/20050117040502/http://www.organicconsumers.org/perchlorate.htm

Just some things to think about.

 

Considering that our government pretty much flushed a trillion dollars down various boondoggle toilets and laying the groundwork foundation funding for Obama's 2012 re-election bid by offering unions a billion dollars each 'no strings attached' taxpayer's expense slush fund, the paltry sums invested in NASA's hard science approach to getting things done is nothing. Hell, Obama, wipes his butt with thousand dollar bills. So no biggie.

 

The benefits of knowledge gained from space exploration overshadows the cost of it by far.

 

What's NASA going to do with a 700 billion dollar annual budget?

 

Go all Star Trek in one generation. lol

 

the real question is how much is spent here at home and how much is spent overseas, all the money that stays here goes back into the system, if it goes overseas, it's gone

 

Do we need that much muslim outreach????

[video=youtube;tCn10YWsY1Q]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCn10YWsY1Q[/video]

 

Muslim outreach? Science should have no interest in bridging gaps between reason and illogical beliefs.

 

Depends on how you define the system. We all live on the same planet.

 

Illogical beliefs. Define "Illogical beliefs". Better yet, list some "Illogical beliefs".

 

Curing leprocy with pigeons blood would be a good one.

 

How much time you got?

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Space exploration makes sense for us.

It doesn't necessarily make sense for India or China, however. They've got much bigger poverty issues than us, so they need to focus on resolving those more.

 

How do you know? Have you tried it yourself or at least looked into it?

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Time.... is an ILLUSION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Technically, yes.

It's a pretty important one to keep track of, however.

 

Yes it is. Anyways, I'm gonna get out of this thread. Yes I am very bored, indeed.

 

Cite a study that shows the effectiveness of pigeons blood on leprosy.

 

Let's continue this subject via visitor messaging. I don't wanna stray from the conversation.

 

Quite simply put...exploration has been a part of humankind since we became human. We have found lands, and advancement because of it. We have travelled to new lands and become what we are because of it. We have been a species of conquest and inquiry....The universe is next.

Those who fight against this instinct are doomed to failure.

 

There are those government agencies that worry overmuch about time being money and they usually want to throw more men on a job to get it done quicker. The Mayor expects those people never figured out the facts of live. You can't design a major space program by throwing more men at the problem, just like you can't hire three women to make one baby in three months.

 

it's even better than that. for every dollar NASA spends, the economy grows by $8. it's the only stimulus the feds have that works.

 

Part of me thinks this way but the other part thinks that it is just a waste of time since all viable options within reason distance wise are not viable options. Everything is dead around us.