NASA’s successful launch Saturday of the InSight lander on an exploratory mission to Mars – costing taxpayers about $814 million – is just the latest example of the long fascination people have had with the Red Planet. The lander will study earthquakes – make that marsquakes – to learn more about our neighbor in the solar system.
And on Tuesday the three-day Human to Mars Summit kicks off in Washington to discuss the far more ambitious mission of sending men and women to Mars. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine is one of many NASA officials scheduled to speak, along with officials of companies interested in space exploration, scientists, engineers, people from the entertainment industry and many others.
Humans have been wondering what’s on Mars for centuries, imaging at times that it was populated by intelligent beings, lined with canals, and all sorts of other things that have no basis in fact.
We now know that we don’t need to worry about Martians sending a fleet of spaceships to attack us. Sending humans there would do nothing to enhance our national security.
But curiosity is a strong human impulse. So it’s only natural that in addition to sending unmanned exploratory vehicles to Mars we pull out the national checkbook and spend billions of dollars to send astronauts there to explore for themselves, right?
Actually, it would be wrong. Sending humans to Mars – at least any time in the next few decades – would be a costly mistake.
Instead, we need to use our limited resources to return to the moon and set up a permanent base, and do more to protect our Earth-orbiting satellites. This is a mission our national security demands..
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http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2018/05/06/forget-about-sending-humans-to-mars-need-permanent-moon-base-instead.html
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7 comments:
Forget about the moon also (as far as manned missions go). Robotic spacecraft can accomplish everything we need to do, and do it for about one-tenth of the cost. Quite wasting my tax dollar!
they need to take a planet and give a free one way ticket to some people. ONE way. I know a few i would chip in on.
Whatever happened to all of the Hollywood morons that were going to move if Trump became president? Put them on the moon.
We are 10,000 years away from making Mars a potential destination for humans.We are a trash species.We must evolve beyond our current state before we can improve another planet.
A safe place for you moonbats
$814M for this last blastoff? I remember a time where we regularly sent men to the moon with computer equipment similar to today's toaster oven via technology. Advancements in technology gave up the space shuttle (never to the moon); skylab and today's space station.
Still cannot get back to the moon, but we're utilizing lots of resources for Mars and lots of pot holes (and route 50 bridges) to fill here on earth.
Hmmm....
Who are "WE" in these comments?
Are the commenters part of the criminal US Government?
Part of NASA?
Don't you mean to write: The US Government doesn't need to waste taxpayer money on fairy tales like this. . .
Don't you mean to write: The US Government should begin by admitting the Moon Landings in 1969 were fake . . .
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