NASA begins search for ancient life on Mars after arrival of Perseverance, Ingenuity spacecrafts

https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/mars-life-ingenuity-helicopter-perseverance-rover-60-minutes-2022-07-03/

 

$ 2.5 Billion for that tiny thing. How much medical research could that have funded? How many lives saved? Sickening.

 

Remember that it's not just money that disappears. It's money that goes into paying people and into research and technologies that may have far-reaching implications for people here on Earth. We may not know it yet.

https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/inventions/top-5-nasa-inventions.htm
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/07/08/space-race-inventions-we-use-every-day-were-created-for-space-exploration/39580591/
https://www.yahoo.com/video/25-everyday-items-nasa-invented-225418477.html

 

Well, as a species, we've been hopeless at fixing things on earth -- y'all know that. So I guess we might as well spend billions - even trillions if you like - poking around a planet that we KNOW won't support life. Sure -- that makes sense. Nah. I'll still do my little bit - my way...

 

When I was in high school I took a class called "Science Seminar" where all we did every day was research and debate scientific concepts, theories, and funding. I learned more in that one class for that one year than I did in the entirety of my time in K-12. The teacher was an eccentric genius and he knew just how to push the right buttons to get us to debate with passion. During a heated debate about the space program that still sticks out to me today, I said the exact same thing Johann did here.

Honestly, I'm not really sure if I feel the same or differently about it now, but that's only because I eventually resigned to the reality long ago that, either way, there was nothing I could do about it, lol.

 

Right. I felt the same way. There's only one thing I've found. Support the causes you really believe are important, as best you can. You may only have a little to give, but from an individual standpoint, you have hope that your contribution will help save lives and eliminate suffering for a few people, somewhere down the line.

What better than that, can you get for your money?

 

"Hello, Mr. Musk? Yes, I'd like a one-way ticket on SpaceX. A sub-orbital flight will be fine. Can you drop me directly on the Kremlin?"

 

I guess you're right. Advancements were at quite a cost, though. I realize Medical Research isn't the ONLY thing - but something happened in my life (not to me) that forever makes it a real priority with me. I'm not saying anything more about that.

Maybe I should go back to advocating abolishing Professional Sports before I take on the Space Race. The odds of success are about equal, I figure. Yeah, I realize the world doesn't revolve around me. That's OK. It doesn't revolve around any one of us.