Space..... The final frontier.

[lettie]

The recent shuttle mission prompted a discussion at work. What do we really think of space exploration?

Is it important that we know what's out there, or could we not care less?

I have to admit that some of the pictures taken in space are amazing and the fact that people can even get up there in the first place is a miracle, but has anything actually been discovered in space which helps us with our everyday lives? Have they found cures up there for diseases? Have they found a way to end starvation in the world? Have they actually found anything that normal non-scientific people would give a damn about?

What about the cost of space exploration? Where else could the billions spent on space travel have been spent? Does anybody really think that there are other civilisations out there and why do we care? We can't stop fighting amongst each other on Earth, so why would we want to find another race to war with?

I'd love to hear your views......

[garinda]

I agree with Lettie. If they came back with a lump of cheese from the Moon and it cured cancer, that would be a good thing.

It does cost an exorbitant amount of money, basically to get back some fascinating photographs.

The nature of Man is to explore though, in the hope of finding something good.

I wonder if Columbus would turn back mid Atlantic, if he knew what would become of his discoveries?

[Busman747]

I understand what you say Lettie - - but how many people have climbed Everest now and for what reason? Nothing of benefit has been found on the moon, but what if it had? It may have cost Billions but without space travel, many of todays inventions would not have been thought of.

Examples are "Teflon" for easy frying - - and don't forget tiles that stick like glu------- OK, forget THAT one!

[entwisi]

I think Rindy has hit the nail on the head, The whole point is that we don't know what benefits we will gain from our experiments up there. If we gain an insight into the rest of th universe then it must be a good thing. Having said that, I am a scientific type person who finds this stuff interesting.


There is thouhg a simple fact, we know more about the surface of the moon and of Mars than we do about the bottom of the oceans on our own planet.

[yerself]

The most astounding thing about this latest space mission was the fact they ever got back to earth. I thought women drivers always got lost.

[Gayle]

I'd love to think there was life out there. It's full of opportunities - possible cures for medicine, better climates if we completely screw up the earth's, friendship and sharing technology, etc.

Only problem I can foresee is that if any little green men did ever land on this planet, someone would probably shoot them and dissect them before asking if their mission was friendly.

[lettie]

I know that there are good things about Space and it's amazing that we can put satellites up there, and of course the Teflon, but have any of these things actually mattered in the grand scheme of things? (Except perhaps to provide the entertainment industry with a few blockbuster films.) We lived for years without satellite and teflon and without fantastic photos from space. Life saving and life changing discoveries have been made on this planet by the best brains of the time, Penicillin, Radium, etc and have not cost anywhere near the money that is wasted in space....

If there are little green men out there, what do you think they would think of our habits and characteristics? Would they find it unusual that we keep animals as pets? Send greetings cards? Live as families etc?

[garinda]

One of the things I ponder, along with my navel, on those long sleepless nights, is where does space end, is it infinite?

It does seem incredible that we are the only planet with a sustainable form of life when you think how utterly vast space is.

I'm not sure the billions of dollars spent, is worth finding an answer to my nightime ponderings though.

[Doug]

I think you have to consider that most modern scientific discoveries of 19th and 20th century have come about due to war, weapon proliferation, terrestrial exploration and the space race…..What I would fear is if this money didn’t get spent on space exploration would we still benefit or would we suffer the effects of stifling our own futures because of inertia within the scientific community, we need to explore not only to see what’s out there, but just as important to see what’s still under our feet and our seas……

Drugs and dressings, protective surfaces, heat protection, advances in basic engineering? Advanced fuels and fuel replacements, alternative fibres, food preservation and hundreds of other applications have come out of the last 60 to 70 years of fighting, killing, exploring and experimentation……..

We will all live longer because of it and millions in the third world will continue to starve to death because of it. We have played god and spread our dreams among the stars and we will pay for it dearly.

But ask yourselves what would have occurred if we had done nothing and what will be the consequences of not continuing….Progress is forward motion. Stop and you don’t get any further than an hole in the ground………….Frightening isn’t it

[Doug]

Originally Posted by garinda

One of the things I ponder, along with my navel, on those long sleepless nights, is where does space end, is it infinite?

Best not to go their Gary….. I use to imagine a journey through endless space, travelling continually looking for an end, searching for a point in infinity that doesn’t exist. It is a physiological nightmare that can frighten the strongest of men, endless blackness suffocating your imagination, blinding your sight and subduing your hearing……total isolation, total fear because now the unknown as become your nemeses on your journey into your own mind and your own personal madness…………..

[Doug]

Are we alone...................................I hope not

[lettie]

Hehehe, I have nothing against progress, it is needed in order that we don't stagnate as a race, but the Space Race seems to have been going on for an awful long time with very little to show for it. Ever since Yuri Gagarin orbited the planet in 1961 lots of time, money and effort has been ploughed into the Space race. It seems that over 44 years of full time work by the best brains on the planet hasn't really accomplished very much. Maybe if the time, money, effort and brain power had been used to find a cure for cancer, HIV, diabetes etc, then we would have more to show for it in our everyday lives....

I know that we can't help but wonder if there's anything out there, but surely after all these years of looking.............

[cashman]

its a question that has intrigued generations,WHAT IF ? the cost when set against earthly problems is prohibitive? the benifits of such expense? the only thing that troubles me about it is= if we eventually inhabit somewhere out there they may let H.B.C. run the joint lol

[Margaret Pilkington]

I used to think that the exploration of space was wonderful........and I suppose to some degree it still is, but now I am bored by it all.
It doesn't seem relative to the problems that we have on terra firma........and I know that there are some problems that can't be solved by throwing money at them......(like the famine in the third world countries)......but there must be something better to spend the money on......something that would benefit all of us here on earth.

And YES, I do know that there have been a number of spin offs from space travel, but did they really warrant so much money being spent to achieve them...?

[Doug]

The problem is without influence this all comes to nothing…….The UN, the US and the EU have never been able to accommodate each other in any constructive manner that has allowed third world governments to serve their people before themselves, the same can be said of any National Governments. The US spends trillions of dollars on space exploration which aids progress and trillions of dollars on weapon development to fight an enemy that could never match it, yet their own back yard is full of despair and the dispossessed, but not a penny saved would reach them. HIV/Aid’s is engulfing the sub African continent and the drugs needed to stem the pain of death are readily available and cheap to produce, yet the leading edge drug company’s demand exorbitant remuneration, this alone coupled with the Catholic Church’s condemnation of contraception and the corruption of governments on all continents will take a life for every breath we take tonight. The fact is that you don’t need to end Space exploration to make amends in this world of pity, deal with the corruption and the criminals that breed off it and you will have all the money you need.