China and the Moon

Its more of a sign of China's economical and political might more than technological prowess. We went to the moon because we wanted to be the first to be there, China wants to do it because they want to show the world they can play with the big dogs on the world stage.
 
is it wrong of me to hope that the human race gets what it deserves and the Earth kills us all after what we've done to it?
 
besides the fact that were going to run out of space on this planet that we are distroying with everything from war to pollution......yeah i guess there is no reason to go into space
 
I hope you do realize that there's just a COUPLE of things that came from the space program that you might appreciate. Like say, uh, this freakin internet (not all the internet runs on fiber optics some of it actually has to use those mostly pointless and useless things called satellites).
 
I think you guys are missing the point I'm trying to make. I don't want to totally eliminate the space program because it does contribute significantly to technology in our everyday lives, but I don't think it needs to be as huge as it is right now. And MattyKappy, I don't think running out of habitable space on earth will be a problem, we will run out of resources to support the population long before that happens.
 
I completely disagree. Technological progress is the only thing that can improve life for all humans. Giving money to people and aid is nice, (dont get me wrong, I think AIDs in Africa and Darfur are causes that need massive amounts of funding to solve), but both in present and past history, the best possible way to improve life for any human is to spend some money in technological advancement. Thats why governments allocate money for research every year. Does a government pay money to get X, Z and Y from researchers this year? No. The US puts money into research grants with no idea what they'll get out. Sure, there are review boards to make sure the money gets spent on research, but the government knows and trusts that its money will improve technology and bring better things to more people.

While many nonconformists will try to argue that we can be just as happy without technology as we can with it (a notion I certainly dont subscribe to), I think that humans overall are in a better situation with technology than without. Its hard to see how technologies learned and developed my sending a man to Mars might help starving people in Nigeria, but technology in general makes life better for more people and certainly allows the people with it to more easily help those without it. Just like our government, I'm completely assured that any money we spend on true research will inevitably improve life for humans around the globe.
 
Maybe the answer and cure to many diseases and ailments are out there somewhere...

But for the time being, this thread just reminded me that I have and Astrophysics midterm on Monday to study for... and a midterm on Thursday. Fuck.
 
This is really interesting. Rowen, I mostly agree with your total disagreement with my point. I have other things to say, but they aren't totally relevant to space travel itself and I think I have derailed this thread enough already. I do think that the technological advances gained from this kind of research are immensely beneficial to the majority of people, but on the other hand it takes a long time to trickle down to even the average US citizen. I guess this all really boils down to me being a crazed bum that thinks we should focus on the presnt more than we do. And so I find myself trapped in a paradox. We can focus on the future and live a (possibly) less enjoyable present, or we can live in the present and let our shortcomings catch up with us. Ultimately, it becomes an opinion of what moderation is that will decide when we have gone overboard or come short in something like this, and if there's debate then we're probably somewhere in the happy medium.
 
Exactly. To me, it boils down to whether or not you are one of those 'for the greater good' people. Yes, we can fund the short term reliefs in the present now, or fund the long term projects that will make more people happy... eventually. Putting money in either side will increase the average person's happiness and well-being on our planet, but which side you chose effects how soon it effects and how long lasting that effect is. Obviously, I think we need to balance the two, but from my perspective, we need to fund the long-lasting more. Not necessarily by taking away from short term relief either, as there are many other ways to redirect money in our government.
 
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