Tonight is Apollo 11 night

[Kamban]

that's right, i'm staying right here on Earth. mars has a avg temp of -80 and doesn't have a breathable atmosphere. we need to focus on taking care of our planet, the billionaires spending money on interplanetary travel are in my opinion wasting money which should be spent here.

As said above Mars was once very hospitable with oceans and rivers but has suddenly become a dry place. We can see if any traces of life exist or have existed before it went into that dead state. And if any chances of recovery is remotely possible.

Even our other neighbor Venus was once a very temperate place until 800 million years ago when there were major volcanic eruptions spewing tons of sulfuric acid and CO2 that turned it into the hottest planet. 800 million years was not that long ago when you realize that huge dinosaurs were here on earth 250 million years ago.

Knowing what exactly happened that triggered these planets to dead zone planets from hospitable planets can help us prevent that from happening here on Earth. For that, spending $3B is small change.

[Antares]

At the rate we’re going, we might want to begin working on alternatives to living on planet Earth

[artemis]

I don’t get the fascination with Mars, I see cold red rock.

Mars was once very Earthlike, with oceans and rivers. That makes it one of the few places (along with Europa and Enceladus) where we might have a chance of finding non-Earth life.

[fatlittlepig]

Pigs do not make good astronauts.

that's right, i'm staying right here on Earth. mars has a avg temp of -80 and doesn't have a breathable atmosphere. we need to focus on taking care of our planet, the billionaires spending money on interplanetary travel are in my opinion wasting money which should be spent here.

[Hatton]

I don’t get the fascination with Mars, I see cold red rock.

Pigs do not make good astronauts.

[Tim]

I don’t get the fascination with Mars, I see cold red rock.

Geographic arbitrage. Real estate prices on the moon are astronomical.

[fatlittlepig]

I don’t get the fascination with Mars, I see cold red rock.

[Lordosis]

Viking landed on Mars in 1976 and took this picture:
https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA03166

44 years later we landed on mars and took this picture:
https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/asse...xlarge-169.jpg

We've come a long way, haha.

Still dusty. Yay science!

[fatlittlepig]

Viking landed on Mars in 1976 and took this picture:
https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA03166

44 years later we landed on mars and took this picture:
https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/asse...xlarge-169.jpg

We've come a long way, haha.

[fatlittlepig]

IMO money spent on our citizens is much better spent than on space buggies.

[Kamban]

I’m more interested in finding intelligent life not some traces of some possible quasi microbes on some rock.

We have been using radio telescopes and other equipment to see if other intelligent life forms exist in the Universe. The problem is the vastness of space. The video linked above on this thread gives a good idea what formidable challenge it is.

3B may seem excessive but we have just spent 2.6 Trillion on the coronavirus pandemic, some on dubious recovery programs. In that context the 3B is a drop in the bucket and might pay off big dividends. The scientists do not get paid as well from NASA as they would in the private sector. They are a bargain for the talents they bring.

[Kamban]

I would prefer finding intelligent life on earth!

Maybe we should see if it exists right here on WCI before we search the earth. :-)

[Tim]

I’m more interested in finding intelligent life not some traces of some possible quasi microbes on some rock.

Some interesting points. The ROI from the space programs directly has been to say the least, minimal. However, the unintended consequences and byproducts have been substantial. Mostly due to the need generated to solve problems that would not have been possible otherwise.

I agree that there are diminishing returns because I honestly don't think finding intelligent life in space is worthwhile. I would prefer finding intelligent life on earth! Sometimes that is a problem. Anecdotally, yours truly has my own shortcomings. No need to point out the obvious.

[CordMcNally]

*insert Uranus joke*

[fatlittlepig]

I’m more interested in finding intelligent life not some traces of some possible quasi microbes on some rock.