Artemis Project: Why?

[mawnansmiff]

With the entire world suffering a huge collapse in the value of 'money' and all that that brings with it, I can't help but wonder why America needs to pursue this incredibly expensive vanity project.

Apparently the plan is to eventually send man back to the Moon to plan for the creation a Moon settlement to prepare for landing man on Mars to prepare a settlement there!

I cannot imagine how many gazillions of dollars will be spent on this while folk around the world (including the US) are living lives of extreme poverty.

Well it all fell into place whilst watching Sky News late last night. They had some retired NASA astronaut saying words to the effect of "We don't want China going to the moon and planting their flag there thus claiming it as theirs..." Is that what this is really about?

I'm all for progress and progressive science but this just seems to me to be an incredibly expensive way to poke China in the eye when those monies could be better spent sorting out the problems on this planet rather than trying to colonise another.

Regards,

Jay.

 

[badbeard]

As an American, I have no idea. All I can say is that our politics and government haven't really represented the will of the people for a while now. American leadership is constantly posturing about this and that. These grandiose initiatives gain popularity in news cycles, and 6 months later they slip into the void never to be spoken of again.

That aside, if the objective was truly to somehow beat China to the punch.. I find that to be a pretty humorous situation logically. We would have to source 98% of the materials for our moon base from China.

 

[georged]

 

[Chaukisch]

Why? Because the kings never cared about the problems of the general rabble. Why would they?
"If they don't have bread, why don't they eat cake?"
Progression? Regression! Divide and conquer. It's all about coming out above and letting the next man fall.
Sorry, but there's profit to be had.

 

[renfield]

I wouldn’t call it a vanity project, nor a waste of money.

Nearly every dollar spent on this goes into a paycheck that someone has earned. The money doesn’t disappear down a hole. Never mind technology development, strengthening national technical capabilities and infrastructure and scientific return.

If the U.S. spent as much on space exploration as it does on social programs we’d have permanent bases on Mars already.

 

[Streeper541]

The same could be asked about the Webb space telescope.

Could tax dollars be better spent and resources be better utilized? Sure. Are there other more pressing issues which need to be addressed? Absolutely.

Yes, space exploration is expensive. No, it doesn't seem to provide much real tangible benefits. To that I still say... Why not?

I'm ready to see people on the Moon and hopefully on Mars in my lifetime!

 

[pappymac]

Today's launch of a no-crew test flight has been postponed because of a fuel leak.

 

[georged]

If the U.S. spent as much on space exploration as it does on social programs we’d have permanent bases on Mars already.

Actually, the reality is we're discovering more reasons every day why long-term Man in Space projects will probably never happen.

It boils down to animals not being tolerant at ALL of environmental conditions that are vastly different to the ones they evolved in.

From cosmic rays to prolonged weightlessness to unexplained (and deleterious) physical changes, the more we learn the worse the situation looks biologically.

And the same sort of endless unpleasant surprises thing is happening regarding the off-Earth environments themselves. Moon dust, for example, is constantly positively and negatively charged by solar radiation, and is attracted to---and sticks stubbornly to---absolutely everything, is micro-fine, and is as abrasive as silicon carbide. It gets into even the most finely-made machinery and destroys it within HOURS. No one has any idea (beyond the theoretical) of how to deal with it.

While there might be solutions waiting to be discovered for all this stuff, the clock is running regarding problems on Earth that will need to be solved first. And Man is way behind in that that particular race.

 

[LotusEater]

NASA is partnering with Lego, Peanuts the Discovery channel and many more to try to use Artemis to spark the interest of American youth and to to get young people more interested in STEM professions.

I’m not saying this is going to work but if it does it would be a real positive

 

[fireground_piper]

NASA has their operating budgets, simply put, to plan and try to execute their roadmaps. I would really hope NASA isn't using their budgets to solve poverty or it would defeat the purpose of their existence.

You could certainly debate whether the moon or means to get there is the best roadmap for the agency, but so long as the agency exists and has an operating budget, I'd hate to see that money spent not on space exploration. A quick look seems to indicate NASA takes up 0.48% of the current US budget which its been currently floating around for the past decade. It hasn't been so comparatively small since 1960.

Budget of NASA - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[hugodrax]

Sorry, Smiff, but I'm a member of the governed class and am not consulted on these things.

 

[AJL67]

Had a pass for the press viewing area from a friend at nasa but got up at 4am and saw the issues and decided not to get stuck in 3 hours of traffic to get 5 miles leaving for a launch figured was iffy at best, so just walked over to the beach instead, I’m about 20 miles from the pad.

the wonderful part is the leak is in the same place from last time “yup durp durp we fixed it boss durp”. I guess flex tape doesn’t really fix everything.

The rocket only congress could build This is not a compliment when you hear it.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Doesn't pique my interest and knew nothing of it.

 

[AJL67]

Doesn't pique my interest and knew nothing of it.

Well you’re a burley dude.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Well you’re a burley dude.

?

Actually Virginias, Orientals, and aromatics. Not much of a burley.

 

[bullet08]

I mean.. We still have Space Force, right?

 

[AJL67]

?

Actually Virginias, Orientals, and aromatics. Not much of a burley.

Pique joke tie in albeit it a very loose one.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Pique joke tie in albeit it a very loose one.

Still not following.

 

[Pipingntrucking]

With the entire world suffering a huge collapse in the value of 'money' and all that that brings with it, I can't help but wonder why America needs to pursue this incredibly expensive vanity project.

Apparently the plan is to eventually send man back to the Moon to plan for the creation a Moon settlement to prepare for landing man on Mars to prepare a settlement there!

I cannot imagine how many gazillions of dollars will be spent on this while folk around the world (including the US) are living lives of extreme poverty.

Well it all fell into place whilst watching Sky News late last night. They had some retired NASA astronaut saying words to the effect of "We don't want China going to the moon and planting their flag there thus claiming it as theirs..." Is that what this is really about?

I'm all for progress and progressive science but this just seems to me to be an incredibly expensive way to poke China in the eye when those monies could be better spent sorting out the problems on this planet rather than trying to colonise another.

Regards,

Jay.

Military, space, aviation and nautical advancement are the only times tax dollars seem to be effective at much of anything. I don't mind it actually.

It's all of the millions of other useless projects the government budgets for and accomplished nothing during or after other than mi appropriating, losing, over paying and basic just stuff that makes zero sense.

If you expect the government to help you or anyone else- look at history to better silence your false hopes. I miss phone books. It was the easiest way to show people the thousands of purposeless and needless government departments there actually are and that was just in ones own state/town/county. Now thanks to the vastness of internet all those leeches are well hidden in the much that is a bloated government.

 

[woodsroad]

Space programs are military programs masquerading as a celebration of human potential.