Advances towards Mars

[DeletedUser34315]

http://lightyears.blogs.cnn.com/201...ght-for-u-s-astronaut-set-for-2015/?hpt=hp_t1
Topic for debate: is spending money on this sort of thing, working towards reaching mars/an asteroid, worth the budget NASA(or Russian space program, Chinese, etc.) spends?
I feel that NASA has performed some very, very impressive feats, and deserve not to have their budget cut, but to have it increased.
Thoughts?

 

[DeletedUser]

Yes, I think that this is in all probability a worthwhile venture. Although I think they should direct funding towards planetary colonization projects...after all, we'll need somewhere to go to once we've finished with this rock of a planet.

 

[DeletedUser]

I feel that if we can spend trillions of dollars on mothballed military squirtguns and Pentagon neckties, the least we can do is spend a nickel to go to Mars.

Then again, those starving masses might need some attention eventually. Meh, we can put that off for later... "moooore guns and laser beams!"

 

[DeletedUser35409]

Private industry will do it, Hellstromm. Normal people will accomplish amazing feats of discovery and eventual colonization.

SpaceX and other companies that are privately owned (that means no greasy gubmint hands, hellstromm) will accomplish Mars missions within a few years. They (privateurs) actually are interviewing people to visit Mars as we speak. Specifically they're looking for a married couple suitable to the journey.

A decent site to view is www.planetarysociety.org if the reader wants a brief overview of current space exploration plans.