I don't think that sending humans to space is a high priority for space exploration but I do think that the ISS represents something that is good...
It shows that different humans can unite with a singular goal... for science! After all, it is the International Space Station.
Well symbolism is nice... but I'd prefer alternatives to a space hotel that does little for anyone. The fact that the ISS is basically ignored by all participating nations (other than having ponied up the cash) shows, to me, that it really isn't achieving meaningful goals -- even in the service of uniting (rather connecting) nations under science.
I see your point. And I agree that most people don't really care. But I don't see why that is a reason to stop the people who do care from doing the research. Yeah it's money from "the people" but who really gives a shit anyway? That money isn't going toward improving public education or fixing pot holes in the street so it might as well pay for something awesome like searching for possible habitable planets.
Well, I give a shit. I don't want to fund every person's idea of what should be funded by everyone else. These $1.3 Billion flights just to see "if ants can sort tiny screws in space" (to borrow a line from the Simpsons) are a huge waste of resources.
The alternative could be, you know, not taking the money from us taxpayers in the first place?
Better yet, at least put the money towards something like a Space Elevator, rather than space missions that are so expensive that we could literally be
harvesting gold ingots in space and it would not be worth the cost.
And searching for habitable planets, that's one of those "that's nice" kinds of things. We'll never even image one, let alone visit it. If we want to perform the latter, we better work on finding some way (if it is possible at all) of going fast enough that it doesn't take thousands of years to reach them. Otherwise, it's all another no-relevancy area of research that just receives "artist renditions" on the news.
Ok. But knowledge does have a significant impact on behavior and social structure... Even culture and religion.
Our world is the way it is because our understanding of it has evolved.
New knowledge, new ideas, and free information changes our perspective. Information gives us new ways to understand ourselves and new ways to adapt.
This is not a call to stop research, but more to concentrate on research that has
greater use. I'm not even opposed to space research. It's the type of space research -- mainly those pointless manned missions -- that I have a problem with. They're just to research how
more people can go into space. It ends up being
space tourism research. Ironically, space tourism has really been the only useful commercial application those manned missions have been put towards.
Of course, we don't have to focus on space exploration in order to gain new knowledge. But space is there. So why not? "Because we can" is a good enough reason. IMO.
I've got a mug of tea on my desk
right here. The world should pay me
hundreds of billions of dollars to investigate why it tastes so good to me. "Because we can" is a good enough reason. Hell, we don't even have to travel into orbit to find out so in that respect we'd be
ahead of the game compared to space research. Pick your poison.
Particle physics is another very expensive project... It just so happens that when we meet the limit of our understanding, there is a high cost to surpass it. But if we can do it, why not?
Hey, that's better than sending people into orbit to investigate how to have more people in orbit.
Now, about the money thing... what would you say is more urgent, important, or relevant for us to invest time and money in?
Protecting our immediate environment (Earth)?
Curing disease? (is eliminating disease even a good idea?)
Alternative fuels?
Many other things that don't need to be listed. At the very least: technologies that reduce the costs of other technologies. So if we're going to investigate space, at least investigate the means to get to space cheaply. It's like researching how to make a shovel before trying to dig for water.
Until then, we can still use rockets to send our unmanned vessels, satellites, etc. into space. Wasting our resources to move sacks of flesh and all the life-support tech with it is just ridiculous however.
Could a space elevator throw off earth's rotation? would it be wise to build one on opposite sides of the globe to maintain balance?
Earth's a very massive planetary body. The weight of a space elevator, or really anything man has ever created is insignificant compared to that of this planet. You could probably use the entire above-water landmass of the planet and it wouldn't affect things much. You do need to counterweight the space elevator itself so that when you move objects from the surface that the center of mass remains in orbit.
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