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tbutler

Thank You NASA

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The New York Times historical fact today looked back 54 years to the beginning of the space age. October 4, 1957 was the date of the launch of Sputnik which launched the world into the age of space. Thanks to NASA we kept pace with Russia and continue to lead the world in utilization of space. Of course we now rely entirely on Russia for transportation to the International Space Station. Still, we have hundreds of satellites in orbit which affect our daily life. With satellite technology we can receive a multitude of TV and radio stations almost anywhere we travel. We have actual pictures of the weather routinely available and weather forecasts that are increasingly accurate. Our phone and Internet communications are transmitted via satellite. We have GPS moving maps on our dashboard plotting our location within a few feet and providing us with turn-by-turn directions.

The are many items we have in and on our motorhomes which draw their heritage from space-age technology. All this has developed in the last 54 years as a result of our push into space. We aren't the Jetsons, not yet, but we're well on our way!

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Guest BillAdams

Good time for NASA to close it's doors or work on Earth related projects. Man on Mars? You have to be kidding. This Country is broke, way broke! Let's get this planet in order first and then worry about what we will not find on Mars. How many probes do we need to send into the outer limits when the best we can hope for is some return information 1000 years from now. Let explore the oceans or mountains or deserts, whatever. We can put whatever we need in orbit with any number of platforms and we have a space station sucking us dry in an orbit that does not allow anyone to do much of anything. We just wait for some High School to come up with some silly experiment to test in a weightless environment. Is it really important to know how happens to tadpoles or frogs in a weightless environment? Will they ever experience this sort of condition?

Let's get serious folks. If you can pay for it....Don't spend it!

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Tom,

As usual, I agree with you that NASA has done a lot of good for the Nation in it's developing many items that have found their place into the manufacturing environment, ultimately making it a better place for consumers. And non-consumer items for military and government use. But how many millions or billions did we spend putting men on the moon? And for what? So the US and USSR could run a "My dog's bigger than your dog" political game.

I also have to agree with Bill that it is now time to focus the available money to real-world needs. Like our crumbling infrastructure and old and maintenance intensive power grid system -- the bulk of both was built 50 years ago. Have you noticed lately how perturbed people get when their power goes out? Or the bridge they are on suddenly collapses?

While on the subject, why do we need a muli-billion dollar replacement for the Hubble telescope? So scientists can sit around and come up with more theories about the (theorized) big bang or black holes. Of course I realize these theories catch new grant monies that allow the scientific community to justify it's continued spending. Do we as a society really need quarks or dark matter?

Medical research? I won't go there on the forum but all you have to do is follow the money. Enough! I'm done. Blame it on Bill. He pulled my pet peeve neurons out of retirement.

Chuck

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Guest BillAdams
Blame it on Bill. He pulled my pet peeve neurons out of retirement.

I do have that effect on a lot of people! Sorry!

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Earlier today the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced that the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to astrophysicists Saul Perlmutter, Brian Schmidt, and Adam Riess — a trio of deep-space observers whose competition to spot the most distant supernovae led to the realization that the expansion of our universe is accelerating.

We've known about the expansion of the universe since the 1920's when Edwin Hubble collected evidence in the form of red-shifted light from distant galaxies. Now we know that the rate of expansion is increasing. The energy that drives this expansion is now known as dark energy. Dark energy is thought to make up 70% of the entire universe. That's right, 70% of the entire universe! Dark matter, also recently detected, makes up another 25% of the universe. That leaves 5% for the visible universe. All the galaxies, stars, planets, mountains, rivers, oceans, all known forms of energy and, yes, people, are contained in that 5%. That means that all we ordinarily know of our universe amounts to just 5% of the actual universe. We live in a universe that is 95% outside our understanding at the present time. Dark matter and dark energy are cutting edge research in astrophysics at the present time.

Supporting data for this discovery was obtained using the Hubble Space Telescope. Future studies will involve the use of the James Webb Space Telescope as well as a number of Earth and space based instruments. What possible value will our understanding of these factors of the universe be to future generations? No one at this time can say. To quote Robert P. Kirshner, a professor of astronomy at Harvard, in the New York Times today, "The case for investment in science often rests on the connection between technology and economic development, or national defense, or relief from suffering and disease. These are good arguments. Everybody wants to be rich and safe and immortal. But even in stringent times, it seems like a good idea to do some science to find out what the world is made of and how it works."

There are endless examples of research on what at the time seemed like something that would never be useful. Many times these research efforts eventually turned out to lead to a breakthrough in understanding that produced modern technologies that make our lives significantly different from the lives of our ancestors. For myself, I'm sure that I am living in the best of times, just as our ancestors thought they lived in the best of times. It is my sincere hope and belief that the human race will continue to advance our conditions of living and understanding of our world.

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Guest BillAdams

OH! The Universe is expanding faster than we thought. Now that we know that we are going to have to do something to stop that! Sorry, but we are just such a teeny weeny speck in this vast universe (we are the Who in "Horton hears a Who") that while we will work hard to better understand it there is nothing we can do to stop our sun from exploding and wiping us all out in about 5 billion years. Even if we finally accept that there is alien life (whether it has visited yet or not), learn that E=MC2 is flawed, discover that the speed of light in not a limiting factor, whatever, this planet is still doomed!

Now, let's take a look at what I suggest. Explore the Earth, the environment, population, oceans, mountains, atmosphere, ozone (or lack thereof). Things we have some control over. Now there's a budget that might have a positive impact on life on this planet.

I agree, let's take a bunch of pictures of space from Earth. They make great screen savers!

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