Space Program Benefits

[Syzygyone]

In another thread, Furball posted this about the space program

"Fair enough you put a man on the moon, wtg look how that has improved humanity. "

So, let's give him answers.

What say you all?

[SLO]

1 of the greatest moments of humanity.......

The Apollo 11 lunar excursion module landed on the moon on July 20, 1969 at 4:17 PM EDT, in the area of the moon known as the Sea of Tranquility.  It was the first manned lunar landing mission.  The United States flag was set upon the moon along with a plaque that stated, "Here Men From Planet Earth First Set Foot Upon the Moon July 1969 A.D.  We Came In Peace For All Mankind."  


note: we came in peace for all mankind....not americankind:D

Neil Armstrong......

I'm at the foot of the ladder. The LEM footpads are only depressed in the surface about
one or two inches. Although the surface appears to be very very fine grained as you get
close to it. It's almost like a powder. ?? It's very fine.

I'm going to step off the LEM now. That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for
mankind.


I still get shivers when I think about it.....

Man has accomplished what it has dreamed about for thousands of years.....

what has it done for humanity......

cracked open the gates of limitations.....

[Ripsnort]

Too many to list. On the third page of this link below, just the Aerospace Technology spin offs from the Space program will take all day to research

Here are just a small handful of medical technologies due directly to the space program:
Carbon-Carbon piston
Pace makers
Piezo Intelligent Bolts
Lazer Angioplasty System
Breast Biopsy tester
Blood separation storage device
Infrared thermometer


http://www.seds.org/technology/perspectives.shtml

Despite the efforts of programs such as NASA's Technology Utilization Program, many people do not recognize the impact nor importance of the space program on their lives. There is a constant battle about funding for space projects. People always are concerned about spending dwindling tax dollars wisely--is the large amount of spending that goes towards the space program really neccessary, or is it just frills? The general concensus is best communicated by a quote from Frederick Ordway about the space race to the moon:
Were a few pounds of lunar rock and soil samples, together with photographs, seismographic readings, and other scientific data and the thrill of seeing men walk on the moon really worth it?
The concern that people have is valid. Most of the concern that people express is in relation to the large amount of dollars that go into the program.

While the amount of money that goes into the space program is indeed large, it is still a relatively small piece of the pie. During the height of the American Space program in the 1960's, only 2.5% of all federal expenditures went towards the space program, amounting to a sum of 40 billion dollars.
While this amount is indeed a large sum of money, consider that at the same time people spent 10 billion dollars on hair styling and cosmetics and another 6.5 billion on alcohol alone [Ordway 4] .
One thing to keep in mind is that all of the money that is spent on the space program goes directly back into the economy, financing America's high-technology product sector. Although it may cost $10 billion dollars to send a lander to Mars, the $10 billion dollars isn't being shot out into space--It supports science, research, and development of products--many which will become spinoffs of some sort.

[OIO]

It helped bankrupt communist USSR.

..amongst other cool things.

[CyranoAH]

I happened to meet just last friday Jean François Clervoy, a veteran ESA astronaut with 3 Shuttle missions, and one of the specialists who was selected to repair of the Hubble Space Telescope (because they had very little time to prepare -6 months compared to the normal 9 to 12 months- they asked for the ones with the most skills).

When talking to him over lunch, the "benefits of human spaceflight" item came up. He had quite an unusual point of view coming from someone who is supposed to be a perfect PR.

He told me that, in truth, we do not send people up there because it's good for research.
We do not go up there because industries can obtain valuable materials.

We go up there because it's what we do. We always try to know more. To go beyond.

Place a child in a corner of a room. How long until he starts walking, touching things, venturing into other rooms?

I think it's the human spirit that makes us explore what is around us.

I hope "affordable" space flight will be a reality during my lifetime...

Daniel

[GrimCO]

Furball,

What has putting a man on the moon done for humanity?

Trying to make this appear to be a miniscule accomplishment with no far reaching effects is to say humanity is a stagnant non-sentient being with no higher level of awareness than a monkey.

I suppose Christopher Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci and countless other explorer's accomplishments did nothing for humanity either.

If it weren't for curious natured people who were willing to risk their lives for the sake of humanity, we'd be confined here, still thinking the earth was flat and the moon was made out of cheese.

Space technology and guidance systems developed to put a man on the moon are now used to guide probes and actually land them on other planets. We have seen live pictures from the surface of Mars and actually searched for remmants of life there. Mankind is separated from all other animals by one basic thing. We are self aware and wonder where we come from. When was the last time you saw a monkey staring up at the sky and contemplating where he came from.

Although putting a man on the moon initially started out as a pissing contest between the USSR and the United States, it has evolved into one of the few things we can actually agree on. It's the one thing both countries were willing to put aside their mutual animosity towards eachother for, and share technology. If that doesn't tell you something about the importance of it, I don't know what would.

I'm sorry if I sound harsh, but if you think putting a man on the moon did nothing for humanity, you are short-sighted fool.  A statement like that tends to make me disregard anything you have to say as mere rubbish.

[vorticon]

and they invented the work anywhere pen with billions of taxpayer money while the russians just used a pencil

[GrimCO]

The russians probably used pencils too when they drew up the plans for Chernobyl...

[vorticon]

errr what else would they use for making plans...as for chernobyl last i checked that was due to human error

[GrimCO]

why work anywhere pens of course!

[Martlet]

Originally posted by vorticon
and they invented the work anywhere pen with billions of taxpayer money while the russians just used a pencil

You are correct.  The USA established the space program, and spent billions of taxpayer cash, for the sole purpose of developing a work anywhere pen.

"Hide the pen, Ma, them Canudians are catching on to us!"

[vorticon]

hmmm...i was overexaggerating a little with that...oh and your on my ignore list now for no reason whatsoever except its looking a little bare

[GrimCO]

Let's not forget the Sleep System II which uses a foam originally designed by NASA. The space program spent billions just so you could get a better night's sleep and get a free TV if you buy the bed.

[bounder]

Originally posted by GrimCO
Space technology and guidance systems developed to put a man on the moon are now used to guide probes and actually land them on other planets. We have seen live pictures from the surface of Mars and actually searched for remmants of life there. Mankind is separated from all other animals by one basic thing. We are self aware and wonder where we come from. When was the last time you saw a monkey staring up at the sky and contemplating where he came from.

1. Plenty of footage of apes, not monkeys, doing precisely that.

2. I can't remember the last time I saw a human doing that. Not many do in the UK chiefly because of climatic reasons.

3.How can you tell whether someone is conteplating where they came from just by looking at them?

[bounder]

Oh, and the real reason NASA etc send humans into space?

Human beings are the most powerful, massively parallel biocomputers that can be mass produced by unskilled labour.