Apollo 11 astronauts call for mission to Mars

[UM-Bot]

Image credit: NASA

40 years on from the first historic mission to the Moon the Apollo 11 astronauts have made a rare joint appearance in an effort to reignite interest in manned space flight, calling for the US to launch manned missions to Mars and beyond.

"The heroes of America's moon landing last night called for the US to launch a mission to Mars and beyond, in a rare joint appearance aimed at reigniting interest in costly and risky manned space flight."

View: Full Article | Source: Guardian Unlimited

[MysteryVy]

waste of billions of dollars of tax money.

wth are we gonna learn that's worth it

[Agent X]

Development of new technologies that help people which also gives rise to new scientific information, that's what.

[Mr Supertypo]

waste of billions of dollars of tax money.

wth are we gonna learn that's worth it

actually that's the best way to use the tax money...

[keithisco]

waste of billions of dollars of tax money.

wth are we gonna learn that's worth it

This sounds like youthful ignorance - a "what do I get from it " attitude. Wrapped up in self - importance and self - aggrandisement..... Callow youth methinks - with no imagination!!! If you , personally had contributed billions of tax dollars then your short - sightedness may, just may, have some import. But as you have not contributed this much personally then allow the rest of us (even europeans paying tax euros) to truly see the benefits of expanding human consciousness to other worlds, to learn, to absorb new information, and potentially to become explorers on a cosmic scale.

[TAISET]

im gonna have to disagree with the apollo crew we shouldn`t overstep our boundires till we get a moon base online its like trying to cross a river by jumping over it now if you put stepping stones in that river it makes it easier get my point

[MID]

This sounds like youthful ignorance - a "what do I get from it " attitude. Wrapped up in self - importance and self - aggrandisement..... Callow youth methinks - with no imagination!!! If you , personally had contributed billions of tax dollars then your short - sightedness may, just may, have some import. But as you have not contributed this much personally then allow the rest of us (even europeans paying tax euros) to truly see the benefits of expanding human consciousness to other worlds, to learn, to absorb new information, and potentially to become explorers on a cosmic scale.

Development of new technologies that help people which also gives rise to new scientific information, that's what.

actually that's the best way to use the tax money...

Good responses, gang!

Spot on.

As Dr. Kraft said...

"Nasa is the best return on investment that this country has ever seen."

He's absolutely right.

[clubfoot O.M.G.]

Exploration, to a degree, fuels humankind's 'development'. I wonder where we would be today if we hadn't had courageous and intrepid explorers in the past to seek out 'new lands' and opportunities.

It also creates the 'stuff of dreams' for young people as opposed to the violence that we see or hear via the media every day.

[Thanato]

I would be the first to volinteer for a Mission to Mars even if it was a one way trip.

~Thanato

[Cookes453]

The mattress you're sleeping on is most likely a result from Nasa research. The gps in your car is a result from Nasa research. Many components in your car are a result from Nasa research. The airplane you took for a trip to the islands has parts from Nasa research. There are thousands, and thousands of items people use and encounter in their every day life that were a result from direct or indirect research by Nasa since its creation in 1958. The only reason why people say Nasa, space exploration, etc is useless is because they simply don't understand, they lack the information, the education; this is why I believe science/mathematics in schools need's to be beefed up, and the importance of space exploration needs to be taught more.

Anyway, why visit Mars? (I'll use this example since I'm American) For the same reason America journeyed out westward in the 1800's. The American west was and remains to be a place of myths and dreams. Revered as the great American frontier and composed of beautiful landscapes and glorious wonders, it embodies the thoughts, spirits, freedoms, and dreams of the people that lived and live there. Spanning a time period of a hundred years, 1800-1900, all kinds of people traveled thousands of miles across what we now call the United States. These people journeyed westward with the dream of establishing a new life for themselves. They believed that the west was a magical place filled with beauty and endless opportunities. Just like the West was a new frontier for America, exploring the universe is our new frontier.

Exploring the universe is the new frontier, it's humanities destiny. We are a curious species by nature, and what better way to satisfy our curiosity then to explore the cosmos and journey to new planets? Not only will traveling to Mars satisfy our curiosity, but it will answer many questions like the most common, is there life on other planets? Also, like Michio Kaku states, "Humanity should be a two-planet species." Our chances of surviving as a race are much greater if we are living on multiple planets rather than one. Steven Hawking also believes this, and says that establishing colonies on other planets is essential to humanities survival. Other reasons to visit Mars would be to use it as a launching platform to further explore our solar system and galaxy. Also, there's the mining of Mars rock for resources and nearby asteroids, which would be very profitable. There are probably a hundred other reasons people can think of for traveling to Mars, but you get my point. I'll end with saying that famous line from Star Trek, "Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. Her five year mission: to explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no man has gone before." Putting a human on Mars is only the beginning, the beginning of a new space age for humanity, and I for one am eager to see what new things await humanity within the years to come.

[Cookes453]

Someone commented on the article, "The fuel of American ingenuity is competition and capitalism, not the spirit of scientific enquiry and the long-term good of humankind."

I hope humanity shifts more towards "spirit of scientific enquiry and the long-term good of humankind" rather than the other one. It's a shame everything in today's world is about money, and other b.s. Someone invent the matrix so I can live in my Star Trek Utopia Lol. Anyway, things do seem to be getting better for humanity, the progress is just so slow.

Edited July 21, 2009 by Cookes453

[Sardukar]

waste of billions of dollars of tax money.

wth are we gonna learn that's worth it

expand or fade away, its pretty simple mate

[clubfoot O.M.G.]

Someone commented on the article, "The fuel of American ingenuity is competition and capitalism, not the spirit of scientific enquiry and the long-term good of humankind."

I hope humanity shifts more towards "spirit of scientific enquiry and the long-term good of humankind" rather than the other one. It's a shame everything in today's world is about money, and other b.s. Someone invent the matrix so I can live in my Star Trek Utopia Lol. Anyway, things do seem to be getting better for humanity, the progress is just so slow.

I agree, it's the spirit of scientific enquiry which has taken us forward, it's the old story. If you think about the number of intrepid 'explorers', such as Galileo, who was persecuted at the time for his views, and others who were plainout killed, we would still be living in a knowledge 'vacuum'. I doubt that their theories and investigations were fuelled by a lust for money and material gain.

[wolemrock]

their theories were fuelled by lust of knowledge mate.

[clubfoot O.M.G.]

their theories were fuelled by lust of knowledge mate.

Absolutely (if that's possible) correct.

[MID]

This sounds like youthful ignorance - a "what do I get from it " attitude. Wrapped up in self - importance and self - aggrandisement..... Callow youth methinks - with no imagination!!! If you , personally had contributed billions of tax dollars then your short - sightedness may, just may, have some import. But as you have not contributed this much personally then allow the rest of us (even europeans paying tax euros) to truly see the benefits of expanding human consciousness to other worlds, to learn, to absorb new information, and potentially to become explorers on a cosmic scale.

Agreed, k...couldn't have said it better myself.

[MID]

im gonna have to disagree with the apollo crew we shouldn`t overstep our boundires till we get a moon base online its like trying to cross a river by jumping over it now if you put stepping stones in that river it makes it easier get my point

Actually, the crew has some divergent points of view on the matter. Neil Armstrong condones returning to the Moon, continuing exploration there, and establishing a presence there before venturing off to Mars.

It's all opinion...much of it very considered. I agree with Mr. Armstrong personally.

[Princess Serenity]

im gonna have to disagree with the apollo crew we shouldn`t overstep our boundires till we get a moon base online its like trying to cross a river by jumping over it now if you put stepping stones in that river it makes it easier get my point

I agree with you.

I think the Moon is Step 1. And Mars like Step 3? 5?