Should NASA have a higher budget?

[Axelond]

I think today the funding is not good but decent but a bit higer would help a lot. However I dont think we will see any major extra funding until space exploration can pay off. Like in a few decades asteroid mining might be far more profitable then mining on earth. But we see a lot of private companies trying to fund there own space programs (spaceX, MarsOne ect) and if Nasa dont want to lose to private companies thet might need more funding soon

[Hastings]

not reading all this thread, but it should have more funding. if i remember rightly every $1 spent on nasa has a $5 return, or something a long those lines.plus, science!

From Didactic:

NASA has traditionally had an 8 dollar return rate for every one dollar spent, owing to contracts, patents, etc. It is a moneymaker, not a drain, and even if it were not space exploration and travel is so critical to the survival of the species that it becomes high priority.

And indeed, it needs more funding!

[Spectral]

o sorry i am not a murica English speaking native, btw you know that grammar bashing is against forum rules ? yea so stfu about how i wright i would like you to wright in french just so i can go grammar Nazi on you

I'm under the impression that French uses similar punctuation to English. Grammar trolling is surely inappropriate as a general rule, but when you're specifically insulting the intelligence of some of the smartest people on Earth, it's hard not to be struck by your incoherence.

[Someudontno]

Of course it should be higher. Cut the defense budget by 10% and put that money into NASA.

If they're meals intended for non-American kids, then yes it's worth it.

This x100000.

Infracted.

"This" posts aren't allowed. Post constructively please.

[Vulcanasm]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budget_of_NASA

Do you feel that NASA should have a higher budget, and if so what programs should have spending cut to make that happen?

Department of Defense...Department of Homeland Security...both need about a 66% reduction to be in keeping with other first world nations. We are not a military dictatorship.

[madethisfor1post]

NASA needs a much larger budget but also give them funding for and dominion of deep sea exploration. Would also like to see NASA become a truly international organization with funding from many many more countries.

Take it from Military and see how much tax reform could help as well.

[Morgaith]

Thats cool and all but really? picture of the beginning of time? Okay let's assume thats not total bullshit speculation. What good does that do us?? none.

How bout join the real world and put money towards stuff that is useful and that can actually benefit society

Yes, let's pour more money into creating societies in the 3-4th world countries so that they can increase the pollution output so that we can kill the world even faster...

[Garnier Fructis]

NASA needs a much larger budget but also give them funding for and dominion of deep sea exploration. Would also like to see NASA become a truly international organization with funding from many many more countries.

Take it from Military and see how much tax reform could help as well.

A name change would be in order if they went into the business of deep sea exploration.

[Felfury]

There are many things I would prioritize over NASA in the current state of infrastructure, but I do think it should get a raise.

[Spectral]

A name change would be in order if they went into the business of deep sea exploration.

Yeah, that's more NOAA's department.

[Ethador]

Science is about WHY NOT?
So why not give NASA a bigger budget? Less war and more science, seems fine to me ...

[quikbunny]

The money should be invested into healthcare. Space can wait, people dying because they can't afford medical care can't.

[Paulosio]

When you're in debt, the first things you cut are your biggest expeces. NASA's isnt even 2%, so it isnt even worth cutting. You could argue that cutting it even more would harm our research and space potential even more.

I like the one guys suggestion that for every 3$ cut, 1$ should be invested back into NASA up to a certain threshold.

Nasa only got 0.48% of the federal budget ($16billion) in 2012 according to the OPs link.

Meanwhile the US military budget was just over $1 trillion which is $1000 billion.

They could easily double Nasa's budget by taking it from the military budget and it would barely even be noticed.....

[Billy Idol]

My Anunaki friend say YES

[Hastings]

The money should be invested into healthcare. Space can wait, people dying because they can't afford medicine can't.

While I agree that the healthcare system needs some working on, I don't agree that space can wait.

Also:

http://ipp.nasa.gov/innovation/Innov...bleFights.html

Technology Transfer

Hubble Fights Breast Cancer

A unique marriage between Hubble Space Telescope astronomers and cancer researchers has produced an image-processing technique that shows promise in detecting early breast cancer. Employing techniques used to correct the blurry images sent by Hubble prior to the 1993 servicing mission, this method is designed to detect microcalcifications, an early sign of breast cancer. A group of astronomical and medical researchers from the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University, and the Lombardi Cancer Research Center at the Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, D.C., is testing this technique to detect microcalcifications in digitized mammograms.

Detecting a microcalcification among the background structures in a mammogram is remarkably similar to finding a faint star in a blurry and cluttered telescope image. Dr. Benjamin Snavely, the National Science Foundation's (NSF) program director for advanced technologies and instrumentation in astronomical sciences, noticed that certain medical images of interest to the Lombardi Center were similar to the astronomical images STScI scientists obtained from Hubble.

Dr. Snavely saw promise in teaming the disciplines, and he arranged for a meeting between the Lombardi Center and STScI. "Each group immediately became interested with what the other was doing," said Dr. Snavely. "They struck up a resonance." The collaboration was awarded a $50,000 grant from the NSF.

Using Hubble's image-processing lessons for cancer detection is the silver lining to the story of Hubble's spherical aberration. When the now-corrected flaw in Hubble's primary mirror was discovered, STScI developed a large repertoire of image-processing software to correct for the telescope's loss of dynamic range and spatial resolution. The flaw allowed STScI scientists to become experts in image-processing techniques that they otherwise would not have needed. STScI is funded by NASA to study the data received from Hubble.

STScI's Dr. Robert Hanisch and Dr. Richard White used a three-part image-processing technique to identify calcifications in four separate test cases, two of which were blind. The key step involved variance normalization, a technique the astronomers had advanced much farther than the medical researchers.

The team's techniques should lead to a more unbiased detection of smaller lesions. The conventional method for detecting lesions is through "eyeball" inspection, which carries the risk of human error.

Next, the team plans to run tests against a standard set of digitized mammograms, measuring overall performance in comparison to other methods of microcalcification detection. These tests will also allow the team to determine the size and sensitivity limits necessary for reliable identifications.

Spinoffs from what NASA does are pretty fucking amazing.

[Jon]

Yes, could start by moving 95% of the military budget to NASA.

[madethisfor1post]

Would love to see NASA and NOAA rolled into 1 entity. I'm sure they could be of mutual benefit to each other.

[Stormtrooperz]

Yes, could start by moving 95% of the military budget to NASA.

I'm sure thousands upon thousands of soldiers would love you for that option.

Anyways.

The final nail went into NASA's coffin when they signed off on letting privatized space travel and research.

It's moot at this point, sadly.

[Wells]

I'm sure thousands upon thousands of soldiers would love you for that option.

Anyways.

The final nail went into NASA's coffin when they signed off on letting privatized space travel and research.

It's moot at this point, sadly.

Money spent on manufacturing high end materials, paying scientists and building infrastructure is money better spent than on soldiers.

And privatized space industry is a good thing for NASA. It means they can focus on the more cutting edge and theoretical stuff like deep space exploration and superluminal travel and leave the space taxis to private industry.

[Hastings]

I'm sure thousands upon thousands of soldiers would love you for that option.

Anyways.

The final nail went into NASA's coffin when they signed off on letting privatized space travel and research.

It's moot at this point, sadly.

There's nothing wrong with privatized space travel and research in itself, it's when NASA isn't at the forefront of the next stage of exploration and research that it becomes a problem.

Low-earth orbit is safe enough now, or at least well established enough now, so private companies should start moving in there. NASA however, needs to move on to something a wee bit bigger if possible. (I'd love for, a base on the moon or something)