Sad at the lake of space advancement

[Zeta333]

Yeah, if the only option for the continued survival of the human race in the short term (short term meaning hundreds or thousands of years) is space travel, then we're dead, because space travel is a worthless boondoggle that won't go anywhere.

How wont it go anywhere? Please explain how space travel wont go anywhere? This has to be the most ignorant statement iv seen here.

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"just needs a teraforming" Like that's something remotely possible with our current knowledge and technology.




So would many others, but you wouldn't be the one chosen.

Well going into space wasnt possible untill we started working twords it. You dont know whats not possible with our current tech becuase we arnt doing shit expect infighting between countrys dealing with religous uprisings and watching our governments bicker.

The "warp drive" is Impossible,

They said the same thing about the earth and how it was the center of the universe, and how the earth was flat. Lots of impossible things have been made possible.

[Mahourai]

How wont it go anywhere? Please explain how space travel wont go anywhere? This has to be the most ignorant statement iv seen here.

You posted that Mars needs "just a terraforming" earlier ITT, so nah dude you still have the trophy for that. You don't have any idea of the realities of making habitable environments outside of Earth. Think about building a self-sufficient city at the bottom of the Marianas Trench, or in the heart of the Sahara Desert. Now realize that those environments are almost infinitely more feasible for habitation than outer space, Mars or the Moon.

If you live in the world where Doctor Who sets are blueprints for the future, then Mars colonies are just around the corner. In the real world they represent an impossibly difficult and pointless endeavor.

[Manabomb]

Space travel is a black hole of money and effort, but when we're spending trillions developing ways to kill civilians in the Middle East, throwing money into a black hole is probably a better investment.

I don't think I could agree with you more. I'd rather die in a black hole (literally) knowing it will be something no human has experienced, ever, than die to starvation, disease, revolution, freezing or the any number of Earthly deaths possible.

And I want bagpipes playing while I drift passed the even horizon, damn it.

[Deleted]

Too bad it wasn't one of those "My poetry" topics. Misspelling is actually a good way of coming up with something cool and creative.

[Zeta333]

You posted that Mars needs "just a terraforming" earlier ITT, so nah dude you still have the trophy for that. You don't have any idea of the realities of making habitable environments outside of Earth. Think about building a self-sufficient city at the bottom of the Marianas Trench, or in the heart of the Sahara Desert. Now realize that those environments are almost infinitely more feasible for habitation than outer space, Mars or the Moon.

If you live in the world where Doctor Who sets are blueprints for the future, then Mars colonies are just around the corner. In the real world they represent an impossibly difficult and pointless endeavor.

As iv never watched doctor who i doubt that i live in that world. And as Mars is on the edge of the habitable zone in our solar system and alot of evidence pointing to it being very earth like at an earlyer time in its life, i dont think teraforming in the future is out of the question. It amazes me how people reject ideas because they are new or different. And i really dont think comparing making a habitat in space vs in the deepest part of our ocean where the preasure is over 1000x that of normal sea level is very comparable.

Just because we havnt delevopted the technology or the money to do some of these things does this mean we should never do it? That we should just sit on this planet, never do more than send some probes out. Get to the point to where the population is over 20 billion people. Use all the natural resources and then die off as a species because oh we could have gone further into space but it would have cost money and taken time. That is the cancer of our current society, these are the same thoughts that kept us from advancing at all durring the dark ages.

[Creotor]

You posted that Mars needs "just a terraforming" earlier ITT, so nah dude you still have the trophy for that. You don't have any idea of the realities of making habitable environments outside of Earth. Think about building a self-sufficient city at the bottom of the Marianas Trench, or in the heart of the Sahara Desert. Now realize that those environments are almost infinitely more feasible for habitation than outer space, Mars or the Moon.

If you live in the world where Doctor Who sets are blueprints for the future, then Mars colonies are just around the corner. In the real world they represent an impossibly difficult and pointless endeavor.

Yea, true dat. Elon Musk must be tripping.

[Belize]

Who says? We can't go past C, but there are other ways around it. Theoretical, but not yet disproven and possibly achievable in the future. Wormholes, warp drives, etc. None of these exceed C, but can get you to the stars and 'appear' to exceed C to an outside observer.

*Cough* Mass Effect fields.

#GoFindTheProtheanRuinsOnMars!

[Gothicshark]

Im just wondering if anyone else here is dissapointed at the lack of development in our advancement to space. We havnt been to the moon in how many years? We are still using staged rockets to get into orbit due to the lack of a new shuttle? Everyone here has to know that our future as a race doesnt include only earth, it cant at the rate of population boom. Yet all the governments of the world waste time money on stupid issues while snubbing our future as a race.

Just wondering others thoughts on this issue.

When I saw this thread, my first thought.



But then, I read your post.

And frankly we are on the edge of some amazing new space exploration. I am sad that the US no longer tries, but China, Russia, Japan, and a host of private companies are pushing forward.

Also there is this.

[Creotor]

This should seriously grow into a meme.

I am sad that the US no longer tries, but China, Russia, Japan, and a host of private companies are pushing forward.

NASA is certainly trying, working on SLS and whatnot. The more prominent companies are also US based and I'd say that certainly gives US somewhat of an edge as far as their products/services go, especially SpaceX. I could be wrong, though.

[Moogie423]

We wont see "leaps" in space travel and exploration until the profits start rolling in from the first commercial asteroid mining operations. Once the idiot baby boomers still in office see how much money is floating out there, they will be tripping over each other to fund government sponsored operations. And once the foot is in the door, they will be wondering how much money they can make if they go a little farther out.

The biggest problem in regards to space related endeavors, is that the US is still mostly run by old farts who only care about how much they can skim off of their campaign funds payed for by big corporations. Nobody in the government looks to the future, nor the betterment of mankind as a race. Even the race to the moon was motivated by short term concerns. It was used to prove that we had rockets capable of precise targeting, and able to exit and reenter the atmosphere.

A mars colony would be easier to set up than it would be to actually get the colonists there. We already have the technology to support a small starting group of people. We have water recycling systems on top of the water we know is already there in the form of ice. We have hermetically sealed buildings that could be made in dome form. The only major obstacle is dealing with the dust on mars until the facilities are completely sealed.

[Kalis]

They said the same thing about the earth and how it was the center of the universe, and how the earth was flat. Lots of impossible things have been made possible.

Neither of those were impossible things that were made possible

[Osmeric]

The notion that NASA is developing, or even seriously investigating the possibility of, a warp drive is ludicrous.

Any FTL system known involves the use of "negative matter" -- matter with negative energy. No such material is known, and there is good theoretical reason to think it cannot exist (its existence would make the vacuum unstable.)

The real problems NASA has had have several components:

(1) Space travel is really hard.

(2) Space is mostly useless, and no one has found a good (read: profitable) reason for sending people out there.

(3) NASA itself is a government agency whose primary function is to deliver $$$ to the pockets of interests that have greased the palms of politicians. Actually achieving anything in space is a secondary concern. Witness the SLS ("Senate Launch System", aka the "Rocket To Nowhere".)

(4) The public, including many in this thread, are seriously deluded about NASA and what it can realistically be expected to do. This ends up allowing politicians to fund the most ludicrous moneysinks without having to do more than handwave a justification. NASA's fans are their own worst enemies, enabling a system that causes NASA to not deliver much of value.

[Hexian]

I would rather we focus on global education, healthcare, and government and then proceed with space flight. Significant advances in space exploration is not going to be accomplished by one single nation.

[Zeta333]

Neither of those were impossible things that were made possible

What makes teraforming impossible or building colonys on other planets impossible or mining astroids impossible?

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(2) Space is mostly useless, and no one has found a good (read: profitable) reason for sending people out there.

Really? I see loads of gas's we could harvest, Rare earth metals, common metals, Fuel, power. The earth has a finite amount of resources that will run out sooner rather than later.

[teddytous]

There's actually quite a few very interesting space developments going on. As per the usual space lacks a good publicist.

Manned missions to asteroids; this is actually really interesting when you get into it, both from a scientific discover standpoint, and potential geopolitical and economic standpoint.
As mentioned unmanned missions to the outer planets/moons.
And as far as warp travel theory goes; new calculations have the required energy down from a Jupiter sized amount of energy to a small moon. Might not seem special, but hey that's the difference in scale between a CPU in 76 vs a cpu today, its something.

People want manned missions to Mars or w/e, but tbh who cares? Its not that interesting. I'd rather sophisticated probes/rovers to the outer solar system.

[Hexian]

What makes teraforming impossible or building colonys on other planets impossible or mining astroids impossible?

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Really? I see loads of gas's we could harvest, Rare earth metals, common metals, Fuel, power. The earth has a finite amount of resources that will run out sooner rather than later.

You have to find some that we have a huge demand for currently. And it has to be cost effective. Don't get me wrong, I completely agree with you, but we need an oil on the moon situation.

[Nirawen]

What makes teraforming impossible

Teraforming to change the properties of a planet like altering the atmosphere or soil elements is feasible, on an insanely advanced level. Teraforming to establish/re-establish (i.e. Mars) an atmosphere on a planet may as well be considered impossible given the almost godlike effort required.

[PACOX]

When I saw this thread, my first thought.


But then, I read your post.

And frankly we are on the edge of some amazing new space exploration. I am sad that the US no longer tries, but China, Russia, Japan, and a host of private companies are pushing forward.

Also there is this.

Wait, the US doesn't try?!?!

The US is very much still in the lead...

Seriously, how many countries can consistently land on Mars?

http://harold-clenet.com/site/wp-con...t-version3.jpg

List of active solar probes, how many say NASA?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...on_in_progress

ISS expeditions, look at how many are from the US.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...on_expeditions

And NASA is also gearing up to delivery its next launch system, the SLS. The last time we've seen a rocket so massive we were going to the moon.

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

[Zeta333]

Teraforming to change the properties of a planet like altering the atmosphere or soil elements is feasible, on an insanely advanced level. Teraforming to establish/re-establish (i.e. Mars) an atmosphere on a planet may as well be considered impossible given the almost godlike effort required.

Its not godlike, and for a small planet like mars isnt that big of an effort. You think on terms limited to our planet but we are a very small spec in a very large universe. Just becuase it would require a scale and effort we havnt done yet does not make it impossible. Just hard.

[mercutiouk]

There's a lot we don't know, but let's be realistic, there's not THAT much we don't know. I mean, we know a LOT of stuff, it's not like 1000 years ago when we didn't know where rain comes from. Scientific breakthroughs have been basically slowing down a lot. I mean, we've progressed stuff a whole bunch, sure. You can fit a camera, a calendar, a jukebox, a computer, a compass and a torch all inside a phone now, but our advancements are mostly evolutionary now, rather than revolutionary. Building the first plane, discovering antibiotics, combustion engines... this is stuff that like... changes stuff forever, for everyone. Completley revolutionises the world, lets new stuff that we never even dreamed of happen. A few hundred years ago this kind of stuff happens like from one year to the next... now you're lucky to hvae something happen in your lifetime, you know?

I know that's all like, tempting fate and like "oh well X years ago such-and-such said we'd never blah blah blah and now look" and like "the wisest people just know how little they know and ignorent people think they know everything" and stuff, but actually look at the advancements we've made and put them into evolutionary or revolutionary categories. Most recent ones have been evolutionary, and that's not enough to get interstellar travel. You can't just beef up a combustion engine or a rocket untill you get there.

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This is key. Everyone else is dead.

"What we know" is continually updated. Not just the trivial level stuff either. Going from earth being the centre and everything else going around it took quite a few years. Achieving powered flight certainly advanced quite a few bits of tech. We can never know what we don't yet have a frame of reference to understand.

Someone could... tomorrow... make a key discovery that fundamentally changes our understanding of one of the underlying parts of our existing knowledge of space time and how the various particles interact.

It might be a discovery we were waiting for (like unified field, linking standard physics and those at the quantum scale) or something we had ZERO idea about. The zero ideas one could give us a new breadcrumb trail to follow that makes a lot of existing "roadblocks" obsolete and move things forward in quite a fundamental way.