Who the Hell would want to live on Mars anyway ? ...

[dogtag]

That's a pretty ignorant thing to say.

Got that line from Johnny Carson, except his was about Flamingos.

[Allen]

Martians. They would want to live on Mars.

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Sheila Jackson Lee (d-TX) wants to know if the rover will picture the flag on Mars placed there by Neil Armstrong.

[Vern Humphrey]

NASA space probes have already discovered a few planets and moons which have water and atmosphere inside so-called Goldilocks zones. Impractical for humans to get there today but perhaps someday.
Why would we want to go there? The rock we're on isn't going to last forever.

But it's expected life span is measured in billions of years.

Mining alone might be worth the effort for now.

What would it cost to bring a ton of ore from, say Mars, as opposed to mining it right here on Earth?

[dogtag]

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Sheila Jackson Lee (d-TX) wants to know if the rover will picture the flag on Mars placed there by Neil Armstrong.

I'm surprised she didn't think it was Wallace and Grommit who planted the flag

[Rock]

What would it cost to bring a ton of ore from, say Mars, as opposed to mining it right here on Earth?

That's the point. There is no way to make a profit from outer space. Mars could be loaded with gold but it would cost more than its worth to bring it to Earth. We will send humans to the Moon and the planets when there is money to be made and private companies will be the ones who do it. The only other reason would be related to national security and I can see no danger to us even if Kim Jong Un landed troops up there and started rattling his sabre at us.

Government run, manned missions to planets are merely very dangerous and expensive stunts at this stage and I do not want my taxes raised to satisfy the aspirations of dreamers.

[JB White]

What would it cost to bring a ton of ore from, say Mars, as opposed to mining it right here on Earth?

How much would something cost once we've depleted our own resources?

But it's expected life span is measured in billions of years.

Doesn't mean our species will last that long. Sooner or later some of those asteroids aren't going to miss us. Without more research we can only deflect them in theory. Which by the way, that theory evolved from space research.
Used to be a time when the world's population was comfortable thinking the Earth was flat and the heavens revolved around us.

[Vern Humphrey]

How much would something cost once we've depleted our own resources?

Which will come, when?


Most resources are recyclable -- and a great many are found only on earth, like oil, timber and so on.

Doesn't mean our species will last that long. Sooner or later some of those asteroids aren't going to miss us. Without more research we can only deflect them in theory. Which by the way, that theory evolved from space research.

That's a strange way to put it -- it's technology, not theory what will deflect or stop an asteroid. And much of the funding for that technology is being eaten up by profitless attempts to reach Mars with a manned mission.

Used to be a time when the world's population was comfortable thinking the Earth was flat and the heavens revolved around us.

They've quit believing that and started believing we can mine the asteroid belt.

[togor]

Got that line from Johnny Carson, except his was about Flamingos.

Well they did just find organic matter in the Martian soil just below the surface. Running a spectroscopy analysis on the surface of another planet is incredibly awesome!!

[dogtag]

Well they did just find organic matter in the Martian soil just below the surface. Running a spectroscopy analysis on the surface of another planet is incredibly awesome!!

Simple minds are easily pleased.

[Vern Humphrey]

Note that "organic" in this context has nothing to do with living organisms. It means they have found compounds containing carbon.

[Dolt]

Note that "organic" in this context has nothing to do with living organisms. It means they have found compounds containing carbon.

That is correct. They found "building blocks" that can form organic matter (you mean like that rare substance called carbon?) That is VERY different from finding organic matter. NASA is just trying to make a case for the government to pour more money into their black hole. Pun intended

[dryheat]

Organic material have rights.

[lyman]

life on mars,

great TV show, watch the UK version not the USA version, it is much much better