Comment

An Incredible Film From NASA: Gradient Sun

18
Targetpractice10/20/2012 2:50:09 pm PDT

re: #16 goddamnedfrank

Manned exploration had it’s time and it’s long past. Nowadays rich assholes who want to die or risk permanent frostbite damage pay a fortune to climb Everest and rich douche bags like Richard Branson look to market civilian space joy rides to other millionaires. Engineers and scientists, being naturally inclined to get shit done, build and send robots.

Engineers and scientists build robots because they’re not being paid to send men. The cost to send a man to the Moon is significantly higher than sending a robot, because the robot doesn’t need an atmosphere, doesn’t need to be fed or watered, doesn’t need to worry about becoming progressively weaker or more brittle due to microgravity, and can be allowed to expire in the cold depths of space because nobody’s worried about returning it.

Can you tell me that the wealth of technological innovation that came out of the Space Race was not worth the cost of sending men to the Moon?