----- Original Message ----- From: "Trent Shipley" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Killer Bs Discussion" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, January 15, 2004 6:32 PM Subject: Martian Emotion (was Easterbrook on Bush's NASA plan)
> In brute, lowest common denominatior terms what is in this gold-plated fools' > errand for me? When Isabella sent Columbus to look for a route to the Indies > she wasn't investing in exploration. Exploration was a nice side effect. > Isabella's primary motivation was making a LOT OF MONEY! > > If we build a big new booster what will be the tangible return on investment? > What about the crew vehicle? The moon colony? How the @#$% do you plan to > get tangible ROI from a manned mission to Mars? A mission to a nickle-iron asteroid that would mean an eventual return for investment just aint sexy. I can think of one other listmember who, like me, might pop a boner at the thought of asteroid mining, but I doubt anyone else here would get excited, or in any other way emotional at the thought. No matter how good an idea it might be, very few people would be interested as compared to a Mars mission. > > If you do get ROI will it make sense in terms of opportunity cost. We have > underfunded schools, biomedical research, and ageing population and military > obligations we need to see to, remember. > > Money or national security only please. I believe that as a citizen I have a > *responsibility* to resist temptation and make decisisons as a pure > Philistine. As a citizen I dont care a whit about pure science, the human > quest, or feel-good programs. > You wanna live forever cowboy? <G> xponent Raiders Of The Lost Carbonaceous Chondrite Maru rob _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
