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the idea of going to mars is basic science, and basic science has yielded all sorts of useful discoveries for the human race. but it is also hard to ignore the
by a-dub 4y ago
the idea of going to mars is basic science, and basic science has yielded all sorts of useful discoveries for the human race.
but it is also hard to ignore the fact that it seems circular to turn the earth into something that looks like mars in the pursuit of turning mars into something that looks like earth.
so yes, doing basic science is good. but let's be clear that it's not a real plan and that the real problems at home are not only easier, but also far more pressing.
- ncmncm 4y agoExcept, going to Mars is not, in fact, science. Sending probe after probe is science, although it is getting pretty reflexive now, as very little remains to be learned from them.
- a-dub 4y agoyeah, maybe you're right. it does, however, seem to share something with basic science: it's an endeavor with no immediate or obvious value, yet expands the frontiers of knowledge and know-how for the species as a whole.
- dwaltrip 4y agoHumans can do much better science than a probe.
- ncmncm 4y agoFor the cost of sending and sustaining people there, probes could do overwhelmingly more than they have done. But there is little science of value left to do on Mars. They could have sent a microscope on any of the probes lofted, but chose against it.