4 ms·
I can’t understand why all these billionaires keep funding rockets instead of lidar equipped submarines Explore Earth before exploring outside Earth
by spaceman_2020 3y ago
I can’t understand why all these billionaires keep funding rockets instead of lidar equipped submarines
Explore Earth before exploring outside Earth
- Xeyz0r 3y agoTotally agree. While space exploration is an exciting endeavor, it is essential to prioritize the exploration of Earth first. By understanding our own planet, we can develop the knowledge, technologies, and inspiration necessary for responsible and successful exploration beyond Earth.
- spaceman_2020 3y agoAll these lidar projects keep finding ancient ruins and structures in the Amazonian rainforests. Imagine what a planet wide lidar project would find, especially in coastal regions that are now underwater.
- michelb 3y agoMoney. Billions are not enough apparently.
- DarkNova6 3y agoBecause it is not about science.
- snet0 3y agoI think rockets have this unmatched spectacle, especially for those born in a certain time. Submarine exploration is really cool, but I don't imagine the launching of a new submarine explorer is going to match the momentous-ness of the launch of a new rocket. There's also just a kind of social narrative issue, where space is cool because sci-fi and aliens and astrophysics, while the deep oceans are scary because dark and unknown and shipwrecks. I guess it's like "if we explore space, we might find alien life; if we explore the oceans, we might find a really weird fish".
- devsda 3y agoYeah, space and oceans have always had these contrasting images. Space is equated to future(potential expedition target for humanity leaving earth) while oceans remind us of the past i.e. submerged & lost cities, ships etc. and honestly very few people are excited to explore the past. Space is also out there and oceans are here. You can point to the sky and say that's what we are aiming and people will relate compared to "we are planning to explore xyz trench 500 miles north of abc island".
- SideburnsOfDoom 3y agoI recall a billionaire dying recently in their submarine project. Of course, the rocket billionaires don't generally ride on the rockets themselves. So that's safer for them personally.
- im3w1l 3y agoWell going into space has clear advantages for our species. Firstly, it provides a backup in case something happens to earth, like if it gets hit by an asteroid. It could also potentially be untouched by a nasty war on earth, but odds are it would get dragged into it. Secondly there are commercial possibilities like mining in space, or space real estate . Thirdly, astronomy is one of two ways we expand our knowledge of physics (the other being particle accelerators), and new physics can lead to good things down the line. There are benefits of exploring the oceans too, like maybe finding some missing link species and learning about biology maybe some geology. But they seem much lesser to me.
- stetrain 3y agoThere are economic and political incentives to build rockets and space infrastructure. Less so for submarines exploring the depths of the ocean, even if the latter is equally or more interesting from a scientific exploration perspective.
- ouraf 3y agoit's easier to make a case for exploiting space without any nation nagging at you about borders and sovereignty than it is for deep sea.
- u32480932048 3y agoSubmarines? whaddabout the children? whaddabout the climate? whaddabout Ukraine?