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Meh. NASA outreach sucks in any case. They manage to make space look boring - ever watched one of those conversations between middle schoolers and ISS crew? Jus
by zeteo 14y ago
Meh. NASA outreach sucks in any case. They manage to make space look boring - ever watched one of those conversations between middle schoolers and ISS crew? Just get the kids a few sci-fi books instead, you'll get a much more enthusiastic and motivated next generation of engineers.
- ANH 14y agoHave you ever watched a rocket launch on NASA TV? For me, it doesn't get much more thrilling than that. And I've seen some in person.
- zeteo 14y agoSo the coolest events on NASA TV are those in which the "outreach" people play no role and just let the cameras speak for themselves. I agree.
- ANH 14y agoI think you're being unfair. I don't know how large the crew is for those events, but I'd venture to say all would call themselves "outreach people". I take your point that a lot of what airs is not very good, but to throw all outreach efforts under the bus is uncalled for. Another outreach example that allows you to rove the same terrain as the Mars Science Laboratory: http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/explore/freedrive/ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/explore/freedrive/ . I'd say this is pretty damn cool, and actually informative. The folks who do this work are rather nervous right now.
- danielweber 14y agoNASA outreach is tremendous bang for the buck. Remember, science isn't just so the scientists can learn. It's so the scientists can learn and then present their finding to the public. Of course, NASA didn't cut outreach because they carefully looked at their budget and decided this was the 1% that produced the least marginal value. They decided to cut outreach because it would generate public outrage. I think NASA's budget should be increased, FWIW, but I recognize when I'm being played.