NASA Funding

[Gail & Roberta]

Is the driving force behind space exploration money(profit)? Yes. Exploration just for the sake of exploration? Yes. Scientific investigation? Yes. Finding more room for humans? Yes. So the answer is "All of the above," just as it is for nearly every aspect of human endeavor. Some of us humans will see monetary profit potential, as some of us do now. Remember Heinlein's "Mow your lawn, lady?" as the beginning of the creation of one of the galaxy's richest men? Some folks won't do anything unless they get paid for it--I've worked with some of them! Others, like me, I think, do things just for the hell of it, especially if I haven't done it before. In a restaurant, especially one I've never been in before, I'll order something off the menu that looks interesting especially if I haven't tried it before. How else does one learn about new things? The scientists among us want to know how and why things behave the way they do. The current hoo-ha about cloning is an example. Also nanotechnology. Once discovered, things can't be "undiscovered," and the counter to one such argument against nanotechnology (it shouldn't be allowed because there's too much risk of misuse) is that prohibition of research and development would just make it go underground, thus setting up the very condition the prohibition is supposed to prevent. So what this says is that we need to appeal to all of the motives, not just one or the other. There may well be profit potential in discovering a new energy source in the sub-ice ocean of Europa. Great! Go for it! Design me some boots that will insulate me from the ice and help me build a shelter from Papa Jupiter's radiation! Personned or unpersonned, get the samples of the ice and the water and see what makes our favorite satellite tick! Watch the skies! Gail Leatherwood