Conservative Voice blogger Robert Hood thinks we shouldn’t bother going to Mars. Why? Well, NASA’s philosophy is to follow the water. After all, water is essential for life so if we are to find life on other planets, let’s start with where there is water.
But Hood KNOWS how life started. “I have four year old kids in my church that could tell you where life originated. If people would bother to accept the fact that everything in existence is created by an omnipotent God then, we would not need to waste money searching for an answer that even small children already know.”
Yep, God did it...on Earth and only Earth so we shouldn’t bother exploring Mars. He gives no evidence except for the wisdom of the aforementioned four year olds in his church to support his assertion.
Science is about exploring and finding things out. It’s what we do. If there is a chance that life once existed on Mars (or that some microbial life still exists) I want to find out about it. I think most people are curious about how life began and whether life exists elsewhere.
I have a feeling he is really going to dislike the next mission, the Mars Science Laboratory. Scheduled for launch in 2009, it will carry a massive suite of instruments to explore Mars and look for signs of life. (I bet some anti-nuclear activists protest this mission as it will use a radioisotope generator...wait until closer to lift off for that fun!)
He also raises the money issue. Should we not spend this money here to solve our problems? Well, even if we shut down NASA all together (which would be a horrendously bad move) there is no guarantee one dime of that money would be allocated to any of the commonly cited problems here and could just as easily to to the war in Iraq, tax cuts, or new weapons systems. This argument is known as a false dichotomy.
I don't want this to be seen as a liberal/conservative issue as I know there are conservatives here who think this stuff is pretty cool (and to be fair, there are liberals who would make the spend the money here to feed and shelter the poor argument against space exploration). NASA is our national space program and having a strong space program keeps us on the cutting edge of science and technology, benefits our economy, and gives us a point of national pride as well.
The one bit of good news is that this guy won’t start spewing nonsense about UFOs and alien abductions since, according to him, the don't exist!
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I'm a believer in space exploration. I was infected by JFK. I had just turned 18 when we first walked on the moon. I remember it distinctly, I was at a friend's house, playing cards, watching it on TV. People rejoiced around the world.
The technological trickle-down is amazing. And except for some who adhere to an absolutely literal interpretation of the Bible, I think most people instinctively appreciate the importance and advantages of exploring our universe. This is who we are. This is what humans do. We're always pushing the envelope. Sometimes we learn something. And sometimes, when the envelope pushes back, we learn even more.
I don't want to live forever, but I'd love to be able to peek back in on this place every 50 years or so, just to see how things are progressing - or regressing.
orbs, I couldn't agree more. When you stop exploring, you stop learning. You never know what miracles can be found. Most important discoveries are usually done by accident while looking for other things.
If God didn't want us to explore Mars, why the hell did he put it out there in the first place?
I consider myself a religious person, but couldn't disagree more with this.
Shakesphere wrote:
"There are more things in Heaven and in Earth than are known in all of your philosophies.".
I couldn't agree more. It is pure arrogance to tell me you know what God wants.
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