A couple thoughts about the tsunami's and the new year

[Raptor]

I should really stop reading CNN. With the huge financial burdens of Tsunamis and the war etc, somehow our brilliant government thinks it is worthwhile to spend 330 million to send a spacecraft 80 million miles away to crash into an asteroid so they can see what happens. If they even catch the stupid thing, how productive is it? They want to know if it has ice inside etc. I am sure there is some benefit to them in some way, but is it really a justification to spend that much cash.

[LightningGSX]

Originally Posted by Raptor

I should really stop reading CNN. With the huge financial burdens of Tsunamis and the war etc, somehow our brilliant government thinks it is worthwhile to spend 330 million to send a spacecraft 80 million miles away to crash into an asteroid so they can see what happens. If they even catch the stupid thing, how productive is it? They want to know if it has ice inside etc. I am sure there is some benefit to them in some way, but is it really a justification to spend that much cash.

It will give us data on the possibility of stopping a humanity-ending impact in the future, and there's no "IF" about it, an object somewhere IS on a collision course with earth.Even though I'll probably be long dead, the thought of a comet/asteroid hitting the earth,ending our legacy as humans and millions of years of progress, in the future doesn't sit well with me.I think $330 mil(a bargain compared to other NASA projects) is more than justified.And I think it's nice to know people at NASA think beyond their lifetimes.

BTW, Tempel 1 is a comet, not an asteroid.

[Raptor]

Originally Posted by LightningGSX

It will give us data on the possibility of stopping a humanity-ending impact in the future, and there's no "IF" about it, an object somewhere IS on a collision course with earth.Even though I'll probably be long dead, the thought of a comet/asteroid hitting the earth,ending our legacy as humans and millions of years of progress, in the future doesn't sit well with me.I think $330 mil(a bargain compared to other NASA projects) is more than justified.And I think it's nice to know people at NASA think beyond their lifetimes.

BTW, Tempel 1 is a comet, not an asteroid.

If it is such a serious project with valid merits, they should probably try to convey those aspects of it a little better when giving the press info. They made it sound like they were more interested in blowing shit up gaining useful knowledge. Of course I realize that isn't the sole goal of the project and I know what they are after in the end, however, I think considering the events of the last week, they could have made the benefits of the mission more obvious. Some of that is the media slant I am sure, but you get my point.