Y r nations interested in spending money trying to reach the moon rather than solving problems facing earth

You are either under the age of 21 or a LIberal. I'm not trying to be anything but observant. Come on, I'm right, am I not?

OK, I wll give you a quick rundown. You see, there are a lot of people working for NASA, and the companies supplying it with goods and services. Without the space program, those people would be without a job and would be dirt poor. So the space program IS fighting poverty. Now, about racism: tell me how diverting moneys from the space program is going to help racism? Do you think you can pay a bigot so that he will stop being an idiot? I don't think so. Third: going to space does solve problems down here. Heard of weather satellites that allow people to seek shelter in time when a stom comes? Ever heard of ressources mapping satellites that help discover mineral deposits, or monitor crop, or insect infestation? Suppose that a giant meteorite is discovered heading towards earth (I am not saying one is, I am saying it might happen, and that could be any time). Perhaps you'd be thankful that the rockets developed to go to the moon might be used to deflect that meteorite that could kill everyone on this planet. As for the jerk who seemingly thinks that being liberal is a flaw, I got a few words for you too: you are extremely narrow minded. I am a liberal and my IQ is conservatively estimated at 159. So between you and me, you is the dummy? Apparently some people are missing the point that going to the moon is a way of pushing the limit. Going to the moon would reveal more stuff than orbiting satellites can. We can put telescopes on the far side of the moon, without the perturbation from the earth, those could detect and track possibly dangerous meteorites a lot better. But I cannot quote direct advantages to having a permanent settlement on the moon yet, because *we are not there yet*. So, you want me to speculate about what good it may do? Ok, how about mining the moon for precious minerals? How about having naturally super clean installations for the production of computer chips? How about using the moon as a launch platform for future satellites (that would also be built on the moon) saving the cost and pollution of earth launched rockets? Now there is the mention of "improving our rockets". Do you know of any way to do so without testing them? Don't you know that launching from the moon is a lot easier than from Earth? (And by the way, if you review what I wrote, you'll see that I point out that the technology to deflect incoming meteor *migth* be developed from the rockest used to return to the moon. Right now we do not have meteor deflecting technology. But if we want to develop it, we need those rockets, and they most likely will have to have nuclear propulsion, which means they will have to operate from the moon and would not be allowed near earth.) And finally, there are people who are driven by other things that your own ideal. You may want to do research on racism, if it is your calling. But honestly, this is not an endeavor that inspires me, as I do not deal with racism (and even if it was possible to bring everyone together on a single topic, you'd see people walking on each other's feet, and disagreeing all the time). I am not a biologist, so my training is of no value in pesticide research. So what do we do with people who have skills in an area that is not racism (or poverty or whatever) related? Put them all on welfare until those other problems are worked out? (Just to put things in perspective, NASA budget for 2006 is $16.45 billion. Legal gambling -- that is money that people willfully give away -- grossed $73 billion in the US in 2003. Perhaps NASA is not the major money grabber after all, here?). Get thsoe scientists to work on an inspiring project like going to the moon, and perhaps, just perhaps, some people would overlook petty differences. And that would qualify as an improvement.

We spend money on space flight for the same reason we spend money on art, music, gardening, sports, and vacations. Would you give up TV or movies or football and give all the money you saved to the poor?

how are you going to slove racism? That is an individual choice. How you going to solve poverty? That wont happen until young people stop having babies and babies and babies and put their money and energy into education and hard work. Space programs give the world way more than they cost.

"Why are nations interested in spending money trying to reach the moon..." etc. First: which nations? Say, India Nigeria Bangladesh Poland Mexico South Africa ...all have, or have announced the formation of, space agencies. South Africa, for example, under the African National Congress, recently announced it was throwing its hat into the ring, so to develop "communication, research and climate observation." (see http://www.spacedaily.com/news/dsn-05b.html) A Mr. Mangela, South African Science and Technology Minister, maintains the necessity of this agency, despite the almost 50% unemployment rate in South Africa, and despite almost a fourth of its adult population infected with HIV. But perhaps Mr. Mangela is mistaken about his country's priorities? After all, this agency has a limited mandate, really. It looks like a vehicle to attract foreign money. Which kinda invalidates the "money spent on space isn't spent on Earth" meme. Think about it. But in fact, there are at least thirty nations with space agencies. (See source 1.) Perhaps some of the folks who've posted their agreement with the sentiment that nothing from space can feed their child or keep her warm on a harsh winter's night, would consider an email campaign to these nations, so as to instruct them that they have no business using space technology to monitor their own crop yields and mineral resources.

This is futile.

You are quite confused in a number of ways. First, what makes you think that we aren't working to solve problems on earth? In 2006 the US Government is spending $28 billion for Housing and Urban Development, $56 billion for Education, $19 billion for agriculture, $67 billion for Health and Human Services, and only $16 billion for NASA. Second, you seem to believe that we can't do both at once. You really think that taking that money from NASA will solve racism and poverty? Third, the quest for space has made life on earth much better for us all. The technologies developed for space have influenced the development of computers and the internet, lifesaving medical technology, materials engineering that make our homes and offices and cars healthier and safer. Spinoffs from space technology have paid for themselves many times over in quality of life down here on earth. Finally, have you never studied history? Frontiers have inspired mankind for all of recorded history. Early man expanded out of Africa. Every great historic civilization - the Chinese, the Greeks, the Romans, the Europeans, grew as a civilization as they grew to new areas of their universe. The United States built an innovative, independent spirit that made it the greatest country on earth because while Europe was languishing with the towns and cities and countries they'd always had, we were exploring the wilderness, taming the land, building new towns and cities. When mankind stagnates, bureacracy, lethargy, and even negative things like oppression and war set in. Mankind needs to grow, to expand, to explore, to conquer new frontiers. Spending a half of a percent of the US' budget on space exploration is probably actually shortchanging mankind, not cheating a few people who can't get along.

If we knew how to solve all mankinds problem, we would focus on those methods. But we don't. So we need to diversify our sciences into all directions. What we find by exploring the oceans, or space, or the genome, or philosophy, or the atom, can either be used for the benefit of mankind, or for its detriment. We can not tell which science will provide a solution, or which science will provide a prevention against a greater evil. If we knew, we'd already have peace and health. But we're in the dark, and so we have to search all corners of the room for the lights.

Humans are never content with what they have. Therefore, it is why everybody always wants more than they have.