Should billions be spent on 'space travel'?

I could see tourism being able to make a profit in the near future but resources? It's just WAY too expensive to get out of our gravity well at present and there's nothing out there we can't get down here. Even the most difficult mining environments on earth (arctic, ocean floor, etc.) are a cake walk compared to mining in space, at least as technology stands right now.
 
Robotic exploration is safer, cheaper, and faster to develop. With further technical advances, sending robots makes sense in the long run. So why not stick with it from the start?

Think! Suppose you want to mine that solid platinum and gold asteroid. Would you rather send astronauts with jackhammers or would you land robotic engines on the asteroid and crash it into the moon for safekeeping?
 
YadaYada said:
Would you land robotic engines on the asteroid and crash it into the moon for safekeeping?
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Yikes! There'd better not be any human colonies on the moon when you do that! Considering what a couple of doozies have done to Earth. Even without an atmosphere, hydrosphere, or liquid core, the moon is a lot smaller and the impact will be proportionately more severe for it. I'm not sure I'd even want to be on Earth when that happens!
 
buffys said:
Even the most difficult mining environments on earth (arctic, ocean floor, etc.) are a cake walk compared to mining in space, at least as technology stands right now.
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I thought mining the deepest parts of the ocean floor was harder then in space due to the massive amounts of pressure?
 
So far NO, that is NO.... gold, platinum , silver or any other precious metals have been located on any cosmic body we have explored! All that asteroids are made of is nickle and iron plus trace metals which are not precious.
 
So far NO, that is NO.... gold, platinum , silver or any other precious metals have been located on any cosmic body we have explored! All that asteroids are made of is nickle and iron plus trace metals which are not precious.
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Heh, forget gold, platinum, and silver; I want that planet made of diamond! :p

- N
 
RonVolk said:
I thought mining the deepest parts of the ocean floor was harder then in space due to the massive amounts of pressure?
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harder than mining an astroid or a different planet? no.

Not only is it easier (as technology stands today) to mine EVERY part of the earth, the financiacial/technological difference between terrestrial and extraterestrial mining can't even be reasonably compared.

As of today, it's way, WAY, easier to exploit the earth.
 
Neildo said:
Heh, forget gold, platinum, and silver; I want that planet made of diamond! :p

- N
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That "diamond" is worthless as are the diamonds we have here on Earth unless you use them for cutting or drilling purposes. Diamonds are artifically inflated by DeBeers so they can 'control" the costs of the selling prices. It seems funny that people really think that a rock, which is all a diamond actually is, is a valueable thing to have. In actuality it is really worthless to the majotity of people who see it as what it is, a rock.

Today you can actually get man made diamonds for a few dollars that are actually flawless, brighter and better quality than natural ones for alot cheaper. The great thing about man made diamonds is no one can tell the differences unless they are experts in the gem business! So people spend millions on rocks that they think, because of DeBeers , are valuable.
 
i heard that by 2400 theyll be so many people on earth that well all be stood side by side and so much electricity will be being produced that the earth will glow red.
if you want to stay here, be my guest.
 
-logically unsound-

a little funy but i think he's got the right idea we've already over populated the earth, sooner or later we're gonna have 2 make a choice to either leave or go down with the ship.
 
I heard that by 1999, a nuclear explosion will drive the moon out of orbit, and it will wander the universe discovering new and wondrous things.
 
Its funny how the government claims our national debt is at a new net low, 8,100,000,000,000.00...does that sound low? It's even funnier to think who will be paying for the debt, and this new space exploration idea.
 
SilentFire said:
Its funny how the government claims our national debt is at a new net low, 8,100,000,000,000.00...does that sound low? It's even funnier to think who will be paying for the debt, and this new space exploration idea.
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The children of today that are 10 years old now will be paying the debt off for their entire lifetimes when they start to work! That means they will have to pay taxes in excess of 45 percent just to be able to reduce that debts interest.
 
Let the lesser countries deal with there problems, Let the rich countries spend it ho they want. I think the problems will always be there, so you might as well explore the universe and learn something new.
 
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