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SETI Gains Respect, NASA Funding

Posted by simoniker on from the more-cash-out-there dept.

securitas writes "After having its funding cut off by Congress a decade ago, the SETI program has just received a NASA five-year grant (Google link) to participate as a lead team in the NASA Astrobiology Institute, which investigates the origin and future of life in the universe. For more information, see the Astrobiology Institute's announcement and the NASA press release."

3 of 228 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Waste of money by NicenessHimself · · Score: 5, Interesting
    SETI is important because it:
    • seeks to answer an important question: are we alone? Statistically, probably not. But finding that 'first contact' will have a world-altering impact upon technology and religion etc
    • gets punters involved in science
    • utilises information already gathered and processed for other astronomical research. It really is about making maximum use of the data gathered by the radio telescopes of the world
  2. Finally.... by VladTheBad · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I never understood why it was so hard to give funding to a program that could make the most important discovery yet.... (except for oil on mars... that'd be the only thing that'd get us off this rock faster...)

    At least they got the 24 hours of time to point Arecibo where they wanted before... now maybe they'll get more time, more radio telescope data to send out as workunits.

    The whole program seemed to be a great use of national money to me when I first learned about SETI, and its still a good place to invest money I think.

    Of course, I could be wrong....

  3. Re:Waste of money by DarenN · · Score: 5, Interesting

    As much as i would love to support the search for life in the galaxy sometimes its not a good idea. Although i do think that as humans we should try to search any money we put into a project like this is as good as gone and in finacial hard times like this we cant afford to throw around much.

    At the risk of starting a flamewar (I'm in an asbestos suit :P) attitudes like this piss me off enormously. All this stupid "we shouldn't put money into this, that and the other because of hard times/the poor/the children" is spurious.

    Fact: Agencies like NASA can stimulate the economy, by virtue of their sheer size. The same, but more so goes for the defense establishment

    Fact: many items which we take for granted today would not be a reality if it wasn't for the research money the governments provided

    I believe the single greatest hope for the eventual equality of all (which is somewhere in the american constitution, right?) is technology. You may or may not agree with this, you might say education, for instance, but more effiecient and cost effective ways of teaching and learning will come out of research.

    The "I don't want to pay so my descendants will benefit" attitude is an attitude that would have wiped out the human race, or any species, for that matter, if it was rife. If you are bemoaning your contribution, there is nothing stopping you disappearing into the hills and living as a hermit (except that wouldn't fit in your comfort zone, would it), while the rest of us go and make progress for the benefit of the species as a whole.

    This is also the reason that 20 new types of disposable wipe a year piss me off so badly.

    --
    Rational thought is the only true freedom