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Majority of Americans Believe It Is Essential That the US Remain a Global Leader in Space (pewinternet.org)
Pew Research: Sixty years after the founding of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), most Americans believe the United States should be at the forefront of global leadership in space exploration. Majorities say the International Space Station has been a good investment for the country and that, on balance, NASA is still vital to the future of U.S. space exploration even as private space companies emerge as increasingly important players. Roughly seven-in-ten Americans (72%) say it is essential for the U.S. to continue to be a world leader in space exploration, and eight-in-ten (80%) say the space station has been a good investment for the country, according to a new Pew Research Center survey conducted March 27-April 9, 2018. These survey results come at a time when NASA finds itself in a much different world from the one that existed when the Apollo astronauts first set foot on the moon nearly half a century ago. The Cold War space race has receded into history, but other countries (including China, Japan and India) have emerged as significant international players in space exploration. Another finding in the report: Most Americans would like NASA to focus on Earth, instead of Mars.
It cannot. Not enough gravity to retain an atmosphere. What people are talking about is building a self-sustaining (as far as possible) moon base as a demonstration humans can survive long-term without deliveries from earth. My personal guess is this will take at least 100 years to accomplish.
Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
Very good. I mis-interpreted your intentions. You have my apologizes.
I read at +2. If your post doesn't reach that level I will not see or respond to it.
Maybe we could blame him for appointing Pruitt and rolling back all the environmental regulations that we've so painfully established? Just so his buddies can make a profit while the rest of us drown in filth? How about blaming him for that?
Considering all that's happened, the US is still quite the top dog. China is our biggest rival, but their per capita GDP is about $15k versus $60k in the US. True, their sheer population size magnifies any trade or military threat, but that just means they have a big population, not that USA is going to heck in a handbasket. I don't see their threat as big as the Cold War. US and Soviet Union were on hair-trigger notice back then; it was scary, with too many close calls.
And past growth is no guarantee of future growth. Things change. China has a history of big political turmoil and revolutions.
Table-ized A.I.
Because in a century or two whomever dominates space will control access to resources that will become increasingly scarce or environmentally irresponsible to extract on Earth.
Europeans didn't immediately start sailing around the world and creating colonies and trade infrastructure. They started by creeping the coastlines of the Old World until marine technology had reached a point where opennsea voyages became possible. But the point is that those technologies were developed and advanced.
Probes serve their purpose, but it's clear at least that the Chinese have bigger plans, and it would seem prudent for the US to leverage it's nearly six decades of space exploration to meet the challenge, rather than sitting around and losing the race.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
The difference being that China is on the way up and for the most people there life is getting steadily better, often much better. In the US it goes in cycles.
Actually there is a more fundamental difference than that. The Chinese government believes in making things better for as many people as possible (even if its methods are questionable), where as large parts of the US government think that is un-American socialist communism.
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
Let me tell you something about economy and profit.
There are things you need and want done, and there are things that somebody else wants or needs done. When you are unable to do things you want done alone, you have to pay others to help you or even do the whole thing without you. To be able to pay them, you have to do something somebody else needs done, for money. Now, you can also sit in the middle and connect various people doing what other people need done and collect a small interest in each such gig, and then you can use that money to pay people to act on your ideas too. That's called capitalism. But I digress.
The point is that profitability stems from initial need or will to do something, to change the world. So, profitability comes from many people willing to pay in order that something they want would be done. When you say that something is not profitable, I imagine that you mean "Now there are not many people who are declaring that they want this particular thing done". Well, no shit, there is no way for it to be done presently, so none bothered to ask to buy e.g. an anvil in a candy store. Once something becomes available, we can argue if people will want it. Of course there is a risk. People may as well not want it even when it becomes available.
Now from general talk and stupid examples, let us return on the topic: asteroid mining isn't profitable unless someone needs raw materials in space. And none needs raw materials in space unless someone needs to build large rigid structures in space, e.g. large orbital stations or interplanetary transports. So it all hangs on our collective will to spread out and live on other places in space (orbital stations, ground bases on other celestial bodies) as well, or at least to explore our Solar system with crewed missions, collecting more scientific data then we are able to do now.
Now why would someone chose to live outside Earth? I don't know, but I see that there are surprisingly many people excited at the prospect. The cool factor probably wears out after some years of luxury deprivation, but many eyes and brains at remote places may stumble upon some new discoveries, inventions and insights, useful to all of us, including us Earth dwellers.
In short conclusion, if there is enough money in hands of people wanting something, than that something will be profitable.