joe_lmr wrote: Thu Apr 09, 2026 2:09 pm Absolute crap when it's Musk & Bezos taking joyrides in their dick rockets

During the pandemic I explored getting involved in some sort of Space X contest where a handful of regular people got to go into space. Not sure whatever happened to that contest and I regret spending time and energy on it. Still wanna go into space though. Kármán Line is good enough for this guy. You can see the ice wall from up there.

OrthodoxEaster wrote:Seems like a waste of money and time that could be better spent on social programs and solving problems here on Earth

I understand and admire the sentiment. We also need asteroid deflectors and wormhole detectors. Einstein was a radical and did both. We need more Albert Einsteins. More Sabrina Pasterskis. And people with a lot of money who will donate to developing Earth into a liveable, hospitable, cilmate-forward planet for all as well as researching if our moon is an unnatural satellite created to monitor the offspring of mormons and angels.

I'd really like to see an uptick in funding to deep ocean exploration. Really get into the Mariana Trench and see what's going on down there.

never crap but it's not for me. i don't do tight spaces.
if you got the money, go ahead.

Not crap. Yeah, definitely fund social safety nets and improve social programs (schools, infrastructure, arts, environmental protections, reparations for injustices, etc.), but I'd rather pair space exploration against stupid fucking wars. With space exploration, we get international cooperation, gain knowledge, create jobs that don't involve killing people, and cool technology. I'd rather put a guy named Buzz on the moon than give some blood thirsty ghouls another $30 billion to fund some Armageddon prophecy.

I totally get though people getting tired of things like SpaceX, though that's because privatization of space exploration = TOTAL CRAP.

I think separating exploration from commercial work is important. Space X is just a government contractor. As far as I know Space X are an engineering company, they haven’t launched any non commercial research projects. They’ve done some clever things with reusable rockets and propulsion etc but so has Lockheed Martin, difference is LM aren’t such dicks about it.

As a science nerd I get the need for knowledge, but hard to justify the expense for little return (as yet). Also hate the idea of space mining and colonisation so we can go and ruthlessly fuck up other planets, rather than solve our issues here (although I’m having doubts about that atm).

Not crap on the condition that other alien civilisations are discovered and we have engaged and mutually beneficial relations… (ha!)

OrthodoxEaster wrote: Thu Apr 09, 2026 4:04 pm Seems like a waste of money and time that could be better spent on social programs and solving problems here on Earth. I know that stuff is by no means mutually exclusive (b/c hey, the '70s had both), but so far, I don't think space exploration has justified its budget, despite some of the cool stuff. And w/the increasingly Musky privatization of the industry (never mind its historical ties to the military), I'm not particularly optimistic.

Thats it in a nutshell. Christian agitator/rocker Larry Norman had a nice riff on this....

It's 1973, I wonder who we're gonna see
Who's in power now? Think I'll turn on my TV
The man on the news said China's gonna beat us
We shot all our dreamers, there's no one left to lead us
We need a solution, we need salvation
Let's send some people to the moon and gather information

They brought back a big bag of rocks
Only cost thirteen billion. Must be nice rocks

rsmurphy wrote: Thu Apr 09, 2026 5:40 pm
I'd really like to see an uptick in funding to deep ocean exploration. Really get into the Mariana Trench and see what's going on down there.

Did you know that there are estimated to be over 100 million giant squids in the twilight zone? You are standing on top of an abyss filled with giant squids.

Space exploration? In 2026? Seems like a billionaire wet dream, a way to flaunt wealth while doing fuckall except hitting the bottom of the thermosphere. It's Not Crap in theory because outer space is an exciting, imaginative thought, but absolute CRAP since the federal regulation has backed off after one too many expensive, horrific disasters.

The idea of colonizing another planet to avoid redistributing wealth also CRAP. Billionaires can eat a bag of dicks and a Martian perchlorate-addled carrot.

gotdamn wrote: Did you know that there are estimated to be over 100 million giant squids in the twilight zone? You are standing on top of an abyss filled with giant squids.

Is it bad that I'm now daydreaming about a wok the size of an NYC apartment, along w/a pickup truck full of black beans and green chiles?

(On second thought, maybe not. Guessing that the creatures would reek of ammonia, kinda like those big dried rays they eat in Korea. One of the nastier things I've consumed in my life.)

Iancee wrote: Fri Apr 10, 2026 7:23 am As a science nerd I get the need for knowledge, but hard to justify the expense for little return (as yet). Also hate the idea of space mining and colonisation so we can go and ruthlessly fuck up other planets, rather than solve our issues here (although I’m having doubts about that atm).

Not crap on the condition that other alien civilisations are discovered and we have engaged and mutually beneficial relations… (ha!)

Any alien race watching us would annihilate us for our own good

Definitely seemed less potentially douchey before Elon and Bezos got in the mix. And before there was a Space Force.

The words "Space Force" always make me think of the much beloved, award-winning television show Space Precinct: