Nasa's budget is half a penny on your tax dollar.

http://www.wimp.com/audaciousvisions/

Would you be willing to double it?

Bill Nye on the value of planetary exploration.

http://www.dump.com/openletter/

Double it? Hell no, triple it, quadruple it!

There are those who say, "No, we must solve our problems here on Earth first." I say to them, "Balderdash!" or possibly the eight-letter word favored by my redneck friends. Right now, I am accessing Book Talk via a satellite connection; that is one result of the space program. I use a cell phone that is smaller than a package of cigarettes; another result of the space program. And those are only consumer toys. I could go on, but I think I have made my point.

And for those 'groundhogs' who say "The risk is too great," I remind them of an old saying, "Even a turtle goes nowhere until he sticks his neck out.."

I am in UK and so it won't be my pennies, but I agree Cattleman! When we stop dreaming of the stars we become focused on ourselves; when we focus on ourselves we protect what we have instead of aiming for a better future.

I keep thinking about this subject, and the more I think, the more certain I am that we MUST continue our exploration of the cosmos.

"Other men see things as they are and say 'Why?' I dream things that never were and say 'Why Not?' " -George Bernard Shaw*

*This quote is often attributed to Robert Kennedy; but while he used it in a speech, he did not originate it.

some of my favorite videos on the topic.

Carl Sagan
http://www.wimp.com/goingspace/

Neil DeGrasse Tyson
http://www.wimp.com/worldreacting/

Sagan was a true visionary on this subject, and Tyson is his worthy successor.

Here is another one by Tyson:

http://bigthing.com/neil-degrasse-tyson ... ce-odyssey

...

Looks like it's just me and you Cattleman!

Space flight used to be such a badge of honor for this country! What happened?!

I am not sure, but I think maybe it was the two space shuttle crashes. I remember the Apollo 1 fire, but with the exception of it and Apollo 13, our space program was pretty safe... Then 14 people died in two accidents. People (mainly the politicians) realized space flight could be dangerous and they got scared.

Three decades ago, in a top story of the century, Americans placed six flags on the Moon. Today we no longer try for new and bold space achievements; instead we celebrate the anniversaries of the past.

Failure is not an Option
Gene Krantz
Former flight director, NASA

I just finished that book. In the above observation, he is saying we need to use manned flight to explore space further. Not sure I agree with that. He is downplaying all the work done on the International Space Station, information coming from probes, the potential from the James Webb Telescope, etc. The next "new and bold" manned mission would have to be one to Mars. That is so expensive and risky we should wait until an international conglomerate can manage it. Meanwhile there are a lot of starving humans on this planet.