Is it possible to have an actual discussion on NASA?

[laconicsax]

I've noticed that every time it's suggested that billions of dollars in NASA's budget could have been put to better use, the discussion turns into a zero-sum game about funding science or the Dept. of Defense.

Is it impossible to have a discussion of better ways to actually use the money that's been budgeted without having to waste time on DoD crap?

[semillama]

1. No.

Neither is it possible to have a discussion about new finds in archaeology or palaeontology without a snarky reply about the earth only being 6,000 years old.

[laconicsax]

2. Sigh.

[Orrex]

3. Sure, once they stop lying about the Face on Mars

In terms of achievement despite a comparative shoestring budget, you'd be hard pressed to find a more remarkable success story than NASA.

Pity that the anti-science crowd is so dead-set against it.

[ZombieHorde]

4. What does an actual discussion on NASA look/sound like?

Is this an extension of my imaginary government thread? ;-)

[laconicsax]

5. Umm...no.

An actual discussion would be one where criticism of the agency isn't immediately met with accusations that criticism of NASA equals wanting the money to go to the DoD. A discussion of the benefits and goals of various projects becomes impossible because the subject gets immediately changed to defense spending.

[ZombieHorde]

6. That was a joke.

OK, try to say something about NASA, and I will try to not accuse you of wanting their funding to go to the DoD.

[laconicsax]

7. NASA stole my memories with alien technology.

[ZombieHorde]

8. Then I feel compelled to remind you about the $100 I lent you last week.

You bought some cocaine and a box of condoms.

[laconicsax]

9. Contact my club for full remuneration.

[Odin2005]

10. I think we need to x10 the size of NASA's budget.

The technological offshoots of exploring and colonizing Mars, sending a lot of probes to the other planets in a short period, and working with private entrepreneurs to open up space commerce would be a HUGE economic stimulus. Plus, we should set a goal of eventually building a space elevator. Then we should get a iron asteroid to mine and attach it to the elevator.

[laconicsax]

11. Good ideas all.

Except for placing an asteroid in orbit. That one seems needlessly dangerous.

[Deep13]

12. I'd like to see a replacement for the space shuttle.

Something more flexible that can do more stuff because it does not have to be the one-size-fits-all solution to everything. Use unmanned rockets to put stuff in space and use the new system just for humans. The humans can rendezvous with the unmanned stuff if they need to work on it.

[laconicsax]

13. Soyuz seems to be a workable template.

It's been in service for over 40 years.

[Deep13]

14. Yeah, but something more flexible...

...something on the lines of the cancelled Constellation program. Something capable of bring people to the space station or, with different add-ons, going into deep space.

[jberryhill]

15. There are folks in the Dungeon who would love to...

...Once you persuade them that the moon landings weren't fake.

And, yes, they are having a serious discussion.

[onager]

16. Here's a great documentary debunking that crap...

Not that it will do any good. These clowns make me fear for the future of humanity almost as much as Xian fundamentalists.

NatGeo: "Conspiracy: Moon Landing." The whole show is at the link below (about 48 minutes).

It's interesting to me that, unlike many conspiracy theories, this one can be traced back to an original source - Bill Kaysing, a technical writer at Rocketdyne. Not a scientist, not an astronomer, not an expert in much of anything. (How do I know that? Because I am also a technical writer, among other tasks.)

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/truth-behind-moon-landings/

[Deep13]

17. It was a top government conspiracy...

to take a few guys, train them hard, build rockets, build capsules, send them into space, then build bigger rockets and capsules and hire more guys, then send them into space to do stuff like rendezvous and docking, then his more guys, spend a shitload of money, build a gigantic rocket, send a bunch of guys to the moon all to show the world that we could do it before the Russians and all on international TV.

Damn conspiracies!