Lost in Space Part 2

I think NASA is beneficial to us on earth in a variety of ways.  We need NASA to help with national security, tracking hurricanes so we know went to run for cover, and communications so we can reduce the amount of dropped calls we get on our cell phones.  Maybe I just need to get a better phone or change my telephone provider.  Anyway, NASA does do some things that can directly impact us here on earth, but I think they get a little carried away with some other projects that we on earth are not getting a very good return on our taxpaying investment. The Mars rovers, the space station, and wanting to return to the moon for further exploration are just a few projects with little if any direct benefit.   

Do you ever wonder what the heck they are doing all day up in the multi-billion dollar orbiting penthouse they call the space station?  I know they are doing some kind of scientific research or at least that is what we were told.  But what kind of scientific research are they conducting? What direct impact does the research being conducted in the space penthouse have on us down on earth?  Do you not think that whatever research is being done in space could also be conducted here on earth and save us more than a few billion dollars?  I have suspected for years that one research project consisted of astronauts being assigned to stare out the window with the hope of seeing some kind of extraterrestrial being do a flyby.  Thus far, no such flyby or sightings have been reported and I am guessing that we really are the only significant life that exists in the galaxy. Therefore NASA has answered the question, “Are we alone?”  YES, WE ARE!!   

We know the purpose of the Mars rovers is to search for water and possibility that life does or once existed on the Martian planet.  So NASA has sent several rovers up to Mars to take pictures, samples of the soil, dig for potential fossils, study rock formations, and a bunch of other test to find a sliver of life.  Again, with all of this scientific research being conducted what is the direct impact for us on earth? 

Think about the billions of dollars we as a country have invested for NASA to build these projects and the billions more that we will continually invest for maintaining them.   Twenty years from now there will be a need to upgrade the international space station and a third one will be built, and we will be sending our tenth rover to Mars.  Instead of spending another 2 billion on a Mars rover, tens of billions on another space station or a billion to send man to the moon again, maybe we could invest that money so we on earth can have a direct benefit. 

I remember my son having his class in trailer portals in the back of the middle school, because there was no room in the main building for his special education class.  We know insurance companies do not pay the cost for a number of therapies known to have a positive impact on the development of children with disabilities.  We also know there is no known cause or cure for autism.  Maybe we could take the money NASA is wasting in space on the Mars rover and start a grant program for families to assist with paying for therapies.  Maybe we could take the money for the space station and provide it to researchers here on earth to explore a possible cause and cure for autism.  Maybe we could take the money NASA is to receive to send a man back to the moon and improve the educational programs and buildings used for special education.  Just maybe we could get our hands on this money to ensure there would be a direct impact on the lives down on earth instead of it being wasted on future space junk. 

Frankly, I am hoping they actually find a Martian on Mars and when they do he pulls out a big missile, and blows the Mars rover into slivered pieces.  Maybe then NASA will get the message to stop invading space with meaningless projects that do not improve or sustain life on earth.