What people are missing....

7431roC

The general public is missing out on something so special.

Even for those that are not overly interested in science or what it can do, I believe that even the most apathetic person must be captivated by seeing something for the first time. Witnessing an event that will leave a slight, yet indelible mark on mankinds knowledge of the the universe, where we have come from and where we are going. This is part of the excitement of space exploration, travelling what may be billions of miles and many years to finally arrive and start teasing out answers to questions that were once considered infeasible and technologically beyond us as a species. We have achieved so much, yet few people are fully aware of it.

Moments of discovery such as these are occuring everyday and I have seen them, I have been there, along with many other like minded people around the globe. I was there when the first images were returned of Eagle Crater and Columbia Memorial Station on Mars. I was there when we saw the surface of of Titan for the first time and have felt the elation of knowing an EDL sequence completed succesfully and that another episode of discovery is about to begin.

I have felt the overwhelming sadness at the loss of people whose kind have pioneered the spirit of exploration, Challenger and Columbia come to mind but also the shared feeling of accomplishment when lessons are learned from these events and we push on. Roll on Discovery, July 1st.

These things are meant for everyone. I wish more people could see things how I (and others) see them, I really do.

It seems so very quiet here on boards.ie on these topics, pity.

7431roC

We are experience a truly wonderful age in space exploration:
There are so many things happening now, it is certainly a magnificant time to be alive and to be able to witness so many amazing things for the first time.

Here are just a few missions that are going at the moment.

Cassini/Huygens mission to Saturn
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm

New Horizons mission to Pluto
http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/

Messenger mission to Mercury
http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/elvnew/messenger/index.htm

ESA' Venus Express mission to Venus (obviously :rolleyes: )
http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/area/index.cfm?fareaid=64

ESA's Mars Express
http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/area/index.cfm?fareaid=9

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/mro/

NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers (Still going strong after over 2 years)
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html

Ninja_scrotum

Cool links, thanks!

slade_x

7431roC wrote:

I wish more people could see things how I (and others) see them, I really do.

I wish people could open their eyes and put conspiracy theories behind them :mad: , there are people out there who insist the moon landings were faked and much much more.

Its true we have come a long way in the persuit for the betterment of mankind. but some people still need to come a very very long way

7431roC

slade_x wrote:

I wish people could open their eyes and put conspiracy theories behind them :mad: , there are people out there who insist the moon landings were faked and much much more.

The moon landing conspiracy has been more than adequately debunked at this stage. Anyone still clinging on to that one should get a prize and a pat on the back for pure stubborn persistance.

Mannedspaceflight itself is actually a point of contention amoung many fervent space exploration advocates. They see it as a waste of money that could be spent making multiple deep space probes or robotic planetary missions.

I can certainly see their point but I can not imagine a world without some kind of human space presence, be it in orbit or beyond. It takes a lot of extra cash compared to unmanned missions, but I believe it has to be a part of some space Agencies mandate. NASA has the budget and the experience. ESA doesn't really.

Hell, we could have another space race between the States ans China yet.

Matt Holck

yes, secrets held by exclusive groups is common in space exploration