Poll

Should NASA prepare for potential asteroid threat before the moon?

Go to the Moon first32%32% - 11
Set asteroid as top priority50%50% - 17
Advance Orion asteroid mission5%5% - 2
Allow Earth to be hit by NEO11%11% - 4
Total: 34
ATG
Banned
+5,233|6797|Global Command
I say do both and fund it by sealing our border and ending services for illegal aliens.

/win
notorious
Nay vee, bay bee.
+1,396|7015|The United Center
This might not be the time or place to say it...


But I'm kind of looking forward to a doomsday event, be it zombie apocalypse, asteroid strike, or global flooding.
ATG
Banned
+5,233|6797|Global Command
I like zombie apocalypses.
notorious
Nay vee, bay bee.
+1,396|7015|The United Center
Personally, I'm just sick of mankind as a whole continuing on as if we're invincible, not worrying about the planet, not worrying about trying to solve global issues, and not helping our fellow man.

It's arrogant...and downright annoying.
ATG
Banned
+5,233|6797|Global Command
What I fin funny is how people have this notion that our buildings are going to be here forever.
In the last ten thousand years there have been massive changes to the planet. To think that Florida or California will still be around and booming tourism in a few thousand years seems absurd.
notorious
Nay vee, bay bee.
+1,396|7015|The United Center
All it takes is one massive flood, one fire, one earthquake...

Or one bomb, one Chernobyl, one oil tanker run aground...
FEOS
Bellicose Yankee Air Pirate
+1,182|6679|'Murka

Go to the moon, as the advances made for that will be more readily applicable to the asteroid situation.

Two birds, one stone.
“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
― Albert Einstein

Doing the popular thing is not always right. Doing the right thing is not always popular
Ioan92
Member
+337|5990
How big is that asteroid?  From the projected trajectory it is going to land in unhabitated areas mostly. If it is Tungunska-Like there aint much to worry, unless it lands in the pacific......

Why are you people even wondering about such distant future, well all be dead by 2100 (this generation) unless infinite life gets develloped.

EDIT: And actually, to be honest, unless we get rid of this monetary/capitalist system, we won't even last until 2100 imo. This social system is destroying mankind.

Last edited by Ioan92 (2009-04-29 03:28:30)

ghettoperson
Member
+1,943|6917

In 2036 I'll be 48. Yeah, I figure I'll have done most things that I want to by then. Lets go to the moon!
Spark
liquid fluoride thorium reactor
+874|6943|Canberra, AUS
As scientifically/nationalistically (is that a word?) useful as a moon-trip would be, I would have thought preventing a potential mass extinction would be a good thing to prioritize.

NB. Ioan - the Pacific Ocean is bigger than all the other land masses combined... (I think). Plus, if I have the liberty of choosing how I die, dying in an impact-induced extinction event is not how I would pick to go.
The paradox is only a conflict between reality and your feeling what reality ought to be.
~ Richard Feynman
FEOS
Bellicose Yankee Air Pirate
+1,182|6679|'Murka

Spark wrote:

As scientifically/nationalistically (is that a word?) useful as a moon-trip would be, I would have thought preventing a potential mass extinction would be a good thing to prioritize.
Basic risk/benefit analysis.

The risk of an asteroid hitting the Earth is low. The benefit of moon research is high (as evidenced by the advances made in the Apollo project).

Last edited by FEOS (2009-04-29 04:35:51)

“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
― Albert Einstein

Doing the popular thing is not always right. Doing the right thing is not always popular
Ioan92
Member
+337|5990

Spark wrote:

As scientifically/nationalistically (is that a word?) useful as a moon-trip would be, I would have thought preventing a potential mass extinction would be a good thing to prioritize.

NB. Ioan - the Pacific Ocean is bigger than all the other land masses combined... (I think). Plus, if I have the liberty of choosing how I die, dying in an impact-induced extinction event is not how I would pick to go.
I meant the resulting tsunami. All pacific coastlines woud be afftected.
Kmar
Truth is my Bitch
+5,695|6869|132 and Bush

Ioan92 wrote:

Spark wrote:

As scientifically/nationalistically (is that a word?) useful as a moon-trip would be, I would have thought preventing a potential mass extinction would be a good thing to prioritize.

NB. Ioan - the Pacific Ocean is bigger than all the other land masses combined... (I think). Plus, if I have the liberty of choosing how I die, dying in an impact-induced extinction event is not how I would pick to go.
I meant the resulting tsunami. All pacific coastlines woud be afftected.
Tunguska like impacts are not tracked. They are in the 3–10 megaton range. If Apophis hits it would be around 880 megatons.
Xbone Stormsurgezz
Superior Mind
(not macbeth)
+1,755|6961

ghettoperson wrote:

In 2036 I'll be 48. Yeah, I figure I'll have done most things that I want to by then. Lets go to the moon!
I doubt it. I'll wake up 50 and we will be scratching our gray pubes and see together that there is a world of things we haven't done yet.

Last edited by Superior Mind (2009-04-29 07:58:36)

Ioan92
Member
+337|5990

Kmarion wrote:

Ioan92 wrote:

Spark wrote:

As scientifically/nationalistically (is that a word?) useful as a moon-trip would be, I would have thought preventing a potential mass extinction would be a good thing to prioritize.

NB. Ioan - the Pacific Ocean is bigger than all the other land masses combined... (I think). Plus, if I have the liberty of choosing how I die, dying in an impact-induced extinction event is not how I would pick to go.
I meant the resulting tsunami. All pacific coastlines woud be afftected.
Tunguska like impacts are not tracked. They are in the 3–10 megaton range. If Apophis hits it would be around 880 megatons.
Oh, I see. That actually means that if it lands in the pacific its going to somewhat better for the rest of the world. Pacific zones would be devastated but the rest of the world should be spared right?
Ei Em
Member
+7|5757

Kmarion wrote:

It's kinda fckedup that survival really relies on money when you think about it. We have the physical resources, the man power, and the potential technology already in place.
Yeah. Ironic actually. It's funny that we don't have "money" to explore space eventhough we could get information, raw materials and would be able harness its enormous rescourses. It would allow more prosperous life for everyone (hahah, ideal thinking). But all this is tied down because of ... eh, money?

Kmarion wrote:

Well, it's a one way ticket in any case. Big Rip, big crunch, big bounce, big freeze .. take your pick. We're just trying to squeeze as much as possible out of this ride.
I believe in human kind/space morbos and their technology progress to solve this small problem. Eventually we might be able to just "stitch" space.
*cough*

Last edited by Ei Em (2009-04-29 09:34:09)

Ioan92
Member
+337|5990

Ei Em wrote:

Kmarion wrote:

It's kinda fckedup that survival really relies on money when you think about it. We have the physical resources, the man power, and the potential technology already in place.
Yeah. Ironic actually. It's funny that we don't have "money" to explore space eventhough we could get information, raw materials and would be able harness its enormous rescourses. It would allow more prosperous life for everyone (hahah, ideal thinking). But all this is tied down because of ... eh, money?
Yup, the world is dependent on toilet paper. I thought mankind could of done better. Seems not.

Kmar
Truth is my Bitch
+5,695|6869|132 and Bush

Ioan92 wrote:

Ei Em wrote:

Kmarion wrote:

It's kinda fckedup that survival really relies on money when you think about it. We have the physical resources, the man power, and the potential technology already in place.
Yeah. Ironic actually. It's funny that we don't have "money" to explore space eventhough we could get information, raw materials and would be able harness its enormous rescourses. It would allow more prosperous life for everyone (hahah, ideal thinking). But all this is tied down because of ... eh, money?
Yup, the world is dependent on toilet paper. I thought mankind could of done better. Seems not.

Man is now a sedentary creature. Without a system of rewards for contribution we'd be up shit creek too.
Xbone Stormsurgezz
Doctor Strangelove
Real Battlefield Veterinarian.
+1,758|6736
January 13th 2013 Apophis will near miss, with about a 1 in 100,000 chance of impact. It will even nearer miss on April 14th 2036, with a 1/1000 chance of impact.

However the info collected from the 2013 near miss will enable NASA to better figure out how to slow it down, thus changing it's orbit, and hopefully increasing the chance of impact to 1/10,000.

I learned this in Engineering. It was cool cuz my teacher had a program that could track it's flight-path, as well as show how the gravitational pulls of Earth and Venus were speeding it up and slowing it down.
Kmar
Truth is my Bitch
+5,695|6869|132 and Bush

DoctaStrangelove wrote:

January 13th 2013 Apophis will near miss, with about a 1 in 100,000 chance of impact. It will even nearer miss on April 14th 2036, with a 1/1000 chance of impact.

However the info collected from the 2013 near miss will enable NASA to better figure out how to slow it down, thus changing it's orbit, and hopefully increasing the chance of impact to 1/10,000.

I learned this in Engineering. It was cool cuz my teacher had a program that could track it's flight-path, as well as show how the gravitational pulls of Earth and Venus were speeding it up and slowing it down.
I think you mean the 2029 pass, not 2013. There are key elements missing in those calculations.. like composition and other celestial influences. Those are things that could change the projections enough to put it in the earths path. We map less than 10% of possible NEO's in our sky. I used apophis as an example, the Orion asteroid mission is not going to apophis.
Xbone Stormsurgezz
Kmar
Truth is my Bitch
+5,695|6869|132 and Bush

I've got it all worked out guise.
http://bit.ly/srslyguize
Xbone Stormsurgezz
ATG
Banned
+5,233|6797|Global Command
ghettoperson
Member
+1,943|6917

Superior Mind wrote:

ghettoperson wrote:

In 2036 I'll be 48. Yeah, I figure I'll have done most things that I want to by then. Lets go to the moon!
I doubt it. I'll wake up 50 and we will be scratching our gray pubes and see together that there is a world of things we haven't done yet.
You know what, if I haven't done most of the things I want to by 50, then fuck it, I'm failing myself and I don't deserve to live. And fuck career goals, like I could give a shit about that.
Superior Mind
(not macbeth)
+1,755|6961

ghettoperson wrote:

Superior Mind wrote:

ghettoperson wrote:

In 2036 I'll be 48. Yeah, I figure I'll have done most things that I want to by then. Lets go to the moon!
I doubt it. I'll wake up 50 and we will be scratching our gray pubes and see together that there is a world of things we haven't done yet.
You know what, if I haven't done most of the things I want to by 50, then fuck it, I'm failing myself and I don't deserve to live. And fuck career goals, like I could give a shit about that.
50 aint the end. Don't consider it over when you have run out of ideas. There is always something new to do.
Flaming_Maniac
prince of insufficient light
+2,490|6975|67.222.138.85

Kmarion wrote:

It's kinda funny fckedup that survival really relies on money when you think about it. We have the physical resources, the man power, and the potential technology already in place.
It's not a resource in this sense, it's a measure of value. How much we are willing to spend = how much we value it.

It's kinda dumb to pit one against the other. Obviously it's not as easy, but it only makes sense to rank everything that we want the U.S. Gov to spend money on, and spend money proceeding down the list until we run out. It doesn't make sense for NASA to be making the decision.

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