What do you want to see next in space exploration?
by Brook Gale
November 19, 2012 | 0 comments
First and foremost, we must foster cooperative relationships with other countries to further our goals. No one country can possibly provide for all our wants and needs. We need to build a base of operations off planet. Lifting equipmet from the gravity well of the Earth is a huge unneeded expense. Space will provide all the raw materials that are required for further exploration. In addition we will be building based on microgravity, real world if you will - recall the mirror issue with Hubble. In addition, the probes we make would not need to be made to withstand the ... more »
by Ron
November 19, 2012 | 0 comments
Launch hundreds of small nuclear proctbes using the near zero gravity on the moon to get them at speeds near the speed of light. Send them out to nearby stars /twenty light years or less/ with quality cameras that will be able to detect intelligent life. ... more »
by Susan Weikel Morrison
November 19, 2012 | 0 comments
We will expand in space as technology improves. Currently we are capable of putting research stations on the moon with rotating personnel, similar (but smaller) to what we have in Antarctica. We should do that. Even more important, we need to thoroughly explore Near Earth Asteroids to (1) figure out how we can deflect one if it endangered our planet and (2) begin to exploit them for resources. We also need to keep the ISS in orbit indefinitely, to encourage space tourism, and to continue robotic exploration of our solar system and space telescope imaging of our universe. Mars beckons, ... more »
by Lynn Glover
November 19, 2012 | 0 comments
Ultimate exploration must extend to the farthest reaches of the universe to propogate the human species in the wake of dying stars and galaxies. The next steps, perhaps not in my lifetime, but very soon, should include a base on the moon and Mars. ... more »
by Terrence Lewis
November 19, 2012 | 2 comments
First, a major impediment to anything achievable in space is the problem of manufacturing and engineering. I cite the boondoggle of the ISS. That situation must be corrected. I believe that a major push to put humans on Mars is an unnecessary and mistaken effort. It will be horrifically expensive, and we must ask, "At this point in time, what can humans do there that cannot be done by robots?" A moon base for the purpose of testing equipment and life support systems, testing radiation shielding, and low gravity experiments would be a much more valuable goal. It should be ... more »
by Edward Durler
November 19, 2012 | 0 comments
The exploration of places beyond earth must ultimately be done by human beings on site. Thus human existence beyond earth must become a viable process. The nearest place to develop and prove the technologies needed for long term existence beyond earth is the moon. The moon is as close as one can get to earth and still be on another planet. Establishing permanent outposts on the moon will allow the moon to be explored and possibly allow discovery of valuable assets. The establishment of colonies on the moon that would be able to create self sufficiency would allow increased numbers ... more »
by Kris Poels
November 19, 2012 | 0 comments
When will we become a planetary society? We seem to remain a belligerent society. And when Iran at last will have its nuclear weapons, chances are we will become an ex-society ... So, stop nuclear proliferation first! ... more »
by Dirk
November 19, 2012 | 0 comments
As Nasa has found that quite a few of the vehicles sent into space seem to last longer than planned. So...as Hubble nears it's end (again),send it off into space. Snapping photo's at targets until the end. It's a far better way to end a mission than burn up in the atmosphere. ... more »
by John Roskey
November 19, 2012 | 0 comments
Hello All, First, thanks for TPS and for this forum. I believe our vision should be about human exploration of space. If not only to satisfy our curiosity, but also to perpetuate our species and to search for other life. But to do that, I think we need to concentrate on our own solar system first. In particular, we need to expand our knowledge base. That means more missions. Since weight is related to cost, we should concentrate on smaller, smarter probes. And especially on swarms of small, autonomous sensor systems. Summed together, these could form vastly more complex systems, ... more »
by P. Copping
November 19, 2012 | 0 comments
I feel we are coming to a crossroad on this earth(pollution, over population, weather changes, depleting resources, etc...) and to be able to survive on it, we have to acquire our resources elsewhere, such as uninhabitable planets, the asteroids belt. ... more »
|
What sparked your passion for space?
by Lillian A.Ackerman, Ph. d.
December 7, 2012 | 0 comments
I became interested in space because of the science fiction novels of the 1940s and 50s. Through them, I realized that other societies were possible, and other "people" were likely to be out there. Because of this, I became a cultural anthropologist,and now hope to hear from SETI. I took an astronomy course at the U. of Michigan. and was delighted to see the Milky Way, and planets in our solar system. ... more »
by LeRoy
January 15, 2013 | 0 comments
When I was 5 years old, I use to sit outside and looked up at the stars while my parent's chatted on the porch. I wonder WHAT was UP there and what those 'glowing bright objects' were. I also had a vision of TRAVELING great distances and that vision came through for me when I joined the U.S. Navy and traveled around the World! (have visited 21 countries so far!) Through all this I have NEVER STOPPED LOOKING UP at the Night skies and I STILL look up every night to this date as if something is 'calling me' to ... more »
by James Platt
November 28, 2012 | 0 comments
I remember watching the astronauts of Apollo 11 step down on the moon when I was 10. It was the most amazing thing to see and hear. I told my class in school that year that the landing on the moon was the second most important event in human history when we were asked to rank the top 10. I saw the pictures they took of the earth when orbiting the moon. It was incredible to see how small it was. Our place in the universe was suddenly very different. ... more »
by Wade
December 3, 2012 | 0 comments
In November of 67, I was 8 years old and thoughts and concepts beyond my immediate surroundings were beginning to emerge. Apollo 4 was the first test flight of the Saturn 5 stage and the block I command service module. Of course, the disaster of Apollo 1 's fire on the launch pad was still fresh in the nation's thoughts. So, this first launch of Saturn 5 and the certification of Command Service Module was getting a lot of press coverage. As a boy of 8, I didn't have any interest in reading the newspapers. However, on the front page ... more »
by Martin Christensen
December 2, 2012 | 0 comments
I dimly remember watching the landing of Apollo 11 and Neil Armstrong walking on the moon. A few months later, i was at a friend's birthday party and we played Spin the Bottle. When it got to be my turn, I said, "Who's going to land on Mars?" To my vast surprise, the bottle ended up pointing straight back at me! I was only eight years old at the time, and probably didn't even know what Mars looked like in a telescope. But I knew that a manned mission to Mars was the next logical step in our exploration of ... more »
by Julia Ballard
December 5, 2012 | 0 comments
One of the best things of being a very little girl in the 1960's was the wealth of space science being offered to the public. I did not care if "girls did not like such things..." ... Made me figure it must be something extremely good then, and worth an even deeper appreciation. The Apollo missions and Star Trek absolutely began my interest in space and the subjects related to it. Add in Carl Sagan and Arthur C Clarke and that pretty much sealed the deal for me. ... more »
by Al Vento
December 3, 2012 | 0 comments
I was just learning how to read as a child. I went to our makeshift bookshelf and grabbed my fathers copy of Carl Sagan's Cosmos. I didn't quite know how to read yet, but I started to sound out individual words. I started thumbing through and noticed these beautiful pictures of stars, planets, nebula, and galaxies! I knew at that moment that this book was special, so I hid it from my father for a long time until I was old enough to read and understand it better. I didn't want anyone else to know what I knew about the ... more »
by Carol Kucera
December 10, 2012 | 0 comments
Early in my fine art career, while showing in a gallery in Georgetown, DC, I was encouraged by a friend (former sub-contractor with NASA) to submit my slides to Headquarters on Maryland Ave. for consideration to paint a shuttle launch. To my great surprise, I got a call from Bob Schulman (head of NASA graphics) in Jan. 1983, commissioning me to paint Sally Ride's launch in Challenger, STS7, June 18, 1983. To date that event remains the most exciting highlight of my long career. I own my own gallery in Santa Fe, NM, and have devoted much of my artwork ... more »
by Sam Williams
December 10, 2012 | 0 comments
How could such a simple sentence throw me and my whole world, my life, the way I think about myself, my planet, my family, into a flood of thought and questions. If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe... This sentence punched me square in the brain when I first heard it in one of those symphony of science videos on youtube. It was the hook to the song of my life but didn't realize it until I slowed it down and dissected the melody. I had always known about Carl Sagan ... more »
by John J. Corbin
December 2, 2012 | 0 comments
I grew up watching the evolution of human space exploration by both Americans and Soviets. My passion for real-life adventures began with space heroes Alan Shepard and John Glenn. Then TV's Star Trek fueled my imagination for future possibilities. ... more »
|
What might the future be like without space exploration?
by Jim Bell
December 5, 2012
We are born explorers. As infants we first learn to use our senses -- vision, hearing, touch, taste -- to learn about the nature of the world around us. And then -- gloriously! -- as toddlers we add mobility and can finally rove around and explore not just what is within our vision, but also the unknown across the room, or around the corner. It turns out that that urge to explore never leaves us as we continue to grow, as individuals, and as a civilization. Nowadays our fascination with the unknown compels us to explore not just the world around us, but the limitless frontiers of distant planets, stars, and galaxies.
....more »
|
Share Your Vision
