A sunset. On Mars.
We took this picture. We did this. We did. Us humans. It's going to happen; maybe not in my lifetime, but soon. For every mouth-breathing idiot who wants to kill his neighbor because of their race, religion, or choice of dandruff shampoos, there are a dozen brilliant, dedicated people toiling away to make the future happen.
You can't stop this train.
(H/T to Paul Simer.)
I think you got your ratio backwards.
ReplyDeletePardon me while I wax rhetorical, hm'kay? I'll be all cynical again by tomorrow morning. ;)
ReplyDeleteHope it's not China first, though...
ReplyDeleteYou can't stop this train.
ReplyDeleteWell, NASA is sure trying their damndest.
Mr. Asimov would be pleased we make such good, resiliant, and long lasting robots too.
ReplyDeleteTheSev
"Well, NASA is sure trying their damndest."
ReplyDeleteGovernment: Zero. SpaceShipOne.
I do wonder if we mightn't have had "2001" tech by 2001 if we weren't all busy with Great Society handouts for the last forty years. That's a lot of cash gone down the hole.
ReplyDeleteStill, we seem to be more or less stumbling in the right direction. Gotta have a frontier, even if it's big and cold.
Kim Stanley Robinson wrote a fantastic trilogy about terraforming Mars. It's more than a little left-wing, society-wise, but otherwise an outstanding read. I give it three thumbs and one tentacle up!
ReplyDeleteMars has an atmosphere?
ReplyDeleteNot much of one, but yes.
ReplyDelete"Pardon me while I wax rhetorical, hm'kay? I'll be all cynical again by tomorrow morning. ;)"
ReplyDeleteIt just seemed strange, the atheist proclaiming that everything's gonna be alright while the evangelical pointed out how screwed we are. :)
One can always second-guess where our space exploration technology would be in the present day, using what-ifs in the timeline. What if John F. Kennedy didn't make his 1961 "Man on the Moon" challenge?
ReplyDeleteAnd what if Hitler hadn't wanted that vengeance weapon so bad? (Now that there is cynical, don't care who...)
ReplyDeleteWhen they landed the first photo-sender on Mars, a reporter called up Ray Bradbury. He said he was disappointed there weren't any skyscrapers on the horizon. I'm guessing we need better cameras.
I've been feeling a bit low lately due to personal stuff going on. Thank you Tam for the picture. It has made my day.
ReplyDeleteI've met with some of the people doing this work of getting our lazy butts off this planet. Some of them are BRILLIANT scientists, internationally well known. Some have a high school education & are machinists building this stuff. Nobody knows how this is going to happen, but, God willing & mankind cooperating, WE WILL EXPLORE THIS UNIVERSE!
I am a humble member of The Planetary Society (in Pasadena), whose mission is to get us "out there" in an internationally cooperative manner, even if we have to go it alone(ahem).
I suppose some Roman said the same thing when he turned the tap and got water from a hundred miles away. Or some Arab scholar a thousand years ago, looking at microbes through a lens.
ReplyDeleteYou can't stop the train, but you can sure run it off the rails.
About Space Ship One, isn't it a shame that Gates, Soros, and Buffet dream so small, choosig to tinker rather than change things? How about a billion dollar proze for a Camry equivalent that gets 150 mpg? Or two billion for a foot of rain in a month in Chad?
Paul, I don't doubt that you're correct, but heed Sister Tamara's sermon and sing "Amen;" even if the ratio is reversed, the Goddards and the Heinleins and the Hawkings are going to get us there, someday.
ReplyDeleteThe power of a man or a woman is vast, and we've got some doozies.
Maybe my daughter will see it. At 8, I'm actually considering Podkayne Of Mars for her this summer. Actually, she'll be enthralled.
Too cool. New desktop background for me!
ReplyDelete