As 'remarkable' as landing on Mars was, it still does not take away from the fact of the HUGE amount of rocket pollution left behind as it went into space, and the risk of 10 lbs. of plutonium disbursement in a launch accident.
I see this landing on Mars as no triumph, but more like a casino roulette game that just so happen to be won.
So now, what will be the outcome? More of the same, with more rocket launches and funding for more nuclear-powered spacecraft. As long as humanity supports this kind of activity, a devistating radioactive fallout accident waiting to happen is no longer 'if', it is 'when'.
As amazing as this technology seems to be, it still is only a type of insanity to pursue such a course. Because NASA has its own agenda, which does not include taking care of the environment, that we all rely upon for our daily sustenance.
So I maintain my position that going to Mars to laser-beam some rocks is an extremely unconscious and self-serving act, on the part of certain people who have a complete disregard for preserving and caring for the fragile balance of life on THIS planet.
Just imagine what $2.5 billion (which is 2,500 MILLION dollars) would do to start cleaning up the environment!
What would you do if given one million dollars to make the world a better place to live in?
Now, multiply that by 2,500 people, who could be given one million dollars each to feed and clothe the hungry, house the homeless, clean up the pollution, and work toward restoring the Earth to its former beauty.
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http://darinselby.1hwy.com/4spaceprogramerrors.html
“The Morning Briefing” is SmartPlanet’s daily roundup of must-reads from the web. This morning we’re reading about Curiosity’s mission.
1.) Curiosity’s perilous landing? ‘Cleaner than any of our tests‘. For a time, JPL scientists feared that the nickname for the Martian rover’s daring landing sequence — ’seven minutes of terror’ — was coming true. But then it was safe.
2.) Curiosity’s mission to Mars — The rover’s descent [video]
3.) Latest Curiosity images show rover’s mission on Mars. NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity is on its second day on the Red Planet. Before serious exploration gets underway, the rover is going through a battery of tests to ensure all equipment is functioning properly.
4.) Curiosity rover drives $2.5B make-or-break Mars mission. The Mars Science Laboratory is the most expensive and complex lander ever sent to the red planet, a nuclear-powered rover that will scale a 3-mile-tall mountain to seek the building blocks of life.
5.) The Curiosity Landing Already Has a Meme: NASA’s ‘Mohawk Guy’. As millions tuned in to watch the livestream and the television coverage of tonight’s (successful) Curiosity landing, one Mission Control staffer stood out among the others: a dude with a mohawk. And not just any mohawk: an intricate red and black affair, with yellow stars dyed in the sides of the wearer’s head.
Image credit: NASA
