Feds Throw $500K Into ‘Star Trek Dream’?

by ~ The Rebel ~ Posted 2012/06/08 00:41:40

Related Topics: Engine, Space, National Aeronautics And Space Administration, Exercise, Newspaper, Recession, Federal Government, Mars, Astronaut, Speed, Facts, Advanced

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While you may be searching for a job or simply trying to make ends meet in this economical recession, the federal government is doling out your hard earned tax money on a ‘dream’. I’m not kidding. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency announced an award of $500,000 to a former astronaut, Mae Jemison, to start an effort to someday send explorers to another star system.

According to Judicial Watch,

By the government’s own account it’s a “dream” that may never come true considering these facts published in the mainstream newspaper that reported the grant; trips to the moon take three days each way and Mars, the next planet over, takes a robotic flier nine months to reach. Based on those speeds the journey to the nearest neighboring star would take tens of thousands of years. In five decades of space exploration scientists have not been able to make a dent on that figure.
To actually reach stars, a starship would need giant engines that draw more power than mankind knows how to produce, according to a top National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) scientist quoted in the news story. He says that “maybe if we get creative in our engineering we can do this.” The question is does this dream and exercise in creativity deserve taxpayer dollars?

Magnus ☮ RP ☮ 2012 ☮ 2012/06/08 01:40:50

+2

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Larry 2012/06/08 00:52:42

We will never get there unless we keep pushing into space.

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~ The Rebel ~ 2012/06/08 00:43:09

The cash is being doled out by an agency that most Americans may not be familiar with. It’s called the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and it was established in 1958 to maintain the technological superiority of the U.S. military and prevent technological surprise from compromising national security. To fulfill this crucial mission as the Pentagon’s primary innovation engine, DARPA relies on research that creates lasting revolutionary change.

Jemison claims, “The first step is to get the seed money to grow into something more while also getting the public engaged,” said Mae Jemison, the former astronaut whom DARPA chose to head the effort. “It has to become something that has its own momentum.”

The Washington Post reported,

In 50 years of space exploration, humans have hardly made it out of the driveway of our home planet. NASA’s trips to the moon took three days each way. Mars, the next planet over, is nine months distant by robotic flier. At the speeds attained on those trips, the journey to the nearest neighboring star would take tens of thousands of years.

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