This Week in the Mercury
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Science! Will We Be on Mars in Twenty Years?
Posted by Paul Constant on Wed, Feb 13, 2013 at 11:14 AM
Here’s some optimistic news: 71 percent of Americans are confident humans will get to Mars in 20 years, according to a new poll. Here’s some disappointing news: Americans think NASA gets way more of the federal budget than it really does.
The second sentence doesn't surprise me at all. Most Americans think the majority of our budget goes to foreign aid, NASA, NPR, Big Bird, and giving condoms to five-year-olds. But the first sentence surprises the hell out of me. What evidence is there that we're on the verge of sending a human to Mars? We seem to be stuck with the same dead-end space technology that we've had for the last thirty years or so. Sure, we've sent Curiosity to Mars, but that's the baby step at the very start of a long journey.
But what do I know? Technology moves quickly. Maybe we will get there in two decades. What do you think?
Most Commented on Blogtown, PDX
-
Slate: What's the Matter with Portland? by Dirk VanderHart
-
KATU Poll Brings Bad News for Fluoridation Campaign by Denis C. Theriault
-
My Least Favorite Piece of Misogyny This Week: Girl Friendship Edition by Barbara Holm
-
PTERODACTYL MONSTER ALERT by Erik Henriksen
-
Unsurprising: Kerns Neighbors Might Fight a New Apartment Building by Dirk VanderHart
-
Fuck Pacific Rim, Now It's All About Atlantic Rim by Erik Henriksen
-
Professor Blastoff Live at Mississippi Studios by Alison Hallett
-
Obama Has "No Apologies" for Spying on Reporters by Dominic Holden
-
Help a PDX Hiphop Lover Out by Ned Lannamann
-
Good Morning, News! by Denis C. Theriault
Our Friends
- UrbanHonking
- Culture Shock
- Portland Roundball Society
- Steph Cassano
- Cort and Fatboy
- Street Roots
- Powell's Books Blog
- Portland Transport
- Portland Afoot
- Bike Portland
- Eater: PDX
- Portland Food and Drink
- Mr. Movie
- Sunday Softball
- BlueOregon
- Sightline Institute
- Ultra: Arts Portland
- Bitch Magazine
- Blazer's Edge
- Reading Local: Portland
- Portland Food Carts
- Stumptown Vegans
Our Enemies
RSSGoing to Seattle?
