Comments on: Is Obama pro-science? http://www.apenotmonkey.com/2010/02/02/is-obama-pro-science/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=is-obama-pro-science The Science vs. Religion Comic Strip. Updated Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday! Sat, 31 Jul 2010 01:05:06 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Gibbs http://www.apenotmonkey.com/2010/02/02/is-obama-pro-science/comment-page-1/#comment-1115 Gibbs Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:46:27 +0000 http://www.apenotmonkey.com/?p=821#comment-1115 @Don Where's the fun in exploring if we're stuck in a bunker on Earth? I'm all for robots but not venturing into space ourselves is a dull thought. @Don
Where’s the fun in exploring if we’re stuck in a bunker on Earth? I’m all for robots but not venturing into space ourselves is a dull thought.

]]> By: Don http://www.apenotmonkey.com/2010/02/02/is-obama-pro-science/comment-page-1/#comment-1114 Don Tue, 02 Feb 2010 17:30:20 +0000 http://www.apenotmonkey.com/?p=821#comment-1114 I'm a self-admitted space-head. Love rockets, shuttles, space stations, moonwalks, etc. But I'm a pragmatist about it too. The space station was (and continues to be) an enormous drain on our space budget with very little in the way of payoff for the investment. If there's any groundbreaking research coming from the space station, they're keeping it well hidden. Compare that to the results of a robotic Mars mission, at a tiny percentage of the cost. Manned missions to the moon will be a similar drain on our space budget, squeezing out money that could be used to fund real science missions. If the Chinese and Indians want to land on the moon for national prestige, I say good for them. Don't expect them to reap anything more from the endeavor. I'd much rather spend my science dollars on robotic missions, bigger supercolliders, etc. As for Francis Collins, I give him the benefit of the doubt. He apparently managed the Human Genome Project without poisoning it with religious fundamentalism, and I have every reason to expect he can run the NIH in the same way. I’m a self-admitted space-head. Love rockets, shuttles, space stations, moonwalks, etc. But I’m a pragmatist about it too. The space station was (and continues to be) an enormous drain on our space budget with very little in the way of payoff for the investment. If there’s any groundbreaking research coming from the space station, they’re keeping it well hidden. Compare that to the results of a robotic Mars mission, at a tiny percentage of the cost. Manned missions to the moon will be a similar drain on our space budget, squeezing out money that could be used to fund real science missions. If the Chinese and Indians want to land on the moon for national prestige, I say good for them. Don’t expect them to reap anything more from the endeavor. I’d much rather spend my science dollars on robotic missions, bigger supercolliders, etc.

As for Francis Collins, I give him the benefit of the doubt. He apparently managed the Human Genome Project without poisoning it with religious fundamentalism, and I have every reason to expect he can run the NIH in the same way.

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