We're going to the Moon

Nice video.  I'm excited about space in a way I haven't been since Jerry died. Seriously though, I hope this moon/mars long term mission can help bring this country closer together. What we will learn through science in pursuing this will more than financially pay for it over the long haul of humanity. Nice that other countries are getting involved in this mission. That said, we need many more rovers, orbiters. and telescopes up in the solar system exploring. Unmanned space exploration is much more financially friendly than human centered space programs. 

We don't need to spend all this money on space exploration at this juncture. We could spend the same amount on reducing and mitigating climate change, and the follow-on benefits would be just as substantial. Space-wise, all we really need to do for now is to detect and deflect meteors, watch for aliens, and keep our comm and earthwatch satellites maintained. The rest will all still be there after we solve our earthly problems.

1st time for everything...

"Whitey on the Moon" - Gil Scott-Heron

A rat done bit my sister Nell.
(with Whitey on the moon)
Her face and arms began to swell.
(and Whitey's on the moon)
I can't pay no doctor bill.
(but Whitey's on the moon)
Ten years from now I'll be paying still.
(while Whitey's on the moon)
The man just upped my rent last night.
('cause Whitey's on the moon)
No hot water, no toilets, no lights.
(but Whitey's on the moon)
I wonder why he's upping me?
('cause Whitey's on the moon?)
I wuz already paying him fifty a week.
(with Whitey on the moon)
Taxes taking my whole damn check,
Junkies making me a nervous wreck,
The price of food is going up,
An' as if all that shit was't enough:
A rat done bit my sister Nell.
(with Whitey on the moon)
Her face and arm began to swell.
(but Whitey's on the moon)
Was all that money I made last year
(for Whitey on the moon?)
How come there ain't no money here?
(Hmm! Whitey's on the moon)
Y'know I just about had my fill
(of Whitey on the moon)
I think I'll send these doctor bills,
Airmail special
(to Whitey on the moon)

No reason the USA can't explore space while trying to fix its domestic problems. It is a false dichotomy that we can only do one or the other. This country failing on so many levels with addressing domestic problems has little to do with NASA getting 1 % of the federal budget. Check out % military gets, 

I get the dichotomy over where the money should go.

Any discussion of space money should include the massive amount of science that endeavor produces.

Yep.  If we just had just taken 10% of our bloated military budget over the past 30 years and spent it on space exploration, we would have resorts and mining colonies on the moons of Saturn by now.  Government only needs to be involved in the first steps in establishing space colonies.  Once revenue starts pouring in from all the minerals, resources, and tourism, private industry will take it from there.  Aside from the potential financial and scientific benefits, space exploration can heal the human psyche and foster a greater sense of our collective global humanity and underscore the need to protect the planet. 

Asteroids are just gods way of saying. "How's that space program coming along"

Cut the military by half and stop all corporate welfare and we could have nationalized medicine, space exploration, new industries and still have a ton of money left over.

You know we subsidize big oil, right?  The corn industry is ridiculous.

Fuck em all.

...and you may have thought that dynamic pricing was for the birds in the ticketing of sports, concerts, and airfare!

Govt largely sat it out and now we get "the pleasure" of Musk & Bezos running it (...as Richard Branson appears sidelined in that race). $33T in debt with almost jack shit to show for it, other than a rapidly increasing $2B per day in interest. Nice.