I Rant

The Mars Exploration Rover -MER cost 870 million dollars. I could not be made to believe the space program has cost anything less than a trillion dollars since it started. I know each shuttle mission costs over 500 million dollars. Yet, in our country bridges fall into rivers with people on them. Regions of our southeast ran completely out of water in 2007. Infrastructure in our cities are so old and decayed up to 18% of water treated and piped for delivery is lost in the ground due to leaks. Electrical grids for entire regions teeter on collapse when challenged.

This is not rational nor reasonable and it's not a case of my failing to see the big picture. Man will never live on Mars and if they do it will be as one big gigantic, expensive science project not a self sustaining colony. If we just acted as though we had a modicum of common sense and intelligence and used the talent and money that has been flushed down the toilet for the past forty + years in the space program we'd be fine right here for thousands of years. If we run out of room and resources some day? So what, we had our chance and the future would decide whether we made the most of it or blew our chance. Right now we are blowing it badly.

We have failed ourselves and our children, for what? Bragging rights, cool freeze dried food for camping and Velcro.

Try eating or drinking any of them and tell me the space program was worth it.