ABOUT COSMIC LOG

Quantum fluctuations in space, science, exploration and other cosmic fields... served up regularly by MSNBC.com science editor Alan Boyle since 2002.

Alan Boyle covers the physical sciences, anthropology, technological innovation and space science and exploration for MSNBC.com. He is a winner of the AAAS Science Journalism Award, the NASW Science-in-Society Award and other honors; a contributor to "A Field Guide for Science Writers"; and a member of the board of the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing.

Check out Boyle's biography or send a message to Cosmic Log via cosmiclog@msnbc.com.



Billion-dollar pictures

Posted: Friday, March 27, 2009 6:00 PM by Alan Boyle


NASA
Click for video: Backdropped by the thin line of Earth's atmosphere, the
international space station shines in a view captured from the shuttle Discovery.
Click on the image to watch a sped-up video of Discovery's March 25 flyaround.

Is one picture worth a hundred billion dollars? That’s the mostly-in-jest price tag that was put on this week’s portrait of the virtually complete international space station. Pictures may not be the most practical payoff from space exploration, but they’re definitely the biggest crowd-pleasers, as demonstrated by the latest batch of “Month in Space” pictures.

The entertainment value of imagery from the final frontier is just one of the five E's that justify jumping off this planet. The space station is expected to contribute to the other E's as well - for example, through proposed energy-beaming experiments and a host of studies aimed at smoothing the way for future exploration.

When all that research is added to images such as this week's "$100 billion photographs," does that make the estimated cost of the space station project worth it? That sounds like the perfect topic to discuss in the comment section below.

In the meantime, there are lots more billion-dollar pictures to delight in, including some new 3-D views of a Martian dust devil in Spirit's sights, and Opportunity's 360-degree view of its surroundings. You've got to be wearing your red-blue glasses to get the full effect of Resolution Crater, an alien foxhole visible on the right side of Opportunity's panorama.

For those of you who are resolved to adorn your computer desktop with big pictures from space, here are the sources for the images included in the latest "Month in Space" roundup:

Finally, here's an update on a story we first told you about last week: I mentioned that Microsoft Research's WorldWide Telescope was getting an upgrade, and that more announcements were on the way. This week NASA and Microsoft announced that the sky-simulation software would incorporate 100 terabytes of the space agency's data - enough to fill 20,000 DVDs - under the terms of a Space Act Agreement. (Microsoft is a partner in the msnbc.com joint venture.)

You can look forward to high-resolution pictures from Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter as well as the yet-to-be-launched Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.

"NASA is excited to collaborate with Microsoft to share its portfolio of planetary images with students and lifelong learners," said S. Pete Worden, director of the agency's Ames Research Center at California's Moffett Field. "This is a compelling astronomical resource and will help inspire our next generation of astronomers."

NASA already has a Space Act Agreement with Google for astronomical ventures such as Google Earth and Google Mars - so this new deal means there'll probably be a new dimension to the Microsoft-Google rivalry. And that in turn means it will be easier than ever for space enthusiasts to see NASA's multibillion-dollar imagery.

Update for 6:40 p.m. ET March 28: Here's the high-resolution source for the image of the space station at the top of the item, and here's the full caption. If you click around this photo album, you'll find many more stunning images from the space station flyaround.

Correction for 1 a.m. ET March 29: Yoinks! I typed "Jupiter" instead of "Saturn" for the comment on the "Multitude of Moons" picture. Oh, yeah, Saturn is the one that has the big rings. Thanks to everyone who pointed out the error.

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Comments

now that is a "Whirlygig in Space...no wonder there's so much concern RE space junk...can you say perfect target?
Gaia Two is one smooth surface...stuff will glance off the curves...one more reason, eh?
http://telecomsat.blogspot.com

steve smyth (Sent Friday, March 27, 2009 7:37 PM)

100 billion, man we really skimped on that. Really, 100 billion over how many years? (I don't know, but its more than a few). Didn't we just drop like 600 billion to bail out people who collectively have more than that in their bank accounts? 100 billion over these past 10 or 12 years is only like 10 billion a year. We are throwing way more than that at a disturbance in the market. Heck if you wanna look at it in a Darwinian sense, it was the market selecting against unwieldy and deceitful corporate giants. Give that 600 billion to private corporations trying to develop cheep access to space (oh wait our government and powerful lobbies don't want that) ahem.. Lockheed-Martin.THE DEVELOPMENT OF INDUSTRY IN ORBIT IS THE NEXT BIG INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION. Why be short sighted get in on it now. The ISS is crucial to demonstrating the feasibility of these industries, and encouraging private investment in these sectors.
Seems to me 100 billion is a drop in a leaky bucket.

Evilbino, Plattsburgh, NY (Sent Friday, March 27, 2009 9:33 PM)

Great pictures and a nice roundup Alan!

Is the Space Station worth it? Definitely. It's a great achievement by mankind, borne from scientific/technological innovation and international co-operation. It is our first human outpost beyond Earth and with time, maybe a stepping stone to other worlds. It's scientific and symbolic value cannot be overstressed.

$100bn over 15 years sounds okay to me. Naysayers will advise that $100bn can be better spent elsewhere (health, poverty eradication etc.). But we're already doing that and if we wait for everyone, we'll never get there. Imagine waiting for flight or the internet to be discovered until everyone is fed!

Rakesh Sharma, San Mateo, CA (Sent Friday, March 27, 2009 10:15 PM)

One hundred billion dollars for the space station. I wonder how much of that was spent on bonuses?

Elk_hun10, Idaho (Sent Saturday, March 28, 2009 1:02 AM)

Oh yeah, we could launch the Space Shuttle with a full payload one and a half times for the money paid out in bonuses to AIG, and the Shuttle is far from the most economical method of lifting stuff to orbit.

Evilbino, Plattsburgh NY (Sent Saturday, March 28, 2009 1:47 AM)

It is the core to the human condition to reach out to where we have not been - it is a must do endeavour to take the next step in exploration be it in space or under the earths seas and oceans - we grow as a species when one of us learns something new we all benefit and more importantly we do an injustice to our  children and their children to stop looking ahead even in times of fiscal upheaval.
its worth every cent

anthony garzione, newburgh,new york (Sent Saturday, March 28, 2009 7:45 AM)

Excellent video Alan!  No single picture is worth $100 billion dollars but thankfully the ISS is about providing us with precious data on how to live and work in space and that knowledge is priceless.  NASA's intrepid fleet of robotic explorers also have given us beautiful pictures along with a ton of useful data.

My big question is how much did NASA get from Microsoft for the space sky data?  I'd like to know if NASA struck a good deal for us taxpayers.

I sure hope that NASA will fly another shuttle mission to deliver the origins of the universe experiment that is already complete and just collecting dust.  It would be a shame to leave this billion dollar experiment sitting in storage or put it on the junk pile and if it costs a billion to get it up to the ISS then that is money well spent.

Eric, Salinas, CA (Sent Saturday, March 28, 2009 9:14 AM)

It looks like a train wreck, an expensive train wreck! What ever happened to the torus shaped station that were proposed early on with rotation generated artificial gravity?
You should see the inside which looks like an explosion of a messy electronics lab. A jumble of cords and floating equipment. That thing is about as aesthetic as a rubble pile.
Now that it's finished maybe NASA can figure out what its mission is. Anybody know? I believe in and support space exploration but not NASA's poor choices and waste like the ISS. A $100 billion could have gotten us a long way toward a Mars mission.

Parder Dade, Fort Worth, Texas (Sent Saturday, March 28, 2009 9:39 AM)

I love it

Franky Zhai (Sent Saturday, March 28, 2009 10:01 AM)

to much money to spend daily 6months from space programs we could pay off china not stop program
but step back  life here frist

ron danville ill (Sent Saturday, March 28, 2009 10:44 AM)

It appears to me that US citizens are not getting their money's worth out of the present space program. The US space program appears to be more geared torward the military than improving our own lives. The space program shuld be geared torward providing marketable worldwide commercial items or "gizmos" that no other country can provide to boost our own economy. The USA shoudld be reaping huge economic benefits from the space program since just about every other country in the world doesn't have the know how or the wealth to initiate such a program. This space program needs to start yielding visible results that will boost our own economy and keep our own country well ahead of all others into the distant future.

Mark Steingass Story, Wyoming (Sent Saturday, March 28, 2009 11:04 AM)

I think this image of the ISS will ultimately prove to be the defining photo of the station program, and possibly one of the iconic photos from our manned space program this decade.

Gabe, Point Reyes Station, CA (Sent Saturday, March 28, 2009 11:14 AM)

What a huge waste of money.

Climbhighak Anchorage Alaska (Sent Saturday, March 28, 2009 11:15 AM)

Your headline is wrong and misleading - apparently just to get attention - the picture does not cost $100 billion - that's the space station cost.

Pls correct.

[ALAN ADDS: The headline plays off the nickname that ground controllers jokingly gave to the picture - "the $100 billion photograph." This is the kind of picture that was put out as an artist's conception 12 years ago or so, when NASA was trying to get across the idea of what this "new star in the sky" would look like. And it turned out looking pretty much as promised, I should say. So it's not the photo itself that took billions of dollars to produce, of course. It's the concept and the reality behind it. And I tried to go with a somewhat poetic headline (OK, maybe not all that poetic) that reflects that idea. When you read a line saying, for instance, "All the world's a stage" ... you wouldn't complain that all the world is not really contained behind a proscenium, would you? So I hope you'll indulge me on the headline as well.  ;-) ]

Wolfgang Dalichau (Sent Saturday, March 28, 2009 11:15 AM)

Yes, research is essential and recent political jeers at legitimate research are stupid --- though there are good reasons to question some expenditures and priorities. I have mixed feelings about the space station. thank you for bringing this topic to discussion.

janet kreider, cincinnati ohio (Sent Saturday, March 28, 2009 11:26 AM)

NO, we have starving and homeless people that should be OUR first priorty.

Suzanne Ellis, Okla. City, OK (Sent Saturday, March 28, 2009 11:30 AM)

You know this makes me just plain mad.  I am out of work with no insurance fighting for my disability.  I have transverse mylitis which is an inflamation of the spinal cord that causes paralysis.  I am paralyzed from the waist down.  Even if I get my disability I will have no health benifits for 2 years.  I believe I am more important than that damm picture.  Money could have gone to research or into health care or to the tax payyers out of work.  Are the leaders of this country ever goning to wake up or is America going to just going to contiue to go down the drain because of sheer stupidity?

Donna Alexander/605-3 Archer Grove Rd/Athens, Ga, 30607 (Sent Saturday, March 28, 2009 11:34 AM)

There are 6 billion people on Earth today, mostly living in poverty, that need saving from a dozen different pending disasters - global warming, food, water, on-and-on.  The NASA plan to send humans to another planet, yet discovered, to save humanity is just wonderful, but everything I have learned is that it won't be needed for millions of years.  In the meantime, why not drop space exploration for a 100 years and concentrate their efforts and expertice on problems here and now?

Galen Thompson, King George, Virginia (Sent Saturday, March 28, 2009 11:40 AM)

From understanding weather (meterology), to advanced metallurgy, to the development of Intergrated Circuit Chips, to the development of the MRI; the Space Program has paid for itself over and over again.  Exploration and discovery always lead to advances and the overall betterment of the human condition.  Only the short-sighted don't understand that.  Sadly starvation and homeless have always existed, and diverting our sight only inward would be endless and yet would never solve it.

Tom Rice, Havana, Florida (Sent Saturday, March 28, 2009 11:48 AM)

Is the economy on the Space station any better than down here?

Jason, Greensboro, NC (Sent Saturday, March 28, 2009 11:54 AM)

100 billion?!?  That is just ridiculous, there are sick, hungry, homeless children and that's what we spend our money on?  We have ONE Earth, it's precious and fragile...we need to fix it and appreciate it.  Yes, research and exploration is good but NOT worth spending more than $50 million on.  As for the pictures, there are MANY beautiful places on Earth and most pictures from space look the same.  Really, they are just a bunch of starts, shiny dots randomly scattered.  And Mars?  Looks like a picture of a desert to me, definitely not worth the money.

Anamica, Atlanta, GA (Sent Saturday, March 28, 2009 11:58 AM)

$100 billion over the years is well worth it. Its part of furthering the human race, the exploration of space.

It is a small price to pay looking at the big picture. Sure it could have been used for medical research, homeless, care or any of the other things on the list.

However, if that was the case, would the human race ever really advance? Sometimes we need to forget the current problems and look at the future.

John Doe (Sent Saturday, March 28, 2009 12:01 PM)

don't feel badly Al...within a few years one pic from WalMart could cost $100 billion...where are those images of Italians with wheelbarrows full of Lira...standing in line to buy one loaf of bread?
those would be worth a few bucks right now, eh?
how do you know the world's not behind a proscenium...are you poetical writing, Science Geek, Illuminati in disguise?

steve smyth (Sent Saturday, March 28, 2009 12:02 PM)

So we are spending billions and billions of dollars in sending only a couple of people into space, while our economy is hurting.  This is a waste of taxpayer's money.  What are we going to do once we find another planet with life in it?  Move the people that can afford it there, perhaps Buffet,Gates, P-Diddy, King Abdula, and Richard Simmons.  This would be a great group to begin a new civilazation.  My point is, give this s**t of sending people into space up!  If we find life in another planet and move people there, we'll just f it up like we have with our planet.  what a waste of money, I much rather give it to our troops families since they are they one's putting their heads on the line so we can see stupid people lauching things into space.  Get a clue everyone.

Chano, Portland, OR (Sent Saturday, March 28, 2009 12:10 PM)

Donna Alexander

I'm not in agreement with you or disagree, it's hard having a sickness that causes you so much pain and unhappiness, but you must realize that there are benefits for the human race to advance beyond our planet, research for sickness being one of them, future mineing on other planets, and on and on.  As for how the money is being spent you forget that our goverment along with the money hungry people in it are the one's that are hurting our country and the fault lies on every American citizen that sits at home being content with there little world.  We all are to blame for the lack of research, better health progams, our kids growing up stupid (TV, Games,etc), there was once a time where Americans did not wait for a hand out, they rolled up there sleeves and took care of business.  So as far as 100 billion over a 10 year period is concern I suggest that you write your congress and complain about the other monies that are being used from us tax payers to line the pockets of those that are in power and keeping you and many others at bay.

God Bless You and the USA

Sorry for the mispelled words.

Manny, Florida (Sent Saturday, March 28, 2009 12:10 PM)

Considering that we can drop a cool trillion dollars on a stupid war in Iraq in less time than it took to spend $100B on the ISS I think it's a bargain.

Maybe we ought to stop dropping bombs and shooting people and spend more money on stuff like this that will have immeasurable value for our children and our children's children.

Rick Houlihan (Sent Saturday, March 28, 2009 12:11 PM)

Well, that is only about 1/4th of the amount that was spent on interest from the national debt. According to one source, us taxpayers (you and I) spent $412 billion on interest from the 2008 fiscal year. Fortunately, those of you that own government bonds (i.e. savings bonds, etc.), or your IRA/401(k) contains these bonds, you get some of this money back.

Dan, Lincoln, NE (Sent Saturday, March 28, 2009 12:14 PM)

To the foolish people who believe we should spend no money on space exploration until everyone on Earth is properly fed, clothed, housed, educated and healthy:  

Humanity HAS to colonize other worlds if it is to survive.  One day either human-caused global climate change or a mindless chunk of space rock will end life on the Earth. If humans only reside on the Earth, humanity will be gone forever.  And that means all our accumulated wisdom, knowledge, art, and science.  What good does it do to feed, clothe, house, etc, everyone - if ALL of us die to a lack of interest in exploring space and colonizing other worlds?  Talk about the folly of keeping all your eggs in a single basket.  

Charles Briley, Coarsegold, California (Sent Saturday, March 28, 2009 12:14 PM)

The money invested in the International Space Station would have been better spent on transporting a team of scientists to Mars.
Years ago a brilliant article was written in the Planetary Society's magazine about an inexpensive idea to send ten manned missions to Mars.  The first mission would not have a crew, however.  The unmanned mission would deploy a lander on Mars to manufacture the fuel for the first manned mission's return trip to Earth.  Since the first manned mission would only carry enough fuel to arrive at Mars, the spacecraft would save weight and cost.
I hope that someone who has seen the Planetary Society's story could direct us to where it can be seen on the internet.

Kyle Shurge (Sent Saturday, March 28, 2009 12:17 PM)

There are no starving people in the US.  Homeless, maybe, but not starving.

alur (Sent Saturday, March 28, 2009 12:25 PM)

What a load of crap.  What a shameful waste of money.  In fact, considering this type of waste, it's no wonder the Govt wastes hundreds of billions in bailouts.

(and people - forget about a few hundred million in bonuses - focus on the hundreds of BILLIONS of free handouts that enabled these bonuses.  That's 1000 times more money...)

Joe Jon Jim Bob (Sent Saturday, March 28, 2009 12:26 PM)

The 'real final frontier' is as close as your next sleep.  A vast world of weird characters, bizarre scenarios and the Director of Dreams who is attempting to 'weave together' your personality!!  And we know next to nothing about this world; instead, like the egyptians before us, we have squandered our resources on a fool's mission.

For God's sake, when we will figure out that our psychological and spiritual condition is deplorable and needs $100 billion invested in it, so we can live together in some semblance of harmony and good will.  By the way, dreams are "God's forgotten language" and the engine for healing of the soul and God's evolution to continue.  

And, circling this globe is this monstrosity.  Excuse me while I cry !

Bill S. Conway, Ark. (Sent Saturday, March 28, 2009 12:27 PM)

it has been proven several times that private companies could do more for less when it comes to space exploration.
btw. why should we help the starving and homeless? most of them choose to be that way. gotta love our nanny goverment and "helping" everyone. i am all for helping people IF, AND ONLY IF, they have been productive members of our society! smurfing welfare people

kurt kiesz (Sent Saturday, March 28, 2009 12:30 PM)

Looks like just another piece of floating space junk. How long until a rogue piece of space debris splits this thing in half? $100 billion and millions have lost their jobs and homes. What a waste! What a shame!

Time for change, Bend, Oregon (Sent Saturday, March 28, 2009 12:35 PM)

"Is one picture worth a hundred billion dollars?"
Of course not, I don't see how anyone can come to the conclusion that the Space Station cost of one billion results in only 1 picture.  Of course the Space Station has results that equal more than just that.

I'm just not sure the ISS is worth the cost at all.  

I feel our goal in space should be the colonization of other planets, namely at first, Mars.  We all work best with goals and this would be what I call a hundred year plan.

Even Stephan Hawkins said it:

To ensure the survival of humans efforts must be made to colonize other planets.  
S. Hawking

What the ISS does to help this goal is limited, but it can help us learn to live in weightless for a prolonged period of time.  It can also teach us to live with each other in confined quarters for a prolonged period of time, which it already has done actually.  We could use the ISS to test hardware that we plan on sending to the Moon and Mars as well.  It’s also helping us learn to work with each other from different countries, as well as many things I don’t have room here to describe.  But what it can’t do to help this goal is numerous as well, we will never use it as a stopping point before we head off to the Moon or Mars for example.
What the main benefit of the Space Station is maybe time will only tell.

Therefore as limited as it may be the Station IS a stepping stone for the human race to actually become a multi-planet society, if that is what we decide to do.  If we do decide to do that then yea, the ISS is worth it, even in its limited role.

I just wish we would admit that is what we need to do, there really is no other need or use of space.  Here on this planet we are limited, in space we are not.


Robert Barton Beaverton, OR (Sent Saturday, March 28, 2009 12:37 PM)

Why put money next to this historical achievement?From leaping from tree to tree, we now travel to outer space. I keep hearing about spending money on the chillun. They are being taken care of. Space programs and exploration must continue because we are "built" that way. I've worked with miserable "can't do's" but not for long. Print the money and spend it on these wonderful programs. Vasco da Gama would have loved to have been on the discovery. Keep going explorers!

Tony  

Tony Stephen. Las Vegas, NV (Sent Saturday, March 28, 2009 12:38 PM)

WITH THE MESS THE U.S. IS IN NOW...
WHAT DO YOU THINK THE ANSWER IS....

STEVE JOYNER,YORKTOWN,VA (Sent Saturday, March 28, 2009 12:40 PM)

how can we even think of spending this kind of money on such a thing right now. when the economy is better maybe, but there are millions of families on the brink of living on the streets. come on people, lets get our priorities straight.

gloria ward (Sent Saturday, March 28, 2009 12:45 PM)

Suzanne, Donna, do you think this station was made by elves at the North Pole.
People here on earth, were paid to make it.
Of course it was good for the ecomomy.
Probably 75% of all the advancement in medicine can be traced right back to this program.

jerry (Sent Saturday, March 28, 2009 12:47 PM)

That is a lot of money for sure. A price has to be paid for outter space research, and future development. People on earth need to realize that there are a lot of planets out there. Earth is only one of millions of them. Human kind need to unit and stay in peace. Look at the wars that are going on, what can the UN do? The wars can cost more money than the space center. I am not against the money that was paid for the space center, because it is for good.  A way to change peoples' future. We always hope for good changes, not bad ones. Without money, nothing can be done much these days. Because Money control everything that's how things are function. So one way or the other, the space center is a done deal for human kind. It is a good thing that we all know about it. Not like aliens, it is still a myth question. 100 billions seem a lot, but look at the economy, it lost trillions of dollars. It is just a matter of numbers or figures.  Don't just think about that, that will make you go crazy. Health, Love, and peace, that is that power. If human kind meaning everyone live on Earth united and donate one dollar a month to help research, education, medical research, improving enviroment, shouldn't things be easier. That will be 100 billion dollars every year to help our Earth?  Think about that.  One human is just too mall, but when all Unit, that is power behond imagination! I can only speak out, but what Can I do?  It is a world, not just me.  All I can say is, God will lead you if you believe him.  Take care everyone!  Love one another and peace.

Jingwei Mai (Sent Saturday, March 28, 2009 12:50 PM)

Yes most of the cost goes to salerys spend on development . this pays taxes and gives poeple buying power it is all good for the economy

Fritz grupp Dewey AZ (Sent Saturday, March 28, 2009 1:03 PM)

Alan, On the whole I'd rather be seeing Space Station V spinning on orbit...but even I have to admit that the ISS shot is terrific.

Charles Lurio (Sent Saturday, March 28, 2009 1:06 PM)

It is amazing how many self centered ignorant people are around, that just want to make negative comments without doing any research how the money is spent, and what knowledge we are gaining from ISS.

Jay, Kansas City, MO (Sent Saturday, March 28, 2009 1:08 PM)

<<NO, we have starving and homeless people that should be OUR first priority. >>

<<You know this makes me just plain mad.  I am out of work with no insurance fighting for my disability.  I have transverse mylitis which is an inflammation of the spinal cord that causes paralysis.  I am paralyzed from the waist down.  Even if I get my disability I will have no health benefits for 2 years.  I believe I am more important than that damm picture.  Money could have gone to research or into health care or to the tax payyers out of work.  Are the leaders of this country ever going to wake up or is America going to just going to continue to go down the drain because of sheer stupidity? >>


I see comments like this and I am amazed.

1.  We CANNOT just give money to homeless people (I never do)  Giving them money, just handing it out, gives them no reason to go out and work for a home.  I know this is only a generalization, but it is accurate, we can't just hand out money, that would be far more of a waste than any effort we make in space.
This is also why you see the signs at parks and such "Do not feed the animals" if you feed the wild animals they will not learn how to get the food for themselves, same thing with humans.

2.  The space program CREATES JOBS, handing out money does not, now you tell me, which is the bigger waste, giving away money or creating jobs ??

3.  The Space Station does do research into health care.

Robert Barton Beaverton, OR (Sent Saturday, March 28, 2009 1:08 PM)

100 Billion Dollars...for a space station that 99.99% of us will never see up close. Is that worth it?

Tom, Fullerton, CA (Sent Saturday, March 28, 2009 1:09 PM)

Why spend $100 billion on something when we could have just handed it out? Just think of all the people that didn't have to work on the shuttle or space station. They could have just sat home on there rear and collected welfare. Of course it's a waste of money. In fact let's drop all defense programs to so all of those people working to make the country safe can also just stay home and collect welfare.  Why is anyone going to work?

Los Angeles (Sent Saturday, March 28, 2009 1:10 PM)

I'm all for spending money on pure research in science and technology, but NASA's budget is extremely limited.  For the price of the space station we could have robotic rovers exploring the surface of every planet and moon in our solar system.  I wish we could do both, but someone needs to look at our broader goals.  If the goal is continued human exploration of space, low earth orbit isn't the answer- the moon should be next, then Mars.  What exactly is the purpose of the station?

John, Mineral Point, WI (Sent Saturday, March 28, 2009 1:15 PM)

I think this is an amazing way to spend money.  We need to learn more about the surrounding planets through pictures and exploration.  This will help future generations with the problems that we will hand down.  We are destroying our planet, and i believe that researching and finding out as much about space is a must.  The government gives organizations like the department of justice a whole lot more money than NASA.  I truly believe that this amount of money is very resonable considering how profound this will help in America's technology advances.

Stephanie Sizemore, Greenville, IL (Sent Saturday, March 28, 2009 1:15 PM)

A 100 billion so what! They're coll pics!!!!!!I want one!

Joe Illinois (Sent Saturday, March 28, 2009 1:21 PM)

No, I think the entire space program is a waste of money. I do not care about the stupid studies thy do like how concrete cures in space.

Greg Paulus St. Louis, Mo. (Sent Saturday, March 28, 2009 1:21 PM)



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