• Lemminary@lemmy.world
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          17 hours ago

          You don’t necessarily need a space age to learn more about the universe. We’ve been doing great with remote tools like the Webb telescope and the rovers. Besides, there are more pressing matters at home like the rise of fascism. I feel like we’d be better off without space nazis but that’s just me.

          • Argonne@lemmy.world
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            16 hours ago

            James Webb is literally space. It would never have existed without a strong rocket to push it there. And it cost billions more than it should have because it needed to be folded up in complex shapes in order to fit in a rocket. With bigger rockets and smaller costs, satellites like the James Webb could be numerous. James Web has a backlog of research that it will never get to because there is only so many things it can do. That’s a glimpse of what space exploration can give us. It’s ridiculous that you use the pinnacle of our space capabilities to say we don’t need more capabilities

            • Lemminary@lemmy.world
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              15 hours ago

              I mean ‘space age’ to necessarily include human space travel. These are remote tools that aren’t vivid in the public conscious every waking moment. What I mean is commercial space tourism and the mining industry and all of that. Why spend in space vacations when everything but the kitchen sink is catching fire, y’know? People are gearing up their armies because there’s imminent conflict. Not to drag politics into this, but a good example is how the EU needs to figure out how to develop new weapons systems if they plan on supporting their allies. Now that the US has stopped funding the war, the EU needs to look at defending against Russian hypersonic missiles about to rain down on Ukraine. Then on the West side, the US’s leading companies are both led by some shady folks. Do we really want all that? lol

              • Argonne@lemmy.world
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                14 hours ago

                That’s going to happen regardless. Humans are violent and aggressive throughout history. The only way to prevent armed conflict these days is to have nuclear weapons. Great combination, right? Europe has been sleep walking it’s own defense for decades, and it’s unfortunate that it takes an existential threat from Russia and Trump to finally wake up