Comments by "Itinerant Patriot" (@itinerantpatriot1196) on "The Real Reason NASA Is Going Back To Venus!" video.
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"We should probably know what's going on there." Okay, I'll bite. Why? Don't get me wrong, I'm not against knowledge for knowledge sake in every instance. I did take courses about mythology and English literature which outside of providing some enjoyable reading and teaching me a bit about formulating an argument based in antiquity didn't really come in handy in my day-to-day job. But it was part of the whole person concept back then so I got it. But that experience only cost a few bucks. Sending probes to Venus is a tad more expensive, meaning the ROI should matter. Are there plans to colonize the atmosphere? I've actually heard a case for that one. Are we going to mine the surface?
I actually like the idea of space exploration, being a child of the age of Apollo, but I just don't see the value in checking out that place. I think our general knowledge of how that place functions is enough for the time being. In case anyone is interested, we are beyond broke. Spending cash on a joy ride to Venus to measure temperature, pressure, and the like doesn't really move the needle. It's a nice to have, not a got to have, and right now we need to focus more on got to have. This whole thing sounds like a money grab by NASA. If Elon Musk or some other uber-rich guy wants to float a probe in the friendly skies of Venus, by all means, have at it dude. Just don't ask me or my fellow taxpayers to pick up the check. I know we waste 99 cents out of every dollar as it is so I won't dispute anyone who makes that claim.
Venus just doesn't do much for me. Knowledge about Mars may come in handy when we need to run from the expanding Sun in a billion years or so but Venus? It's beyond Africa hot and outside of a few oohs and ahhs from some geek in a lab some place going there is waste of time and money. But that's me.
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