Curiosity Rover Lands On Mars, But Was It Worth The Money?

NASA scientists might be known for rigorous calculations and superior IQs, but inside their version of the war room a few hours ago, it looked more like a boozy New Year’s Eve party than a stuffy, white collar office. There were hugs, laughs, smiles and a blatant disregard for commands being shouted by bosses thanks to the safe landing of the Curiosity rover. All involved might ordinarily treat work with a more measured eye, but given the project took years of research, months of travel and two and a half billion dollars, it seems like a few hours of celebrating has been earned.

At least that’s my opinion, but not surprisingly, more than a few people disagree with me. Thanks to crashes, thorough exploration of the moon and a tightening budget at home, many Americans feel space is the last place we should be spending money. They see a price tag of two and a half billion and fail to get the value in learning more about Mars.

I’ll be the first to admit that’s an incredible amount of money, but considering all of the inventions and greater understanding the space program has brought us, I think we should continue shelling out for projects like Curiosity. Over on GFR they already have two pictures sent back from the rover, and in the coming days, the pictures should become even clearer. To me, that’s worth the money. To you, well, I wanna know what the hell you think.

Is learning more about Mars and exploring space worth more than two billion dollars? Let us know your thoughts by voting in the poll below…



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