It's Okay To Be Smart

  • About
  • Twitter
  • Science Links
  • Random
  • Archive
  • RSS
  • Ask me questions
banner
good:

Roving Curiosity: Why NASA’s Jaw Dropping Mars Mission Is Worth Every Penny

This argument occurs, year after year, at dinner parties and in Congress alike. Every time, someone asks the question: why are we paying for NASA?

Written by Wylie Overstreet

Passage to remember:

NASA’s sole purpose is this: to search for truth. “To reveal the unknown for the benefit of all humanity”—that’s its motto and that’s what Brandon was trying to articulate. When we push back the frontier of space, that is when we are at our best. The old among us find renewed hope, the young, new aspirations. It inspires us in a way no other science does. Infectious disease research simply does not make jaws drop. NASA germinates new generations of scientists and innovators, individuals who can solve our terrestrial problems. It galvanizes the world, as Sagan noted, “to address problems in other fields that also have never been solved. It gives currency to critical thinking, the sort so urgently needed if we’re going to solve hitherto intractable social issues.” If we can do this, we ask, what else are we capable of?
View Separately

good:

Roving Curiosity: Why NASA’s Jaw Dropping Mars Mission Is Worth Every Penny

This argument occurs, year after year, at dinner parties and in Congress alike. Every time, someone asks the question: why are we paying for NASA?

Written by Wylie Overstreet

Passage to remember:

NASA’s sole purpose is this: to search for truth. “To reveal the unknown for the benefit of all humanity”—that’s its motto and that’s what Brandon was trying to articulate. When we push back the frontier of space, that is when we are at our best. The old among us find renewed hope, the young, new aspirations. It inspires us in a way no other science does. Infectious disease research simply does not make jaws drop. NASA germinates new generations of scientists and innovators, individuals who can solve our terrestrial problems. It galvanizes the world, as Sagan noted, “to address problems in other fields that also have never been solved. It gives currency to critical thinking, the sort so urgently needed if we’re going to solve hitherto intractable social issues.” If we can do this, we ask, what else are we capable of?
    • #Science
    • #mars
    • #NASA
    • #worth it
    • #curiosity
  • 9 months ago > good
  • 487
  • Comments
  • Permalink
Share

Short URL

TwitterFacebookPinterestGoogle+

487 Notes/ Hide

  1. notawafflefactory likes this
  2. footloosefloyd reblogged this from good
  3. wendiigo reblogged this from nickelflowers
  4. pyranova likes this
  5. apocalypsesunshine likes this
  6. 99media reblogged this from good
  7. tsumetai reblogged this from cabinet-de-curiosites
  8. cabinet-de-curiosites reblogged this from itsfullofstars
  9. wendiigo likes this
  10. hypnoticleisure reblogged this from jtotheizzoe
  11. okizzle reblogged this from lucid-hills
  12. asdf2012asdf likes this
  13. olympus-mons reblogged this from itsfullofstars
  14. spaceobserver reblogged this from lookatthesefuckinstars
  15. mrt3rrific reblogged this from good
  16. touchinginfinity reblogged this from good and added:
    Mars
  17. tabitha-fuson likes this
  18. lauraleigh-mygirlfund likes this
  19. lenghthen reblogged this from good
  20. pyromaniactattooartist reblogged this from good
  21. whateverhetoric reblogged this from good
  22. dimi2u likes this
  23. vajazzlemine reblogged this from good
  24. jessssjessss reblogged this from good
  25. inarticulate-hangover likes this
  26. theskysfalling reblogged this from good
  27. chrysasaur reblogged this from lookatthesefuckinstars
  28. negro-please likes this
  29. jackischiefin reblogged this from good
  30. eleventhluke likes this
  31. dreamlandlala reblogged this from good
  32. curieux likes this
  33. pirateskates reblogged this from jtotheizzoe
  34. iamegroj reblogged this from good
  35. battl3-r0yale reblogged this from jtotheizzoe and added:
    This.^
  36. icajess88 reblogged this from itsfullofstars
  37. distant-traveller likes this
  38. frakir reblogged this from truth-has-a-liberal-bias
  39. mistakenbacon likes this
  40. ghettoanime reblogged this from good
  41. vaguespaceistaken reblogged this from good and added:
    http://www.360pano.eu/show/?id=731
  42. tes-141 likes this
  43. nyuns likes this
  44. wonderdonut reblogged this from itsfullofstars
  45. nothhin reblogged this from do-nothing
  46. sonora likes this
  47. jpubsflip likes this
  48. unlockyourownmind reblogged this from truth-has-a-liberal-bias
  49. lady-swillmart likes this
  50. Show more notesLoading...

Recent comments

Blog comments powered by Disqus
← Previous • Next →

Portrait/Logo

About

I'm Joe Hanson, Ph.D. biologist and host/writer of PBS Digital Studios' It's Okay To Be Smart. Check out my "Episode Extras" here. There's a lot of amazing science out there. Let's go discover it together.

"Everyone's favorite Feynman of the Tumblr era" - Maria Popova

Joe's science book recommendations, from brains to biology to space to art to physics.

This is an indie blog that takes many hours a week to publish. If you'd like to support It's Okay To Be Smart, please consider even a small donation.

One of Time Magazine's 30 Must-See Tumblrs - 2012

Featured in The Best Science Writing Online - 2012

Elsewhere:
Contact me
Follow me on Twitter
(Email: itsokaytobesmart at gmail)

Let's learn something together. Click the "Share" button to send a post to Twitter, Facebook, or Google+

I'm working to change the way science is communicated and restore it to its rightful place.

Want to see more great science-y stuff? Check out my LINKS page for some of my favorites.

The Curator's Code

Other Places to Find Me

  • @jtotheizzoe on Twitter
  • Facebook Profile
  • itsokaytobesmart on Youtube

Twitter

loading tweets…

  • RSS
  • Random
  • Archive
  • Ask me questions
  • Mobile
Effector Theme by Pixel Union