Should the United States fund spaceflight to Mars? Why? Or Why not?

Why spend money going to Mars, those that want to go should put their money up and not our tax money.

Don't think anyone is gonna be around long enough to enjoy any possible benefits on down the road.

Pls understand, I realize that project might not work, I just found it thought provoking, I'd mentioned it on here before....

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/GLAST/news/fermi-thunderstorms.html

I think this is actually fairly compelling sci justification....

http://www.spacewarpdynamicsllc.com/

This is the related site, I assure you, the science seems quite real, I'll send why in cpl mins....

http://www.omaha.com/living/working-toward-a-warp-drive-in-his-garage-lab-omahan/article_b6489acf-5622-5419-ac18-0c44474da9c9.html

You might find this of serious interest....

CPT (Join to see) The folks I worked with on the Space Shuttle program were as dedicated to the Space program, as I was. The technologies being developed will help us with problems on our own planet.

https://spinoff.nasa.gov/Spinoff2008/tech_benefits.html

I understand why such a thing wouid be contemplated. However, I think it wholly absurd regardless of its popularity, as a prospective ambition. First, I'd seen considerable material relating to serious cumulative long term radiation damage to even just the Apollo astronauts. Second, I think lunar colonization very def should go first, and needs to be done, I depth, before even contemplating Mars. Third, the sheer level of software development needed for such a human spaceflight, and the needed craft, is, in my view, wholly beyond reach at present, and, until lunar colonization succeeds, routinely, without any possible major incidents for a fairly protracted period, is, to my way of thinking, merest sci fi fantasy. Ambitious? Certainly. Laudable? Obviously. Realistic? To my mind, regardless of what social good might be achieved, which, I of course, would admit, total nonsense. I wish I could say I thought otherwise, however, I've been reading that whole Gerard K O'Neill thing for decades now, as he planned human colonies, and the human race barely manages to get one extremely limited habitate up, after Skylab. That, and the whole manned orbiting lab or MOL project before that, as some here may have read of, or seen documentaries about. Arthur C Clarke wrote 2001 decades ago, Stanley Kubrick filmed it a few yrs later, and the whole thing is still merest fantasy decades later, with only minimal progress toward anything even vaguely reminiscent of any level of comparable achievement to that which the book and film proposed. Then there was that worried fantasy about Mars with Gary Sinise, and the film about Mars with Val Kilmer, Terrence Stamp, and Tom Sizemore, which, if fantastic, I certainly found at least somewhat slightly more credible, though not by much. The recent Matt Damon film about Mars, I likewise consider comparable fantasy. There won't, I think, be a human Mars flight for at least another century if not longer. The Moon is only 250K miles away, and hasnt been gone back to since Apollo 17; Skylab augured in out of orbit, as I recall yrs ago, the shuttle program is long gone as museum pieces, and the present station, id read, also won't last forever, eventually, it'll augur in also, as it's orbit deteriorates, I think. Sending a robot to dig up some soil while a fantastic achievement, using the balloons for the landing, while brilliant, hardly compares in any remote fashion to a human Mars spaceflight. Before my present unfortunate total perm disability, I'd done considerable research in areas tangential to such topics, have met two Apollo astronauts albeit yrs ago, one while I was at USAF OTS, one yrs later after I'd gotten off active. I've read for yrs on the whole topic, studies much related to it, and was on active when the enterprise shuttle was dropped off the 747. Truly, I wish such an ambition weren't merest fantasy, in my view, however, I honestly think it is, at least for many, many decades yet to come, laudable ambition notwithstanding. I realize I'll be disagreed with, and my thoughts are of course my own, however, that is quite honestly the conclusion I've reached after yrs of trying to seriously study the entire topic, honest, hope this was at least of some interest, I'm not meaning to discourage, however, I do think I have some inkling of what I'm speaking of here, and I'd be remiss, in my view, to not try to inject, however that might deflate ambitions of those here, at least some note of comparative reality into such a topic, if nothing else, many thanks. I'd love it to happen, and for me to be wrong, honest, however I'm abs convinced it won't, and that I'm also, unfortunately, right, many thanks once again.

Yes.

Sorry for typos, this tablet is often querulous. I'd meant that horrid sci-fi fantasy film with Gary Sinise about Mars. I found it entertaining fiction, albeit wholly absurd fantasy, I'm afraid.