Why is NASA's budget so low?

[Lord Hakk]

what Im wondering is, why is NASA's budget so low? what is being given that part of what used to be NASA's budget?

[TheBigDog]

The study of air pollution from cow flatulence.

Bill

[Lord Hakk]

lol, but seriously, we already know that it hurts the ozone layer. seriously why is the budget so low?

[ck27]

I think the reason is the american public is not interested in nasa much. I mean how much excitement was there from the public for the space station? If all of a sudden a huge chunk of americans were interested in space nasa would get a increase in budget but people just are not interested or more dont care about space cause it doesn't involve there little world they live in.

[Jay-qu]

I dont beleive the general tax payer can see justification in spending millions upon millons of dollars in space, they would rather it went to building roads and better health care - things that directly help them.

[Racoon]

Originally Posted by Jay-qu

I dont beleive the general tax payer can see justification in spending millions upon millons of dollars in space, they would rather it went to building roads and better health care - things that directly help them.

Thats BS Jay.

We're spending that money on War. Just like we could be spending some of that money on the Environment.

NASA and EPA could triple their budgets if it weren't for some of the Political Pork Barrelling that goes on...

[TheFaithfulStone]

Because NASA thinks it's selling science to geeks. It's really selling jobs to aerospace engineers and contracts to Boeing.

It ought to be selling awe wonder and pride to the American public.

There are a few ways for NASA to go - either as a science agency, a granting agency, or an exploration agency. Right now it's all three, and so, is nothing.

People are willing to pay hundreds of billions for "their freedom" from a poor country full of poor people that it turns out never really represented a credible threat to us (until we invaded it.) But not to be one hundred billion for a mission to Mars - because no one cares about hundred billion dollar rocks.

If NASA could find a way to justify it's moon mission as "defending our freedom" their budget would be a lot higher.

TFS

[ronthepon]

I just though I'd make a little reference here.
If anyone feels like it, he may try the book Deception Point, by Dan Brown.
This issue has been very nicely described in it.

PS:I request this post to be overlooked by those not interested...

[KickAssClown]

My interest in space is Industrial in nature. We need to move mining and raw, inorganic materials processing off planet. The advatages of using space as a Raw material processing area are *so* numerious.

[Mercedes Benzene]

To read this fiscal year's budget report for NASA, just Google: "2007 FY NASA Budget"
You can download NASA's report which is some few hundred pages, and breaks apart the budget into all of its "sections".
Pretty nifty.