#fundscience

Even with the big lightning-bolt-from-the-blue, genius big-brain ideas, you don't get the big breakthroughs without the dense network of "fart around" science. If we don't have the support (and MONEY) in place to let people go out into the world and do Research on weird minutiae that *looks* unimportant, we won't have the robust library of Weird Knowledge that bridges the gap between genius idea and the ability to physically enact that idea.

[Radiolab] The Age of Aquaticus #radiolab

https://podcastaddict.com/radiolab/episode/197133687 via @PodcastAddict

Go listen. It's incredible.

More Golden Goose awards. More IgNobels. More scientists suqealing with glee as a googly-eyed squid appears out of the darkness on a ROV camera. More time and support for those who want to just sit and tease out how and why things are.

Missions like this are why we fund NASA, and lets be clear this mission wouldn't have happened without NASA. No other nation/space agency has explored the outer solar system. Only NASA for the most part (With one exception, an ESA lander that landed on Titan after getting a ride from NASA).

Yet NASA's planetary science funding has been under threat the past couple of years.

http://blogs.discovermagazine....

http://www.space.com/20622-nas...

Yet NASA's own Administration has said we don't have the money for flagship missions like New Horizon.

http://nasawatch.com/archives/...

Yet NASA's entire budget adjusted for inflation has only gone down since 1975.

This is because us the American people have not said loudly and clearly that we want to preserve NASA's capabilities for future generations. We should be planning for missions that happen in the 2020's-2030's now, and yet we aren't. The truth of the matter is, we may never have a planetary science capability like we do now into the future if funding isn't increased at least adjusted for inflation for crying out loud.

So by all means enjoy the pictures, just make sure you aren't the last American to enjoy such marvels and that we leave nothing for future generations because there is no funding.