
Child Donated His Piggy Bank to NASA Got a Call From an Astronaut - RichardCM
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/12/the-6-year-old-who-donated-his-piggy-bank-to-nasa-just-got-a-call-from-an-astronaut/282336/
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jerf
"To realize that dream, however, he needs NASA to have a fully functioning
space program when he's an adult"

Or, you know, he could get a job with SpaceX or Virgin Galactic or any of a
few other companies (or the additional companies that will be founded once
this becomes obviously economically viable) who eventually are going to need a
manned presence in space for any number of reasons. Some of them will probably
even be doing asteroid mining, or similar other cutting-edge tasks.

~~~
gkjohn
The fault in your logic lies at "once this becomes obviously economically
viable". If and when it becomes economically viable. And even if there is
"asteroid mining" during his lifetime, what makes you think that it'll be a
manned mission?

NASA's space program has nothing to do with profit, it has to do with
knowledge. And that can never be replaced by private companies.

~~~
eru
> NASA's space program has nothing to do with profit, it has to do with
> knowledge. And that can never be replaced by private companies.

Why not?

~~~
quinnchr
Because long term research requires immense levels of upfront spending with no
requirement to turn a profit.

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eru
IBM, Bell and Xerox are pretty well known for their research efforts.

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astrowilliam
This is the stuff that dreams are made of. This kid will no doubt remember
this for the rest of their life. If this would have happened to me when I was
a kid I would have went nuts.

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ck2
I am pretty sure China is going to get the claim to that "last person on the
moon" this decade, at least with our insane ratio of war spending vs education
and research spending.

~~~
csmuk
Perhaps it's just the moon isn't that interesting. It's just the closest rock
to throw stuff at.

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jug6ernaut
For anyone interested here is a link to the petition, i couldn't find one in
the article.

[https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/increase-nasa-
fund...](https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/increase-nasa-funding-so-
we-can-discover-new-worlds-protect-us-danger-and-make-dreams-come-true-
cj/1Qq31jDb)

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SEJeff
We need more of this. Challenging children to greatness is what keeps things
interesting.

~~~
noja
Can you recommend any books?

~~~
wallflower
Harold and the Purple Crayon

[http://www.amazon.com/Harold-Purple-Crayon-Anniversary-
Editi...](http://www.amazon.com/Harold-Purple-Crayon-Anniversary-
Edition/dp/0064430227)

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jonhohle
They should send his money back. As a total percentage of tax dollars NASA's
budget has fallen, but in inflation adjusted dollars has remained pretty
consistent for the past 30 years.

I've been extreme sad to see program after program cut from NASA, but just
looking at the numbers it seems like more of a management issue than a budget
issue - double the workforce with an inflation adjusted-only budget increase?

There have been a handful of years when NASA recived less in nominal dollars
than the previous year (but not the majority), but like every government
program, a budget cut isn't a reduction in funds, rather a decrease in the
rate of increase for the program.

Source:
[http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budget_of_NASA](http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budget_of_NASA)

~~~
quinnchr
You are aware inflation isn't a constant across all sectors of the economy
correct? A better comparison would be to look at the Producer Price Index for
the relevant industries.

Additionally, NASA is legally obligated to use several subcontractor's who's
prices have far outpaced inflation.

~~~
dnautics
_Additionally, NASA is legally obligated to use several subcontractor 's who's
prices have far outpaced inflation._

Are you claiming this is a feature? This kid gave NASA his piggy bank as a
donation. If NASA were to be rated alongside other charities by whoever -
givewell, charity navigator - how well do you suppose it would look?

~~~
quinnchr
No I'm not claiming it's a feature. It's a result of private enterprises
lobbying for contracts, and the end result is legally mandated inefficiency.

~~~
kika
"legally mandated inefficiency" is "corruption" in 3 words, right?

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ccozan
I applaud this. This is the spirit we need to succeed in space.

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mathattack
Awesome call. Props to both the kid, and his new favorite astronaut!

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subbz
Alternatively, teach this little man chinese.

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mathattack
Or Hindi.

~~~
kika
Hm, he's 8, so he can take Farsi lessons as well too.

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geolisto
Really cool. You're never too young to chase your dream.

