There are no military or economic applications of knowing what Martian soil is ...

cubefox · 2026-09-22T05:56:18 1790056578

You can always say "there could be unknown useful applications!", no matter how improbable. That's not a strong argument.

ted_dunning · 2026-09-22T06:39:06 1790059146

It's worse than weak. It is an argument that works better the stupider you are.

Seriously.

The stupider you are, the more likely it is that there is something valuable that you don't know about.

But sophistry on that level doesn't actually change the minimal economic value of putting people on Mars.

TitaRusell · 2026-09-22T08:13:05 1790064785

Why did the British put Darwin on the Beagle? Who the hell cares what turtles are?

Well it turned out to be the start of something very important.

parineum · 2026-09-22T15:10:58 1790089858

Think of all of the science that goes into firing and controlling a precision guided missile. How much of that technology was created for military purposes.