I agree with many before me that it’s not about who’s more popular. But let me say this: we can still help boost ESA‘s popularity! It doesn’t mean we have to have a „us versus them“ mentality about it. Helping ESA be more popular helps everyone. So I’m on board, as long as it’s not „us vs. them“. We need NASA as much as they need us ;)
They are very smart about doing that together their budget for big projects is bigger and they won't be overlapping the same projects, in my opinion this is how it's done when there isn't a competition factor, just 2 institutions doing what they are supposed to do, progressing science and space exploration
It's a vicious cycle. The ESA doesn't have a decent budget because it is deemed barely useful, it is deemed barely useful because its missions aren't sexy to the public and to their representatives, and because it isn't sexy there's no urge to increase the budget.
I'm pretty sure the fact that NASA appears in every movie related to space has helped make it appear sexy and thus get funding (not nearly enough, sure, but still way more than ESA)
Give it the same budget, a human rated vehicle and I'll be on board. Up until then I love ESA, but have to acknowledge that its impact is not as significant as NASA´s
Yeah but if a subcontractor uses them then by transitive property NASA used them.
If I use the calculator on my phone I'm doing my calculations in binary. I may not be aware of it, but I am still doing it because that's what the phone does.
That's true to some extent. NASA directly specified all instrumentation supplied by the subcontractor should be in SI, and the subcontractor violated the specifications.
If I ask for you to develop a website in CSS to be compatable with my applications and you deliver a product in Javascript, sure, I used a different method at the instant of running the program without knowing, but in the end it will be incompatable, cause my site to crash, and does not change the fact that all of my infrastructure is still in CSS.
So this might be a bit of a funny late reply, but the Perseverence rover launched yesterday and look at the damn official nasa livestream with velocity labeled in MPH and distance in MILES lmao.
The worst part is that they were actually metric but some braniac switched just the labels to imperial for no reason whatsoever.
If what you say is true and they must by law use metric then... this is fine. A dollar fine.
The law applies to all "space flight projects and programs" under Public Law 94-168, §2 and NPD 7120.4E. The televising of a event is not considered a space flight project or program, thus it is exempt during broadcasting. Any measurements you see are just the metric units converted into imperial units, as all raw data is recorded in the metric system.
It is not, however, for no reason. The American populous is still accustomed to imperial units, so it would make sense to broadcast in that manner. Even if the government technically switched to the metric system in 1975.
Well it would make sense to make the conversion if it was an actual conversion, but it definitely does not make sense to just switch the labels and display values in metric, which is what they did.
I must be misunderstanding you because I'm not seeing anything wrong with the data they presented in the video you linked. There does not appear to be any discrepancy in the units.
Mouais. Tbh, NASA got a big headstart, not only they have a whole Cold War worth of nationalistic wide public appeal, they also have great iconic achievements, like putting people on the Moon, or now with the multiples Rover on Mars.
ESA has neitheir
It's going to take a lot to get pass them, especially with China, India, Russia, and even private companies in the mix too. Not to mention that the Americans would double their spending immediately if we got too close for comfort, lmao (Which would be a good thing, though, let's do it)
One thing we could do, however, is make a more recognizable logo ?
NASA's is pretty iconic. It's on T shirt everywhere, meanwhile most people don't even know about ESA's existence, and well, our logo is a circle with stripes. No wonder.
Coughs in Peenemünde. Europe has the Craddle of Space Flight for a start. Ve put the first Human made Object in Space in 1942. An A4 reached over 120 Km in height. To honor this, NASA has put a nice Peenemünde Paint Scheme on their Rockets. /s
(Don't ask about the Costs or Moral implications though. But Nasa has the same Problem with the Nazi Schmazi.)
Yes. But ask those (European) teens about NASA. They don't know shit about it. It's just a silly fashion choice. I had a little small talk with one of those Kids at a Bus Stop and he even wasn't so sure about the Moon landing. How ironic is that?
Stores that sold to alterna-teens in the States often stocked European army surplus items. It was a little exotic, but still affordable and comfortable. I used to wear my Bundeswehr tank top with black Dutch army surplus pants and a vintage tuxedo jacket. I wish I still had them, they were good quality!
Just a thing of some Subcultures back then. Probably a bit Punkish.
Oh. Yes. The Meat Dress. Beat the Meat, or what was she thinking?
By the very nature of what ESA does they just get less regocnition, as sad as it may be. But that doesn't mean the scientific knowledge ESA provides is any less, hell, maybe ESA is more productive when it comes to that
As an American, I want ESA to be strong and take on ambitious challenges. I also believe that ESA can be providing friendly competition on how to do things better in science, diplomacy, and controlling mission cost and reliability.
When I look at ESA's budget, I feel that Europe could be doing better. NASA's budget (although small compared to our mil-space budget) dwarfs European expenditures for space, and that makes me sad. I know your team could be doing more. So please, lean in and take a more active position on the world stage. I know you can do it.
Yeah Europe could be doing much better. European citizens only spend a movie ticket a year for esa's budget. It's not that much. But it's also really hard explaining them how they are benefitting from the ESA and its work. As a European, who works in the space industry, I'd love to see the ESA at the same level as NASA. That would be absolutely awesome for space exploration and all the things that could come out of it.
Whenever I talk about the ESA (especially if it’s family or friends from europe), they always ask, “What’s the ESA?”. And the thing is is that they know what Masa is but not the ESA
The beauty of space travel is that when looking back at earth we’re reminded that we’re all one race, the human race. When one agency triumphs, we all triumph as humans. I hope that as we continue to push beyond the bounds of earth we see our accomplishments in space as those done by our fellow humans and don’t get caught up in pounding our chests for whoever’s tribe did it first.
Space is about international cooperation, doesn't matter who is more popular. Personally I'm just happy that this time we are going to the moon with NASA as a partner.
Yeah, when all friends and their moms got those popular NASA hoodies, I'd got an ESA hoodie. In two years, few European capitals, and many airports, I've never seen anyone in it, so it's hiper-hipster I guess.
(Comment as an American) A few years ago, while I was in college, we had a special lecture from an ESA flight director (Columbus). Her comment on ESA vs NASA was NASA has a massive PR and Outreach campaign, where ESA doesn't. Until ESA devotes more effort to outreach, they won't catch up to NASA.
The only thing that could reach the same level as NASA, I feel, at least in terms of hype, is the Sabre engine and the Skylon SSTO. Really, what people like to see is creativity and innovation... ESA is more about playing it safe and putting sensible fiscal spending first. While that makes sense and is probably fairer to the taxpayer, it will never be very exciting.
Of course, NASA isn't really that innovative or creative as of late, either. SLS is really just a jobs program for Boeing and some other companies. If you want true hype and hope for space, you should look at the private sector efforts, like SpaceX and Blue Origin. They're the ones actually pushing the envelope. But they're not held accountable for their actions like governments are, which makes innovation easier. Maybe the way for ESA to go would be to invest in daring space companies?
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u/SirMcWaffel May 09 '20 edited May 09 '20
I agree with many before me that it’s not about who’s more popular. But let me say this: we can still help boost ESA‘s popularity! It doesn’t mean we have to have a „us versus them“ mentality about it. Helping ESA be more popular helps everyone. So I’m on board, as long as it’s not „us vs. them“. We need NASA as much as they need us ;)