Just for shits and giggles, let's just multiply Bill Gate's fortune by 10 and make it available immediately for three causes.

1. An asteroid detection and destruction system; to keep that pesky planet killer out of our hair.

2. Colonizing the Moon and Mars.
or

3. Working towards faster than light travel to start really exploring the cosmos.

So which one gets the dough?

Who is "Bill Gate"?

I'm going to go with choice number... 2. :)

Yes, colonizing the Moon and Mars would seem the most logical choice. Once you've got the infrastructure in place to support such an endeavor, then you've got the funding pipeline in place to eventually pursue the other two options.
:smile2:

me, me, me...I want to speeeend it! Why am I not on the list, huh?

I think the first step in the eventual move to the stars is to fully use the resources of the solar system. Colonies on the moon and Mars would seem the first step. I would also want to start mining in the asteroid belt. Detecting asteroids is important. The solution to one hitting the earth is to cut it up and use it for raw materials. I would also advocate using Jupiter and Saturn as a source of hydrocarbons. Once we are fully utilizing the resources of the solar system, it will be time to plan a mission to the stars. Presumably science will have advanced, and our options will be clearer.

the third to save the money of colonizing as well as labor. explore the cosmos and discover a planet that already is colonized...duh

the third to save the money of colonizing as well as labor. explore the cosmos and discover a planet that already is colonized...duh

I sincerely hope that was a joke... OH WAIT, we're not allowed to make jokes on this forum, because politicians don't make jokes on C-Span!

I sincerely hope that was a joke... OH WAIT, we're not allowed to make jokes on this forum, because politicians don't make jokes on C-Span!

why would i joke about that and how would that be a bad idea. and i wanted some real opinionated posts on my thread about political preferences earlier and didnt want to see it stoop down to the level of you becoming a stripper with stretch mark scars because that thought of that make my stomach churn. I think jokes are often a last resort attempt to state something when nothing logical can be said...kind of like what you just did

When nothing logical can be said? Have you read the rest of this thread?

For one thing, this is purely a matter of opinion and there is no right or wrong. My opinion is not the same as yours, but I'm not going to argue with you about it because it's not important.

If you don't want people to joke, maybe you should go find a forum that's not about having fun.

That said, I believe option two would much more easily lead to option three than three to two. As Imagineer and Sparky already mentioned, colonizing the moon and/or Mars would make it much easier to detect asteroids AND to do more on the way towards interstellar travel.

All of them sound good to me. I'll go with 3 - lets see what's out there!

I'll go with #2, since we've already got a decent system for #1 and since I don't believe 3 is feasible.