Showtime, 9:00pm CDT

I'd like to see something on NASA's climate work but I expect this to be all about the space program. Oh well, the episode "Being Green" is coming later in the season.

Next week: Dolphins. Could be good. Everyone rightly loves dolphins but there's a lot of bullshit about them.

I'm really looking forward to this one since NASA and the space program, even with the shuttle disasters, is held in high esteem by most Americans, who dream a return to the 1960s no matter what the cost.

Yes.

I have a feeling Penn and Teller would disagree with you.

I'm curious to see what they say about NASA. It's certainly not an ideal agency by any stretch of the imagination, but it does mount pure research missions that no private organization would attempt- there's no money in it.

I would be fine with them continuing that work and leaving manned space flight to private companies. I want us to go to the stars, and we're only going to get there if we can make money off it.

Is it? I don't hear anyone ever talking excitedly about NASA.

You wouldn't say that a majority of Americans strongly support government-funded manned space exploration, including a very costly mission to Mars? I sure would.

I will leave that to Wenders to prove one way or another, but the line I always seem to hear is "what a waste. Let's fix our problems on this planet first."

That's what I hear as well. Of course, people don't realize all of the technological and scientific innovations that come from the space program and how those innovations have impacted everyday life.

I certainly hear that too, but not as much as the romantic view of manned space exploration.

In a slightly-related note, I wish they would find the people that pronounce it "Nassau" and give them a good smack upside the head.

"I'm gonna build nukular missiles at nassau."

Yeah, I just bought a mail order pen that writes upside down. Upside down, I say!

Now now, it's a little too soon for April Fool's joke's there Groucho...

In Russia, jokes own you!

Maybe they'll finally address the issue of why I can't get Tang anymore.

20 things we have and use daily because of NASA..

1. Pens that write upside down.
2. Velcro (not invented, but commercialized)
3. Joystick controllers
4. Advanced plastics, especially those used for circuit boards
5. Current bike/car wheels
6. Medical imaging
7. Cordless tools
8. Smoke detectors
9. Fire fighting suits (and other nomex suits)
10. Satellite services (Satellite TV, Satellite Radio, Satellite phones, etc.)
11. Ear thermometer
12. Bar codes
13. Invisible braces
14. Memory foam
15. Scratch resistant lenses
16. Shoe insoles
17. Water filters
18. The safety grading on roads to make you slow down / in the shoulder
19. GPS technology
20. Astronaut Icecream and Tang

I agree with this. Hawking has turned down knighthood multiple times b/c the government cut science funding.

I am curious about that one. They couldn't get butt thermometers to work in outer space?

And what about 7-Up? Oh, wait...that is what they COULDN'T GET!

"This technology was originally developed to detect the birth of stars."

Source

I am not a fan of NASA so I am looking forward to this.
Hopefully it will go into detail about how much taxes NASA wastes each year when there are still so many full-time workers in America who cannot afford health care or insurance like myself (Well, I probably could afford these things but my addiction to DVD's triumphs over my personal health so yeah....gotta lay some of the blame on me).

The Dolphins episode cannot come soon enough. I'm dying to see that one.

This was not a Bullshit episode. This was "why NASA does what it does", with some "they need to change these things" sprinkled in. The whole speech at the beginning from P&T about how they were going after something they loved was laughable since they didn't go after NASA really at all.

No no.... the best way to make "our problems" appear better is to export problems to other planets. How can you do that without a space program, hmmm?

ok i'm normally a fan of bs, but this was a botch job episode.
They are comparing the space shuttle to bransons spaceshipone?
The spaceship one does nothing besides go slightly beyond the 110 km boundry with a couple tourists to let it claim it has been in space.
The shuttle does things like bring up 24,250LB school bus sized telescopes like the hubble space telescope 589km up and can go back and do repairs. of course it costs more. egads.

its even sadder after watching this amazing show in hd
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25011532/
When We Left Earth' series is spectacular
Discovery Channel documentary is a tribute to U.S. space exploration

I agree. They pretty much straddled the line. Ironically, it's kind of the approach I take with NASA (manned vs. the scientific). Actually, I guess it isn't ironic at all given they almost always express my view on the various issues. They really needed to focus on what the true costs of the planned future manned missions will be. Instead of doing a show on "NASA," they should have done "Going to Mars."

I did like the part on the narrow-minded bueracratic culture of NASA management. In law school, I remember studying the Groupthink mentality of NASA leading up to the Challenger accident.

I loved the one line: "The future of humans in space has gone from the vision of a guy who liked to fuck, to a guy who fucked us, to a fucking nut."

I could have done w/o seeing Penn's ass in zero G. At least give me some naked female breasts like they have in most episodes to offset it.