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t1_ir4c9k7 wrote

Funny you mention Columbus... his explicit mission was to uncover a land route to Asia, to improve future trading, and the return of gold and wealth.

It was not to put a flag on the Americas or live there. None of that justifies the cost of the expedition.

Remind me again how a one-way ticket to a dead end destination helps with manned solar system exploration?

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t1_ir577e5 wrote

His explicit mission was a failure. Instead they discovered something beyond their wildest dreams that turned Spain into a world super power. The reasoning for going doesn't matter, its what you discover after you are there and how you make use of it that matters.

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t1_ir6pkz2 wrote

Only the discovery of life on Mars would make it worth going there. Otherwise its a waste.

ps, Columbus was returned in chains to spain as a failure. He died disappointed that he did not find the trade route to Asia.

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t1_ir6pt75 wrote

We need to invest money and go there to discover any life there might be there. Probes aren't going to cut it. If there is life its tenuous and holding on in sheltered locations not on the wide open flat plains our probes land on.

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