Mars - probably only to Phobos or Demios, no landing on the Red Planet. Moon - probably not now. More than likely a trip to a NEO. Nasa has a big problem with it's budget, and the fact that they're being told what to build and how to build it by poiticians with a vested interest in keeping spaceflight activities in their neighbourhoods going post Shuttle retirement. Nasa have already had to report back to tell Washington that they can't possibly build the vehical they want in the timescale given with the budget as it is. Not to mention they're having to (BY LAW!) burn budget on projects that have already been cancelled! It's a real mess. I can see a return to the moon - It'll just be that the people going there will be speaking Mandarin, not English. And if Nasa can't shake of this interference, I can see a Red Flag going up on Mars, as well. Unless Elon can get there first...
important invention .. not to be confused with misused contraception. Wonder if the idea of a Red flag will induce another space race.
Internet Pr0n They will appreciate the honesty.... But in all seriousness The internet and Ic are pretty big ones
120hz LCD It's hard to pinpoint a single invention because most of them are just evolutions of products that derive from an old idea. I'd say the best thing of the 20th century is internet though but that's only because it has defined my life so much the pasy 10 years Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk
Indeed it is! A lot of people are trying to keep the Shuttle flying, mostly out of nostalgia for the good old days. In a way, it reminds me of the thread in the Serious Discussion sub-forum in which a lot of people want to save the Vulcan XH558 for no real other reason than the fact that it's a technological marvel. This got me thinking. One of the reasons our space program made so much progress - apart from the unlimited funding from Congress - was the fact that we poached Wernher von Braun from Germany. His was instrumental in developing the Saturn V, and that's what got the US to the Moon. How funny it would be if Elon scored the first human footsteps on Mars. Pundits would spin it as an American victory, but it would be thanks to an immigrant from South Africa. The last 50 years? Space exploration in earnest is recent enough. Every time we harness a force of nature, our civilization takes another leap forward. Harnessing wind allowed us to sail, explore further, and broaden trade. Harnessing fire gave us heat and energy. Harnessing water gave us irrigation and, arguably, civilization. We're beginning to conquer gravity, and we're finding that a lot of what we know about science and life on Earth changes when we take gravity away. It's one of the few forces that effects all the other forces on Earth. Now, if we could just convince the public that funding research in space is a good idea, we might begin to see more solid gains in scientific, medical, and culture discoveries.
Contraception. Think of just how populous the world would be without it! Not to mention the spread of HIV and other STIs. It's more than one invention, but still..
Didn't I hear somewhere that the fact we haven't returned to the moon since the 60's was more to do with fuel and manpower costs than not "needing" to return, that being most of the reason for spaceflight being limited to upper earth orbit missions since the end of Apollo? I think I heard that on Discovery channel at some point this week.
Thanks for all the replies guys The question is one of the questions they highlighted they would ask. Looking into Integrated Circuits as I'm applying to do a computer engineering course so it has some relevancy. Thanks again
If you're just looking at the last 50 years, the patent for the Integrated Circuit was applied for on 6 February 1959, so it just misses out. The first working version was created the previous year. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integrated_circuit
The first commercially available units were not manufactured until 1961 - just in case anyone thinks I got my figures wrong. It'd have to be a pretty picky and arrogant interviewer to criticize you for giving and talking about IC as your answer to that question.
