What the fuck has NASA done to make your life awesome?

August 14, 2012 9:33 AM

What the fuck has NASA done to make your life awesome?
posted by Brandon Blatcher (68 comments total)

"Made it okay to have red mohawks in the workplace" had better fucking be on there.
posted by elizardbits at 9:34 AM on August 14, 2012 [23 favorites]

Cool. I never knew NASA ear thermometer.
posted by meandthebean at 9:36 AM on August 14, 2012

Apparently they've done internal server 500 errors, too.

Neat neat site. :) Needs more bandwidth ... but I bet NASA had a lot to do with the interwebs, too (I know, ARPANET).
posted by tilde at 9:38 AM on August 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

elizardbits: ""Made it okay to have red mohawks in the workplace" had better fucking be on there."

Making Physics sexy is indeed a pretty rad accomplishment. Finding that guy must have been more difficult than building a skycrane on Mars....

But, seriously. Where were all the hot physicists hiding when I was an undergrad?
posted by schmod at 9:39 AM on August 14, 2012 [2 favorites]

Weird. There seems to only be one "right" answer for these.
posted by dunkadunc at 9:39 AM on August 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

Astronaut ice cream!
posted by MonkeyToes at 9:42 AM on August 14, 2012 [2 favorites]

If you have to bring out the old "NASA invented Tang" canard, then your argument is on pretty shaky ground.
posted by crunchland at 9:43 AM on August 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

It just says "made Tang popular" though.
posted by elizardbits at 9:46 AM on August 14, 2012

"Inspired a generation of STEM researchers" is inexplicably not on there.
posted by jaduncan at 9:47 AM on August 14, 2012 [4 favorites]

Tang canard is the bourgeois version of duck a l'orange.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 9:48 AM on August 14, 2012 [57 favorites]

These always make me uncomfortable. First, they always leave out the contributions of the first "A" in NASA. Second, has there ever been a list of the things the State Department does to make your life awesome? Third, Tang is gross.
posted by BeeDo at 9:49 AM on August 14, 2012 [2 favorites]

What the fuck has NASA done to make your life awesome?

2032 CNN.com NEWS ALERT:

"DINOSAURS FOUND ON MARS BY STRIPPER MCDONALDS DRIVE THROUGH SERVER"

You can do it scientists. I believe in you, make it happen!
posted by Fizz at 9:51 AM on August 14, 2012 [3 favorites]

"Set the wheels in motion so that one day a guy named Buzz Aldrin and a woman named Tina Fey could yell at the moon during prime time TV."
posted by bondcliff at 9:51 AM on August 14, 2012 [6 favorites]

Second, has there ever been a list of the things the State Department does to make your life awesome?

Amusing Hillary Clintin Gifs?
posted by The Whelk at 9:52 AM on August 14, 2012 [2 favorites]

Second, has there ever been a list of the things the State Department does to make your life awesome?

We don't seem to be suffering from an underfunding problem of the State Department.
posted by DU at 9:52 AM on August 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oh, and has anyone else noticed that the USA is the only country (or multinational group) not to put its name in its title? Russian Space Agency, European Space Agency, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Canadian Space Agency... National Aeronautics and Space Administration. You are just supposed to know.

I find that funny. Sorry for the derail.
posted by BeeDo at 9:53 AM on August 14, 2012 [7 favorites]

Second, has there ever been a list of the things the State Department does to make your life awesome?

This would be very cool, Foggy Bottom doesn't get the love it deserves sometimes. There's no heroic act that prevents the death of soldiers more than avoiding the war.
posted by jaduncan at 9:53 AM on August 14, 2012 [10 favorites]

Tang sucks ever since they took sugar out of it. Just sayin'.
posted by kinnakeet at 9:53 AM on August 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

It just says "made Tang popular" though.

Somehow, that's even weirder than "NASA invented Tang". NASA's greatest accomplishments may turn out to be in brand recognition and marketing.
posted by 2N2222 at 9:54 AM on August 14, 2012

Somehow, that's even weirder than "NASA invented Tang". NASA's greatest accomplishments may turn out to be in brand recognition and marketing.

ಠ_ಠ
posted by jaduncan at 9:57 AM on August 14, 2012 [2 favorites]

First, they always leave out the contributions of the first "A" in NASA.

In the past week, when presented with several difficult problems, my response was "I'l skycrane it" or "we'll skycrane something," meaning I'll come up with solution that works, even if it looks or sounds crazy/impossible.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 9:58 AM on August 14, 2012 [8 favorites]

NASA's greatest accomplishments may turn out to be in brand recognition and marketing.

There would be no Moon Dust Flavored Cheetos without some actual moon dust.
posted by BeeDo at 9:59 AM on August 14, 2012

Created cost-effective, environmentally friendly tent-like roofs

I guess thats cool, but not really AWESOMWE!!@!@!!@11!!.

They should get Aaron Paul to read these out as Jesse Pinkman, "Fucking tent-like roofs yo!" , "Motherfucking lithium batteries bitches!"
posted by Ad hominem at 10:08 AM on August 14, 2012 [11 favorites]

I am reading all of these like the announcer in Starship Troopers.
posted by griphus at 10:13 AM on August 14, 2012 [5 favorites]

Pursuant to BeeDo's comment, here's a list of space agencies around the world. I had no idea there were so many.
posted by desjardins at 10:17 AM on August 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

I am reading all of these like Yzma in The Emperor's New Groove.
posted by elizardbits at 10:22 AM on August 14, 2012 [2 favorites]

couldnt we just get robots to invent all this stuff
posted by This, of course, alludes to you at 10:25 AM on August 14, 2012

Pursuant to BeeDo's comment, here's a list of space agencies around the world. I had no idea there were so many.

Is that right that we already spend 3 times as much as the ESA? I'm not saying we couldn't spend more but damn Europe step it up yo!

This is only the spending made public, remeber we had two extra hubbles just laying around in a warehouse.
posted by Ad hominem at 10:26 AM on August 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

Ensured that my kids could have classmates whose parents did big cool stuff. My son's 5th grade class got a "behind the scenes" tour of JPL, years ago, and every kid came away thinking Robbie's mom was the most awesome woman in the entire world.
posted by Ideefixe at 10:26 AM on August 14, 2012 [3 favorites]

But wouldn't the robots just, like, invent other robots to do the inventing for them?

Duuuude
posted by griphus at 10:27 AM on August 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

Most of ESA's stuff is done in conjunction with the Russians, so it's hard to judge the work done based on ESA's budget alone.
posted by jaduncan at 10:28 AM on August 14, 2012

actually robots are too much money anyway, lets buy everyone an ipad instead
posted by This, of course, alludes to you at 10:29 AM on August 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

Pfft.

Scratch-resistant eyeglass lenses

Reallly? That's all.
posted by ericb at 10:30 AM on August 14, 2012

"Made it okay to have red mohawks in the workplace" had better fucking be on there.

Mohawk Guy Bobak Ferdowsi Gets Shout-Out From President Obama.
posted by ericb at 10:32 AM on August 14, 2012 [2 favorites]

Google Earth.

Mapping was never as accurate as the images we can now get thanks to satellites which from space can even see a dog in your back garden.

Many of the images--such as those where you can see a dog in a backyard--are aerial fotos.

Is that right that we already spend 3 times as much as the ESA? I'm not saying we couldn't spend more but damn Europe step it up yo!

No, we spend one third less than NASA...oh wait, sorry. In answer to your question, ESA only accounts for some of the budget Europe spends on such things. Many national programs have separate budgets in addition.
posted by Jehan at 10:32 AM on August 14, 2012

I am reading all of these like the announcer in Starship Troopers.

I would like to know more.
posted by George_Spiggott at 10:40 AM on August 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

schmod, they were in the physics building, as one might expect.
posted by physicsmatt at 10:44 AM on August 14, 2012 [4 favorites]

Cool, good to know Europe isn't slacking. Wouldn't want to have to leave you guys behind when we have to ditch earth for the offworld colonies.
posted by Ad hominem at 10:47 AM on August 14, 2012

First, they always leave out the contributions of the first "A" in NASA.

A lot of those where from the days when it was NACA -- The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. In 1951, it was folded and brought into NASA. Unlike NASA, the name is prounced as the four letters "en A see A."

Possibly the biggest contribution they made was the NACA airfoils
posted by eriko at 10:50 AM on August 14, 2012

Cool, good to know Europe isn't slacking. Wouldn't want to have to leave you guys behind when we have to ditch earth for the offworld colonies.

Exciting news: ESA and Russia have jointly funded many of you with a 'B' Ark.
posted by jaduncan at 10:51 AM on August 14, 2012

According to the figures on Wikipedia (so, who knows), European countries spend just over $12 billion on space agencies compared to $17.7 in the US. So about 70%.
posted by Jehan at 10:54 AM on August 14, 2012

It is only a matter of time before Earth is overrun by DOOMBAs and sentient internet-connected toasters so we may have to leave in a hurry.
posted by Ad hominem at 10:56 AM on August 14, 2012

Fucking NASA, how does it work?
posted by hwestiii at 11:15 AM on August 14, 2012 [2 favorites]

I have no fucking idea so tell me what the fuck you think they have fucking done?
posted by Postroad at 11:17 AM on August 14, 2012

here's a list of space agencies around the world.

Cool. So I guess I can stand by my comment for space agencies that have actually put someone or something into space, but there are others that omit their country name. Uruguay, Thailand, Greece, Spain, Egypt, Peru, and a bunch more. Dang, I really liked pointing that out. No thanks for you!
posted by BeeDo at 11:18 AM on August 14, 2012

First, they always leave out the contributions of the first "A" in NASA.
posted by BeeDo at 9:49 AM on August 14 [+] [!]

My dad worked for what he called "the little 'a' in NASA" for 30 years running wind tunnel tests for all sorts of aircraft from dirigibles to commercial aircraft to fighter jets. Thus NASA has done the following things to make my life awesome:

1) kept me housed, clothed, fed, and educated!
2) supplied me with Skilcraft pens and used punch cards for doodling!
3) BEST Christmas Party ever at the Ames Research Center hanger. Santa came by helicopter! OMG!! Also, flight simulator!!!!! omg!
4) The first computer game I ever played was a D&D game at my dad's work!
posted by vespabelle at 11:20 AM on August 14, 2012 [2 favorites]

Cool. So I guess I can stand by my comment for space agencies that have actually put someone or something into space, but there are others that omit their country name. Uruguay, Thailand, Greece, Spain, Egypt, Peru, and a bunch more. Dang, I really liked pointing that out. No thanks for you!

Well, it depends if you count "Советская космическая программа" as holding a country name. You could argue that "Soviet Space Program" doesn't really refer to a country.
posted by Jehan at 11:30 AM on August 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

Scratch-resistant eyeglass lenses

But even as late as 1981 there was still no solution for lipstick cherry all over the lens as she's fallin'.
posted by George_Spiggott at 11:40 AM on August 14, 2012

My son's 5th grade class got a "behind the scenes" tour of JPL - I went on one of those, a little bit older, mumble mumble years ago. SO COOL. Somewhere I have a false-color photo of myself with one of my more questionable 80s hairstyles.

Also, JPL sponsored our junior high science fairs. In 8th grade I won 9th place, for an experiment* where I disproved my hypothesis. SCIENCE!

Does music style have an effect on body temperature? Tested with everyone I could talk into listening to samples (Beethoven, Madonna, and maybe Springsteen?) and letting me take their temperature before, between, and after. Answer: nope.
posted by epersonae at 11:43 AM on August 14, 2012

NASA helped me dream.
posted by arcticseal at 12:07 PM on August 14, 2012 [2 favorites]

They've made me realise that all my childhood dreams of interplanetary travel and space colonisation ain't gonna happen before we have to deal with the shitstorm mess of pollution and overpopulation we're killing ourselves with down here; i.e. that that's where the money needs to go first, as a matter of great urgency.
posted by Decani at 12:09 PM on August 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

That Rocks!
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 12:12 PM on August 14, 2012

Nah, space exploration will continue regardless of social ills on Earth. It's not a zero sum game, and it's very simplistic to presume that it is.
posted by Burhanistan at 8:19 PM on August 14

I didn't say that it won't continue. I said that if we are to be sensible, we should have other priorities in the immediate future. Sadly, I don't believe humanity is sensible. You may have noticed this. And this is not a question of mere "social ills" It's a question of a planet being rendered unfit to support billions of human beings.
posted by Decani at 12:24 PM on August 14, 2012

I didn't say that it won't continue. I said that if we are to be sensible, we should have other priorities in the immediate future. Sadly, I don't believe humanity is sensible. You may have noticed this. And this is not a question of mere "social ills" It's a question of a planet being rendered unfit to support billions of human beings.

Don't worry, lots will die off.
posted by Space_Lady at 1:02 PM on August 14, 2012 [2 favorites]

I said that if we are to be sensible, we should have other priorities in the immediate future.

And, pray tell, how would we have the knowledge we have of the effects of pollution and overpopulation if it were not for the space program? Stopping all spending on space exploration is quite the opposite of sensible, and you present an artificial dichotomy to boot. How about a 1% decrease in Defense? Everyone loves kicking NASA/space programs because of "problems down here" and, this may sound needlessly harsh, but that thinking is just plain stupid.
posted by chimaera at 1:06 PM on August 14, 2012 [7 favorites]

First of all, it was "Gay Dinosaurs Found On Mars."

Second, they taste like chicken.

(ba.ta.boom)
posted by mule98J at 1:43 PM on August 14, 2012

And, pray tell, how would we have the knowledge we have of the effects of pollution and overpopulation if it were not for the space program? Stopping all spending on space exploration is quite the opposite of sensible, and you present an artificial dichotomy to boot. How about a 1% decrease in Defense? Everyone loves kicking NASA/space programs because of "problems down here" and, this may sound needlessly harsh, but that thinking is just plain stupid.

You went from (rightly) defending the money spent on satellites to claiming that money spent on "space exploration" shouldn't be stopped. That's a silly non sequitur as well as a artificial dichotomy. It's fair to criticize the billions spent on human spaceflight without saying that no money should ever be spent on space.
posted by Jehan at 3:16 PM on August 14, 2012

Corning ware with the little blue cornflower design evolved from nose cone research. It was great - on a burner or in the microwave or oven - until Corning sold it to the Chinese and the components no longer matched.
posted by Cranberry at 3:37 PM on August 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

The coolest thing NASA has done for me is the Aviation Safety Reporting System. If you're a pilot and you screw up, file an ASRS report and you're given immunity from FAA enforcement action.
posted by phliar at 5:02 PM on August 14, 2012

And the latest issue of the ASRS newsletter is a hoot.
posted by phliar at 5:05 PM on August 14, 2012

I'm reading these in the voice of Christopher Walken (as impersonated by kevin SPACEY).
posted by Mojojojo at 5:45 PM on August 14, 2012

Oh, and has anyone else noticed that the USA is the only country (or multinational group) not to put its name in its title? Russian Space Agency, European Space Agency, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Canadian Space Agency... National Aeronautics and Space Administration. You are just supposed to know.

Lots of national agencies don't name themselves: the National Institutes of Health, the Medical Research Council, and the National Health and Medical Research Council are the federal health research agencies of, respectively, the US, UK, and Australia, but they don't include the nation in the name; the Canadian Institutes of Health Research do. Most of the time, people can figure it out from context.
posted by gingerest at 9:27 PM on August 14, 2012

spinoff.nasa.gov
posted by neuron at 10:10 PM on August 14, 2012

Actually, Tang Canard is something you might get in Paris: Canard Laqué, from Tang Frères/Tang Gourmet.
posted by Fat Charlie the Archangel at 9:09 AM on August 15, 2012

"Sooo, we send up da rockets...rockets are not like taxi-cabs because if you take a taxi-cab, the fare to the moon would be very large, huge in fact"
posted by clavdivs at 12:09 PM on August 15, 2012

clavdivs, where is that quote from?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 12:38 PM on August 15, 2012

I am reading all of these like Yzma in The Emperor's New Groove.

"And then I smash it with a hammer!!!" - Possibly one of my favorite movie quotes ever.
posted by doyouknowwhoIam? at 2:28 PM on August 15, 2012

NASA pilots catch Perseid meteor dust - sounds pretty awesome!
posted by the man of twists and turns at 12:20 AM on August 16, 2012