Pork threatens NASA plans

[PetriW]

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science...asa-pork_x.htm

Originally Posted by USA TODAY

By John Kelly, Florida Today
NASA must slash science, engineering and education programs to pay for billions of dollars in congressional pet projects, most of which have little to do with the agency's mission to explore space.

The price tag for politicians' "pork" has grown so large that NASA may have to delay the new spaceships and rockets needed to replace the space shuttles, to be retired in 2010.

Instead, NASA will pay for:

• Construction or renovation of dozens of museums, planetariums and science labs for colleges.

• Computers, classrooms and lab space for colleges and schools across the U.S.

• A website and laboratory for the Gulf of Maine Aquarium.

• A sprawling headquarters building for a non-profit research group in West Virginia created by U.S. Rep. Alan Mollohan. The Democrat is now subject of a broader congressional ethics probe.

Since 2001, Congress has directed the space agency to spend more than $3 billion on special projects, most of them small endeavors sought by individual lawmakers for the benefit of their home districts, according to NASA and congressional records.

"There is a real consequence to this. It's not a victimless crime," said David Williams, a vice president of the independent watchdog group Citizens Against Government Waste, which has complained for years about the number and cost of the pet projects.

The cost of congressional add-ins has grown to about a half-billion dollars a year, or five times the total of a decade ago.

The consequences are growing too, NASA says. The agency gets no extra money in its roughly $16 billion-a-year budget to fund politicians' local projects, so managers must redirect money from existing projects.

What could go:

• Robotic space probes face delay or cancellation as NASA tries to shuffle money.

• The shuttles, International Space Station and new vehicles to carry astronauts back to the moon could see budget cuts. The last item is one NASA is now stressing to members of Congress.

• Education programs are being cut, including half of the funding for the agency program that helps ensure historically minority colleges and universities are represented in NASA projects and grant programs.

"I am deeply concerned that the growth of these unrequested congressional directions is eroding NASA's ability to carry out its mission of space exploration and peer-reviewed scientific discovery," NASA Administrator Mike Griffin wrote this year in a letter the House Science Committee. The cost, he went on to say, "could conflict with NASA's ability to strive to deliver the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) by the earliest possible date following the 2010 retirement of the space shuttle."

Griffin's plea

Already, there is a four-year gap between the shuttles' retirement and the first flight of the replacement ships. The transition is projected to cut the number of jobs at Kennedy Space Center from 15,000 to about 10,000 unless leaders can land extra space work beyond launch and landing operations. Any delay in fielding the new fleet could make matters worse.

So, Griffin is imploring Congress to ease up on pet projects, and he has some influential allies on Capitol Hill.

"It's draining NASA's lifeblood," said U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Orlando, the only active member of Congress to have flown in space. "Every dollar is needed for research and development and safety. I just don't think it's right for crazy things to be put in there like planetariums in other states.. .. It's destructive to take money out of the NASA budget to squirrel it away for pet projects of members of Congress simply because they can get their fingers on it."

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a potential presidential candidate and chairman of the committee that oversees NASA, railed against earmarks in the NASA budget during the investigation of the 2003 shuttle Columbia disaster that killed seven astronauts. McCain said money used to pay for politicians' pet projects would be better spent on safety measures to reduce the chance of such accidents.

It's unclear, however, if anything will change.

The U.S. Constitution grants Congress the power to decide how the federal government spends its money. It also requires elected lawmakers to represent the people back home.

U.S. Rep. David Weldon, R-Indialantic, has earmarked money in the NASA budget for hand-picked projects in Brevard, Florida. He has landed several million dollars for Florida Tech, the Space Life Sciences Lab at Kennedy Space Center and hydrogen fuel research. Weldon defends his projects as well-connected to NASA's overall mission.

"There is a nexus of priorities with those," said Stuart Burns, the congressman's deputy chief of staff. "That is what Dr. Weldon has used to weigh earmark requests he has made. But you can look at some of this other stuff and, we agree, you sit there and scratch your head figuring out how it belongs."

Florida has landed a small number of NASA earmarks — about 20 — during the last decade. They include money Weldon secured to accelerate badly needed roof repairs at the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center, where shuttles are assembled for flight. They also include money that other members of the Florida delegation nabbed for construction and research projects at colleges and universities across the state.

Some of the largest projects inserted into NASA's budget include big-ticket missions or programs that the agency tried to cancel, but that Congress decided should not be cut. Two examples: reinstatement of funding for a shuttle rescue mission to Hubble Space Telescope and a recently launched probe bound for Pluto.

However, most are hometown projects for members of Congress.

Hometown projects

Citizens Against Government Waste, in preparing its annual "Pig Book" of pork-barrel projects, does not count projects such as Hubble and the Pluto mission. The reasoning: That is Congress exercising its authority to help guide agency priorities.

Still, the organization's book notes $2 billion worth of the mostly non-space hometown projects.

"Certainly, there've been some earmarks that probably should not have been in there," Burns said.

That's one of the reasons Weldon is pushing for the president to have line-item veto power, allowing him to strike individual projects added by Congress.

Sean O'Keefe, the previous NASA administrator, tried to fight against pet projects. O'Keefe, who left in 2005 to become chancellor of Louisiana State University, blamed managers inside NASA as much as lawmakers. Some of those managers, facing budget cuts, seek out supportive lawmakers to get their projects reinstated, O'Keefe said in one of his last speeches at NASA. In responding to that, lawmakers are merely doing their jobs, he said.

The earmarks, with Congress making the decisions, "is absolute chaos with no oversight," said Williams, the taxpayer group's vice president.

"There is zero ability for anyone to see what's happening when these things get added at the last minute with no debate," he said.

NASA is like the coolest thing about USA, gnawing on their budget sucks.

[PetriW]

Oh yeah, this is hardly new but it was slashdotted today.

[motivez]

This is a damn shame, because without NASA and the success of their programs we wouldn't benefit from much of the technology that we do today.

[6SpeedTA95]

Originally Posted by motivez

This is a damn shame, because without NASA and the success of their programs we wouldn't benefit from much of the technology that we do today.

This is very true.

[JaJae]

NASA should not be responsible for anyting other than their space program. If the government wants to fund this stuff, they should do it openly, not through NASA funding.

[lew]

NASA should be privatized and not controlled by the Feds at all.

[bheld]

Originally Posted by lew

NASA should be privatized and not controlled by the Feds at all.

This hour of peaceful exploration of space for all mankind is brought to you by Pepcid AC.

[motivez]

Originally Posted by lew

NASA should be privatized and not controlled by the Feds at all.

Wrong, we never would have had the advances that we have today if the market was in control of space exploration back then

There are some things that need federal funding initially. There's no reason both can't co-exist, with one focused on scientific advancement (obviously the government controlled one), and another focused purely on profit (market)

[Ardentfrost]

Originally Posted by motivez

Wrong, we never would have had the advances that we have today if the market was in control of space exploration back then

There's no way you can prove that

[motivez]

Originally Posted by Ardentfrost

There's no way you can prove that

It's common sense. The market is interested in profit, not scientific advancement. Their responsibility is to shareholders, not public welfare.

If "the market" would have perceived it as a good investment opportunity, they would have tried to build a space program alongside NASA.

How much money was invested getting our space program up to speed as fast as it was? Who would have had the capital and desire to do the same?

[Ardentfrost]

Originally Posted by motivez

It's common sense. The market is interested in profit, not scientific advancement. Their responsibility is to shareholders, not public welfare.

If "the market" would have perceived it as a good investment opportunity, they would have tried to build a space program alongside NASA.

How much money was invested getting our space program up to speed as fast as it was? Who would have had the capital and desire to do the same?

Wait, are you talking about a space program or the good that came from the space program. Because I don't see sending a rover to mars as "good use of money." However, they came up with stuff like Velcro, which you can't prove wouldn't exist without NASA.

[motivez]

It's all intertwined. Stuff was invented out of necessity, which is the mother of all invention

We might have eventually come up with the stuff, but we wouldn't have been benefitting from it as long.

Computer Technology - NASA Spinoffs

GROUND PROCESSING SCHEDULING SYSTEM - Computer-based scheduling system that uses artificial intelligence to manage thousands of overlapping activities involved in launch preparations of NASA's Space Shuttles. The NASA technology was licensed to a new company which developed commercial applications that provide real-time planning and optimization of manufacturing operations, integrated supply chains, and customer orders.uu

SEMICONDUCTOR CUBING - NASA initiative led to the Memory Short Stack, a three-dimensional semiconductor package in which dozens of integrated circuits are stacked one atop another to form a cube, offering faster computer processing speeds, higher levels of integration, lower power requirements than conventional chip sets, and dramatic reduction in the size and weight of memory-intensive systems, such as medical imaging devices.

STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS - This NASA program, originally created for spacecraft design, has been employed in a broad array of non-aerospace applications, such as the automobile industry, manufacture of machine tools, and hardware designs.

WINDOWS VISUAL NEWS READER (Win Vn) - Software program developed to support payload technical documentation at Kennedy Space Center, allowing the exchange of technical information among a large group of users. WinVn is an enabling technology product that provides countless people with Internet access otherwise beyond their grasp, and it was optimized for organizations that have direct Internet access.

AIR QUALITY MONITOR - Utilizing a NASA-developed, advanced analytical technique software package, an air quality monitor system was created, capable of separating the various gases in bulk smokestack exhaust streams and determining the amount of individual gases present within the stream for compliance with smokestack emission standards.

VIRTUAL REALITY - NASA-developed research allows a user, with assistance from advanced technology devices, to figuratively project oneself into a computer-generated environment, matching the user's head motion, and, when coupled with a stereo viewing device and appropriate software, creates a telepresence experience.

Other spinoffs in this area include: Advanced keyboards, Customer Service Software, Database Management System, Laser Surveying, Aircraft controls, Lightweight Compact Disc, Expert System Software, Microcomputers, and Design Graphics.

Consumer/Home/Recreation - NASA Spinoffs

ENRICHED BABY FOOD - A microalgae-based, vegetable-like oil called Formulaid developed from NASA-sponsored research on long duration space travel, contains two essential fatty acids found in human milk but not in most baby formulas, believed to be important for infants' mental and visual development.

WATER PURIFICATION SYSTEM - NASA-developed municipal-size water treatment system for developing nations, called the Regenerable Biocide Delivery Unit, uses iodine rather than chlorine to kill bacteria.

SCRATCH-RESISTANT LENSES - A modified version of a dual ion beam bonding process developed by NASA involves coating the lenses with a film of diamond-like carbon that not only provides scratch resistance, but also decreases surface friction, reducing water spots.

POOL PURIFICATION - Space technology designed to sterilize water on long-duration spacecraft applied to swimming pool purification led to a system that uses two silver-copper alloy electrodes that generate silver and copper ions when an electric current passes through them to kill bacteria and algae without chemicals.

RIBBED SWIMSUIT - NASA-developed riblets applied to competition swimsuits resulted in flume testing of 10 to 15 percent faster speeds than any other world class swim-suit due to the small, barely visible grooves that reduce friction and aerodynamic drag by modifying the turbulent airflow next to the skin.

GOLF BALL AERODYNAMICS - A recently designed golf ball, which has 500 dimples arranged in a pattern of 60 spherical triangles, employs NASA aerodynamics technology to create a more symmetrical ball surface, sustaining initial velocity longer and producing a more stable ball flight for better accuracy and distance.

PORTABLE COOLERS/WARMERS - Based on a NASA-inspired space cooling system employing thermoelectric technology, the portable cooler/warmer plugs into the cigarette lighters of autos, recreational vehicles, boats, or motel outlets. Utilizes one or two miniaturized modules delivering the cooling power of a 10-pound block of ice and the heating power of up to 125 degrees Fahrenheit.

SPORTS TRAINING - Space-developed cardio-muscular conditioner helps athletes increase muscular strength and cardiovascular fitness through kinetic exercise.

ATHLETIC SHOES - Moon Boot material encapsulated in running shoe midsoles improve shock absorption and provides superior stability and motion control.

Other spinoffs in this area include: Dustbuster, shock-absorbing helmets, home security systems, smoke detectors, flat panel televisions, high-density batteries, trash compactors, food packaging and freeze-dried technology, cool sportswear, sports bras, hair styling appliances, fogless ski goggles, self-adjusting sunglasses, composite golf clubs, hang gliders, art preservation, and quartz crystal timing equipment.

Environmental and Resource Management - NASA Spinoffs

MICROSPHERES - The first commercial products manufactured in orbit are tiny microspheres whose precise dimensions permit their use as reference standards for extremely accurate calibration of instruments in research and industrial laboratories. They are sold for applications in environmental control, medical research, and manufacturing.

SOLAR ENERGY - NASA-pioneered photovoltaic power system for spacecraft applications was applied to programs to expand terrestrial applications as a viable alternative energy source in areas where no conventional power source exists.

WEATHER FORECASTING AID - Space Shuttle environmental control technology led to the development of the Barorator which continuously measures the atmospheric pressure and calculates the instantaneous rate of change.

FOREST MANAGEMENT - A NASA-initiated satellite scanning system monitors and maps forestation by detecting radiation reflected and emitted from trees.

SENSORS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL - NASA development of an instrument for use in space life support research led to commercial development of a system to monitor an industrial process stream to assure that the effluent water's pH level is in compliance with environmental regulations.

WIND MONITOR - Development of Jimsphere wind measurement balloon for space launches allows for making high resolution measurements of the wind profile for meteorological studies and predictions.

TELEMETRY SYSTEMS - A spinoff company formed to commercialize NASA high-data-rate telemetry technology, manufactures a high-speed processing system for commercial communications applications.

PLANT RESEARCH - NASA research on future moon and Mars bases is investigating using plants for food, oxygen, and water to reduce the need for outside supplies. This research utilizes Hydroponics (liquid nutrient solutions) instead of soil to support plant growth and finds applications for vegetable production on Earth.

FIRE RESISTANT MATERIAL - Materials include chemically-treated fabric for sheets, uniforms for hazardous material handlers, crew's clothing, furniture, interior walls of submersibles and auto racer and refueler suits.

RADIATION INSULATION - Aluminized polymer film is highly effective radiation barrier for both manned and unmanned spacecraft. Variations of this space-devised material are also used as an energy conservation technique for homes and offices. The materials are placed between wall studs and exterior facing before siding or between roof support and roof sheathing. The radiant barrier blocks 95% of radiant energy. Successful retrofit installations include schools and shrink wrap ovens.

Other spinoffs in this area include: Whale identification method, environmental analysis, noise abatement, pollution measuring devices, pollution control devices, smokestack monitor, radioactive leak detector, earthquake prediction system, sewage treatment, energy saving air conditioning, and air purification.

Health and Medicine - NASA Spinoffs

DIGITAL IMAGING BREAST BIOPSY SYSTEM - The LORAD Stereo Guide Breast Biopsy system incorporates advanced Charge Coupled Devices (CCDs) as part of a digital camera system. The resulting device images breast tissue more clearly and efficiently. Known as stereotactic large-core needle biopsy, this nonsurgical system developed with Space Telescope Technology is less traumatic and greatly reduces the pain, scarring, radiation exposure, time, and money associated with surgical biopsies.

BREAST CANCER DETECTION - A solar cell sensor is positioned directly beneath x-ray film, and determines exactly when film has received sufficient radiation and has been exposed to optimum density. Associated electronic equipment then sends a signal to cut off the x-ray source. Reduction of mammography x-ray exposure reduces radiation hazard and doubles the number of patient exams per machine.

LASER ANGIOPLASTY - Laser angioplasty with a "cool" type of laser, caller an excimer laser, does not damage blood vessel walls and offers precise non-surgical cleanings of clogged arteries with extraordinary precision and fewer complications than in balloon angioplasty.

ULTRASOUND SKIN DAMAGE ASSESSMENT - Advanced instrument using NASA ultrasound technology enables immediate assessment of burn damage depth, improving patient treatment, and may save lives in serious burn cases.

HUMAN TISSUE STIMULATOR - Employing NASA satellite technology, the device is implanted in the body to help patient control chronic pain and involuntary motion disorders through electrical stimulation of targeted nerve centers or particular areas of the brain.

COOL SUIT - Custom-made suit derived from space suits circulates coolant through tubes to lower patient's body/ temperature, producing dramatic improvement of symptoms of multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, spina bifida and other conditions.

PROGRAMMABLE PACEMAKER - Incorporating multiple NASA technologies, the system consists of the implant and a physician's computer console containing the programming and a data printer. Communicates through wireless telemetry signals.

OCULAR SCREENING - NASA image processing techniques are used to detect eye problems in very young children. An electronic flash from a 35-millimeter camera sends light into the child's eyes, and a photorefractor analyzes the retinal reflexes, producing an image of each eye.

AUTOMATED URINALYSIS - NASA fluid dynamics studies helped development of system that automatically extracts and transfers sediment from urine sample to an analyzer microscope, replacing the manual centrifuge method.

MEDICAL GAS ANALYZER - Astronaut-monitoring technology used to develop system to monitor operating rooms for analysis of anesthetic gasses and measurement of oxygen, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen concentrations to assure proper breathing environment for surgery patients.

VOICE-CONTROLLED WHEELCHAIR - NASA teleoperator and robot technology used to develop chair and manipulator that respond to 35 one-word voice commands utilizing a minicomputer to help patient perform daily tasks, like picking up packages, opening doors, and turning on appliances.

Other spinoffs in this area include: Arteriosclerosis detection, ultrasound scanners, automatic insulin pump, portable x-ray device, invisible braces, dental arch wire, palate surgery technology, clean room apparel, implantable heart aid, MRI, bone analyzer, and cataract surgery tools.

Industrial Productivity/Manufacturing Technology - NASA Spinoffs

MAGNETIC LIQUIDS - Based on the NASA-developed ferrofluid concept involving synthetic fluids that can be positioned and controlled by magnetic force, the ferrofluidic seal was initially applied in a zero-leakage, nonwearing seal for the rotating shaft of a system used to make semiconductor chips, solving a persistent problem‹contamination due to leaking seals.

WELDING SENSOR SYSTEM - Laser-based automated welder for industrial use incorporates a laser sensor system originally designed for Space Shuttle External Tank to track the seam where two pieces of metal are to be joined, measures gaps and minute misfits, and automatically corrects the welding torch distance and height.

MICROLASERS - Based on a concept for optical communications over interplanetary distances, microlasers were developed for the commercial market to transmit communication signals and to drill, cut, or melt materials.

MAGNETIC BEARING SYSTEM - Bearings developed from Space Shuttle designs support moving machinery without physical contact, permitting motion without friction or wear, and are now used in electric power generation, petroleum refining, machine tool operation, and natural gas pipelines.

ENGINE LUBRICANT - A NASA-developed plasma-sprayed coating is used to coat valves in a new, ten-inch-long, four-cylinder rotary engine, eliminating the need for lubricating the rotorcam, which has no crankshaft, flywheel, distributor, or water pump.

INTERACTIVE COMPUTER TRAINING - Known as Interactive Multimedia Training (IMT), originally developed to train astronauts and space operations personnel, now utilized by the commercial sector to train new employees and upgrade worker skills, using a computer system that engages all the senses, including text, video, animation, voice, sounds, and music.

HIGH-PRESSURE WATERSTRIPPING - Technology developed for preparing Space Shuttle solid rocket boosters first evolved into the U.S. Air Force's Large Aircraft Robotic Paint Stripping (LARPS) system, and now used in the commercial airline industry, where the waterjet processing reduces coating removal time by 90 percent, using only water at ultra-high pressures up to 55,000 psi.

ADVANCED WELDING TORCH - Based on the Variable Polarity Plasma Arc welding technology, a handheld torch originally developed for joining light alloys used in NASA's External Tank, is now used by major appliance manufacturers for sheet metal welding.

Other spinoffs in this area include: Gasoline vapor recovery, self-locking fasteners, machine tool software, laser wire stripper, lubricant coating process, wireless communications, engine coatings, and engine design.

Public Safety - NASA Spinoffs

RADIATION HAZARD DETECTOR - NASA technology has made commercially available new, inexpensive, conveniently carried device for protection of people exposed to potentially dangerous levels of microwave radiation. Weighing only 4 ounces and about the size of a cigarette pack, it can be carried in a shirt pocket or clipped to a belt. Unit sounds an audible alarm when microwave radiation reaches a preset level.

EMERGENCY RESPONSE ROBOT - Remotely-operated robot reduces human injury levels by performing hazardous tasks that would otherwise be handled by humans.

PERSONAL ALARM SYSTEM - Pen-sized ultrasonic transmitter used by prison guards, teachers, the elderly, and disabled to call for help is based on space telemetry technology. Pen transmits a silent signal to receiver that will display the exact location of the emergency.

EMERGENCY RESCUE CUTTERS - Lightweight cutters for freeing accident victims from wreckage developed using NASA pyrotechnic technology.

FIREMAN'S AIR TANKS - Lighter-weight firefighter's air tanks have been developed. New back-pack system weighs only 20 lbs. for 30 minute air supply, 13 lbs. less than conventional firefighting tanks. They are pressurized at 4,500 psia (twice current tanks). A warning device tells the fireman when he or she is running out of air.

PERSONAL STORM WARNING SYSTEM - Lightning detector gives 30-minute warning to golfers, boaters, homeowners, business owners, and private pilots.

SELF-RIGHTING LIFE RAFT - Developed for the Apollo program, fully inflates in 12 seconds and protects lives during extremely adverse weather conditions with self-righting and gravity compensation features.

Other spinoffs in this area include: Storm warning services (Doppler radar), firefighters' radios, lead poison detection, fire detector, flame detector, corrosion protection coating, protective clothing, and robotic hands.

Transportation - NASA Spinoffs

STUDLESS WINTER TIRES - Viking Lander parachute shroud material is adapted and used to manufacture radial tires, increasing the tire material's chainlike molecular structure to five times the strength of steel should increase tread life by 10,000 miles.

BETTER BRAKES - New, high-temperature composite space materials provide for better brake linings. Applications includes trucks, industrial equipment and passenger cars.

TOLLBOOTH PURIFICATION - A laminar airflow technique used in NASA clean rooms for contamination-free assembly of space equipment is used at tollbooths on bridges and turnpikes to decrease the toll collector's inhalation of exhaust fumes.

WEIGHT SAVING TECHNOLOGY - NASA research on composite materials is used to achieve a 30-percent weight reduction in a twin-turbine helicopter, resulting in a substantial increase in aircraft performance.

IMPROVED AIRCRAFT ENGINE - Multiple NASA developed technological advancements resulted in a cleaner, quieter, more economical commercial aircraft engine known as the high bypass turbofan, featuring a 10-percent reduction in fuel consumption, lower noise levels, and emission reductions of oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, and unburned hydrocarbons.

ADVANCED LUBRICANTS - An environmental-friendly lubricant designed to support the Space Shuttle Mobile Launcher Platform led to the development of three commercial lubricants for railroad track maintenance, for electric power company corrosion prevention, and as a hydraulic fluid with an oxidation life of 10,000 hours.

ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM - The Flywheel Energy Storage system, derived from two NASA-sponsored energy storage studies, is a chemical-free, mechanical battery that harnesses the energy of a rapidly spinning wheel and stores it as electricity with 50 times the capacity of a lead-acid battery, very useful for electric vehicles.

NEW WING DESIGN FOR CORPORATE JETS - NASA-developed computer programs resulted in an advanced, lighter, more aerodynamically-efficient new wing for Gulfstream business aircraft.

AIDS TO SCHOOL BUS DESIGN - Manufacturer uses three separate NASA-developed technologies originally developed for aviation and space use in their design and testing of a new school bus chassis. These technologies are a structural analysis computer program infrared stress measurement system, and a ride quality meter system.

Other spinoffs in this area include: Safer bridges, emission testing, airline wheelchairs, electric car, auto design, methane-powered vehicles, windshear prediction, and aircraft design analysis.

Velco makes it sound like the benefits are simply "quaint", but there's really a lot of amazing advances that we enjoy thanks to NASA.

[Ardentfrost]

And again, you can't prove that we wouldn't have those things without NASA. I doubt we'd have landed on the moon, I doubt we'd have gone to Mars, but a lot of stuff would have most likely still been done.

[motivez]

Maybe eventually

[Ardentfrost]

Originally Posted by motivez

Maybe eventually

So, what benefit comes from hurting the economy to create something before the market natually desires it?

It's not that I really disagree with the existance of NASA, just wish we had more say in what they do and whether or not to fund certain things. If they had asked me "wanna donate $5 so we can go to Mars?" I'd have been like "um.. fuck no?"

[motivez]

Originally Posted by Ardentfrost

So, what benefit comes from hurting the economy to create something before the market natually desires it?

It's not that I really disagree with the existance of NASA, just wish we had more say in what they do and whether or not to fund certain things. If they had asked me "wanna donate $5 so we can go to Mars?" I'd have been like "um.. fuck no?"

The market isn't benevolent, it doesn't have societies best interests at heart. It has its own interests at heart, ie: money.

This extreme view of how the market is the end all be all that we should base everything on, and use it as some sort of stopwatch to find whether or not something is "worth it" is ridiculous. The market has a long history of fucking people in favor of profit margins, and we don't live in the perfect world required for many of the Libertarian viewpoints to withstand an actual test.

Who cares if the market naturally desires it if it can help move our society forward, help people cure and treat disease, etc?

Places like Mars expand our knowledge, give us insights into our own planet's history, the natural cycle of a planet, etc. Not everything HAS to be about money.. some of it can be simply about knowledge.