SETI Running Out of Money 312
New submitter opusman writes "According to an Australian space analyst, SETI is running out of money. Despite needing only $2 million a year, a relatively small amount in space industry terms, they are facing a financial crisis. From the article: 'Getting on board a spacecraft is tricky. There are few places for professional astronauts. Even when Richard Branson and a group of other visionaries makes space tourism more affordable, it will still cost huge sums to fly. But getting a foothold in the greatest quest of all can be done for just a few tens of donated dollars. Which is why it beggars belief that the SETI quest is on its knees.'"
That's sad. (Score:5, Interesting)
Make Paul Allen fund it (Score:5, Interesting)
Maybe it has to do with results? (Score:5, Interesting)
The money spent on space programs produce measurable, visible results. It also has milestones to show whether a project is on track, off track, or slipping.
For someone to support SETI, on the other hand, has to have faith that maybe tomorrow will lead to results and all those years spent waiting for something to happen wasn't lost opportunity cost.
Donating to SETI is perhaps more closely modeled on charity for religion rather than vis a vis to other space programs.
Re:Maybe it has to do with results? (Score:2, Interesting)
The "results" are spinoffs, such as trailblazing the use of distributed computing in research (SETI@home). Maybe that's how SETI needs to sell itself to funding bodies? Sell itself as a computing or sensing research project (for example), that just happens to be looking of extraterrestrial life as a way of testing its results.
Re:Pointless (Score:5, Interesting)
Yeah... I actually feel embarrased now that back in the late 90s, I actualy signed up for and used SETI@Home for a brief period of time. As the years have gone by, the service has just begun to seem like more and more of a joke. I don't even remember what year it was I came to the conclusion that it *was* pretty much a joke... maybe 2004-2008? Of course, I haven't touched SETI@Home since the late 90s, though, but the more I hear about it the worse it sounds. Over the years, I have also gone from wondering "does any other intelligent lifeform exist" to a more skeptical viewpoint, that it's all bullshit and made up by morons who have nothing better to do that spout bullshit.
Good riddance SETI.
I did roughly the same, and agree with your conclusion. Folks should just let the dying dog die. There are (many) vastly superior space related projects underway that might actually have interesting or useful results someday. Moreover, it's a project that encourages people to consume as much electricity as their computers are capable of. At scale, I bet SETI produces more carbon output than most coal power plants.
Good riddance, SETI.
priorities (Score:4, Interesting)
Stories like this contribute to my growing generalized cynicism and pessimism. I have no connection to SETI, but it seems to me like an honest, modest effort at discovery which could change humanity's perspective forever - one way or the other. And it's starving for funds that represent less than the annual property tax bills of Larry Ellison, Steve Ballmer, and Bill Gates on their homes. To me, this is a bright red flashing light on the societal annunciator panel that something's wrong with our priorities. If I had a $10 million net worth, I'd include $10K to SETI in my annual donation program. As it is, it will be much less. I hope that those of you who can do more, will. Thanks.
Re:I Want to Believe. (not) (Score:1, Interesting)
"This is why no physicists I know or am aware of really believed in the recent FTL neutrino experiment."
We really don't know very much about gravity, but the earth and the sun have to “know” where they are with respect for each other NOW, not 8 min. from now. The sun and the center of the galaxy must “feel” each other's influence near instantly rather than 35,000 years or whatever from now. Gravity is the weakest force we know about, but it makes up for by being unbelievably fast.
Re:That's sad. (Score:4, Interesting)
No.
If gravity were FTL, it would be pretty obvious, since then the Sun would appear to be in a different direction than the Sun's gravity.
Alas, all the experimentation to date shows that gravity is pulling Earth directly toward that big light in the sky, NOT toward where that big light was eight and a fraction minutes ago....