(credit: Flatrock.org)
Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show ran another hilarious piece of video in which Ansari X Prize founder, Peter Diamandis, says that his purpose in promoting the type of space flight represented by SpaceShipOne is to promote tourism. We’ll build hotels out there and ferry tourists to and from outer space!
Stewart’s witty rejoinder was: “Just what outer space needs–tourists!” And mini-malls, strip motels, and McDonald’s Golden Arches, too! Let’s mess up space like we’ve messed up our living space here on Earth while we’re at it.
SpaceReview.com said it well:
The new space era reverts to essential American values: having fun, taking risks, pushing frontiers, and trying to make a buck.
But after the fun is had and bucks are made, who pays the price for the mess we’ve made??