NASA Trailer To Be Shown Before Star Trek: Into Darkness 158
Tired of seeing ads for cars and soda before the films you watch at the theater? Well, a successful crowdfunding campaign at Indiegogo will see a trimmed down version of NASA's 'We Are Explorers' video aired before showings of the upcoming Star Trek: Into Darkness in theaters all over the country. "Most people recognize space as a key expression of our character. They know our space programs as a globally recognized brand of ingenuity. The recently landed Mars Curiosity Rover was the latest reminder that space systems are the crown jewels of our scientific and technical prowess. Less known is the indispensable value space systems bring to our everyday lives. Space provides irreplaceable capabilities for defense, public health, finance, medicine, energy, agriculture, transportation, development and countless other fields. Investments in space programs are precisely about improving and protecting life on Earth. ... By funding this campaign, we can remind students and the general public that our nation's space agency is working hard on the next era of exploration." The campaign's funding goal was reached in just six days — their stretch goal will increase the number of theaters for the clip from 59 screens to 750. The movie comes out on May 17th.
Surely nobody will go see the movie anyway (Score:1, Insightful)
The last movie turned out to be a lie.
It was called star trek and it had some characters with the same name in and a few things in common.
But it wasn't star trek, the universe wasn't the same one.
I don't imagine many people will be conned again
Target audience? (Score:5, Insightful)
TFA cites younger people as being the target audience. As a young person who also happens to know quite a few other young people this seems strange. In general, young people tend to understand the importance of NASA and space programs in general - we all know all know the associated trivia such as where ballpoint pens and Teflon came from. We all know the importance of science - we are all (unless you are in the Bible Belt of the USA) taught it in school and we are all aware of what science can do for us.
It seems to me that the people who actually need to be targeted are the middle aged and older people who are in control of the votes and money needed to revitalise the space programs. Luckily, there is some penetration of Star Trek into these age groups.
Re:Target audience? (Score:4, Insightful)
TOS was terrible. I know I'm going to get hate for saying that, but it's truly unbearable crap. No-wonder that whole age bracket has an aversion to science.
Yeah, it should have been sophisticated, like today's television shows.
Please build more telescopes than spaceships (Score:4, Insightful)
What excites me more than shuttle missions are satellites and probes NASA has been sending out all these years.
MRO and to a lesser extent MSL are worth 20 round trip human mars missions as far as I'm concerned. New telescopes like JWST are likely to be as priceless as HST and WMAP have proven to be.
It is simply cheaper and more productive to push technology without having to worry about earthly things like human safety.
My only problem with the video other than being slightly cheezy is the video is all rockets and no science.
Re:Bureacracy (Score:5, Insightful)
Speaking as a non-American, NASA is one of the few things I find myself admiring about the USA, and certainly one of the most worthy.
Your government clearly underestimates the high esteem in which NASA is held around the world, otherwise it would fund the bejesus out of it.