alt Hacker News>Why try to cross an ocean when everything we could want is across the river?
That "river" is still vast and nothing we want is on the other side.
>1. The idea that Terran life is toxic and must not be allowed on other planets in the solar system.
It's less the idea that Terran life is toxic and more that we're still hoping to find some forms of primitive life elsewhere in the solar system, and don't want those efforts thwarted by cross-contamination. You decided the rest of the solar system is dead, not the scientific community.
>2. The one person who is advancing our space faring abilities by leaps and bounds is routinely vilified and excoriated on HackerNews.
If you really can't comprehend the reason why Elon Musk is villified by people then there's no point in trying to explain it to you.
Suffice to say that owning a rocket company doesn't absolve a person of their sins to everyone, even on Hacker News.
> nothing we want is on the other side
Wow.
> You decided the rest of the solar system is dead, not the scientific community.
The odds are heavily stacked against other life existing, and get worse with every probe. Of course, nobody can prove there is no other life. And it's not very credible that Terran life will out-compete locally evolved life.
And the idea that preserving some slime mold on Pluto justifies us constraining ourselves to Earth is just sad.
> If you really can't comprehend the reason why Elon Musk is villified by people then there's no point in trying to explain it to you.
I once asked another Musk-hater on HN why? All he could come up with is Musk called a diver a pedo-boy. I pointed out that Musk only did that because the diver went on national TV and told Musk to shove his submarine up his backside.
If you've got a better reason, I'd love to hear it!