Topic: Vote on Nasa's new Spacesuit

[knightstorm]

http://jscfeatures.jsc.nasa.gov/z2/

[Vipre]

I find it funny that I'm watching Gladiator when I see this. Feels like bread and circuses.

"Is the design that is selected going to fly to space?
No, as the Z-series is still in the prototype or non-flight phase. The cover layer of a non-flight suit, which is used for ground-based testing, serves as abrasion/snag protection, a cover for technical details, and to a lesser extent, aesthetics. For a flight suit which is actually used for a spacewalk, the cover layer performs many other important functions such as micrometeorite, thermal and radiation protection. These requirements drive selection of specific high-performance materials and design details that would preclude us from using many of the features you see in these options for the Z-2 suit."

The government giving people one more vote that in all reality is meaningless.

[TAnimaL]

i disagree, although I concede the point that the voter's "input" is way down the list, because "voting" takes it out of the esoteric and makes it accessible to the public.
If I can read between the (short) lines of your post Capt Adam, (and having several intelligent friends that I respect who have the same attitude), I find this "NASA is dead" meme to be false and self-defeating. Just because the shuttle was retired (which was time to do), and that the next manned-launch vehicle wasn't ready (due to budget restrictions), doesn't mean that NASA is "kaput". There's a station zipping overhead every 90 minutes packed with American knowhow and personnel working hand-in-hand with others from the rest of the world, including those whose government is currently flouting int'l law and running roughshod over it's neighbors. That last part is important,in my opinion, because of the very "beating swords into plowshares" nature of the entire space program, and the very core of the philosophy of Star Trek, that our once enemies can become friends and that we can explore the cosmos. Count in the numerous space probes, satellites and telescopes and you can see NASA/US space program is very much alive. I think it's hardly "bread and circuses" to try to get more public awareness in the amazing things they're doing every day to keep moving forward in space exploration, and even if this "voting for your favorite suit" has little to do the final product, it's a strong reminder that it actually is rocket science, and it's complicated and takes time. I'd rather see more people taking part of this polling than voting on freakin' American Idol crap.