If you were a multi-billionaire, how would you satisfy your quench for information about astronomy?

Question

Hypothetically speaking, if i was a multi-billionaire, i would undoubtedly spend a huge chunk of my fortune on my fetish for astronomy. It would be a great opportunity to own your own personal hubble-like space telescope, or maybe your own personal Mars rover that you can drive around on the surface of Mars as a hobby. I believe owning something like that for yourself would be great because you're getting first hand data, pictures, ect., straight from the source, so it's not put through any censorship or air brushing. If you had billions of dollars what is one astronomy related splurge you would make?

The possibilities are endless, but personally i would love to have my own personal Mars rover to drive around on the surface of Mars. What would you want? Make it something realistic, don't say you're going to send a ship to the nearest star besides the sun which is over 4 light years away, because we don't have the technology to travel at the speed of light or teleport there. So make it something you would do within our own solar system or some type of telescope you would build to be able to observe the universe right before your eyes for yourself. Personally, i would build and launch my own Mars rover to Mars, that's what i would want to do.

Answer 1

I'd get heavily involved in SETI and hope to find alien life in my lifetime. I'd heavily fund an extra solar mission to send a spaceship beyond the confines of our solar system and on the way to the closest star. I'd fund an apartment to be connected to the space station and visit it once a year to study both the stars and Earth.

If money was NO issue, I'd fund a space base on the far side of the moon to be used for SETI exploration, away from the interference created by Earth's atmosphere.

When we find alien transmissions, I want to be the guy who sends a signal to that solar system. It would probably be something like, "Hey, guys, how's it goin?"

Jim the Yooper

If we are alone in the Universe, it sure seems like an awful waste of space.

Oooo. Forgot about Europa and the moons in our system that may harbor life. Definitely get some robots on those surfaces and go looking. Mermaids on Europa would be so cool.

Answer 2

Build myself a personal observatory, fund a new space telescope, bankroll a probe to Europa, try to speed up a manned mission to mars, do that thing were you pay money to go up in a Soyuz rocket and stay on the ISS for a week or so.

Answer 3

First off I would build a bunker like this to live in:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aou6c2MO...

Then I would try to create WW3 on the surface to eliminate most of the population of the ignorant masses first. Then whoever was left I would force them to take this:

http://www.verichipcorp.com/

Then I could make them my slaves and do whatever I wanted. Probably make them build me the largest optical and radio telescopes possible and let them maintain them. Yeah it would be really nice. For me that is. Yeah baby yeah.

Answer 4

why don't you just pay nasa to let you join in on there next launch  

Answer 5

I would set up a university, with a large faculty and lots of students.  Major astronomy programs at all levels (B. Sc, Master, Ph.D and post-doctoral studies).  Every once in a while, I would "suggest" some topics that need to be researched.

Being the founder and sponsor, of course, my "suggestions" would rarely be discarded.

A whole bunch of people studying all facets of astronomy (especially under my "guidance") will discover a lot more stuff that is of interest to me, than if I spend the money on getting a fancy observatory for only one person (however intelligent I might be).

Actually, the plan has been ready for a while.

All I need is the money.  For now, I am merely a "multi-hundrednaire".

Answer 6

I would have to build a moon base and go there.  Not sure why, but for some reason being in outer space on another celestial body fills me with joy.