Why Not the Moon?

Back in early 2008 I highlighted a poster from NASA asking "Why the Moon?" It provided a lot of good reasons for our revisiting the moon related to (1) human civilization, (2) scientific knowledge, (3) exploration preparation, (4) global partnerships, (5) economic expansion, and (6) public engagement. I wonder how many of those causes have been dropped, or whether we will get the same results from an asteroid. I am not sure if we want to eventually settle on an asteroid as we did the moon.

Astronauts and Apples

Sometimes I wonder if America's fascination is more with the small items they can fit in their pocket rather than the big events that have marked the progress of man. Most kids today seems more impressed with the iPod, iPhone and now the iPad, rather than the fact that each year the United States and its partners are sending men and woman into space to watch over this great globe and prepare for even greater things. Maybe if we had an iShuttle kids would pay attention. I have to give NASA credit for trying to keep up. Twittering astronauts, as well as NASA applications for the iPhone, shows the Agency understands these trends.

My concern is that the cools things today are still the miniaturized items rather than the big things. We seem to be getting the medium confused with the message. In the parlance of the Internet economy, what we need is more content. The brave men and women pushing at the edges of space (and our knowledge of space), be it in manned or robotic vehicles, are all about content. That is why I am worried about a White House that waits until the second year of an administration to even talk about America's plans for space. We do not want more committees. Rather, we are looking for leadership. Only that will get all of us, particularly the kids, to look up from our iphones and stare into the heavens again. Let's hope we see some of this leadership next month when the President travels to Florida to discuss his vision for our space mission.

An Unpopular Decision

The President's decision to walk away from the current moon project is not going over well. Not surprisingly, the congressional representatives in Florida are not too happy to be losing high paying jobs in a bad economy. The Tampa papers were talking about Florida's loss of 7,000 Space Shuttle related jobs, even as the private sector comes in to take up some of the slack (estimated at about 1,700). But the concerns go beyond this as well.

Charles Krauthammer is particularly incensed, stating "Of course, the administration presents the abdication as a great leap forward." He goes on to say, "It would be swell for private companies to take over launching astronauts..but they cannot do it." It is always interesting to watch a staunch conservative supporting federal spending (in this case) and stepping all over the private sector. He even jabs at the Russians and private markets together, explaining that they understand the nature of monopoly under capitalism. But his concern is still understandable. "By the end of the year, there will be no Space Shuttle, no U.S. manned space program, no way for us to get into space...In the interim, space will be owned by Russia and then China."

The families of astronauts also chimed in, asking the Administration to recommit to a 2020 moonshot. The Astronauts Memorial Foundation, in a letter to the President, stated

In order to honor those astronauts and their families who have sacrificed for all of the benefits of human exploration, and to allow Americans continued pride in our space program, we urge you to vigorously support uninterrupted continuation of U.S. human space flight systems, including the Space Shuttle, and to maintain NASA’s leadership in space exploration.

Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison has also introduced legislation to fund NASA in order to keep NASA vibrant for the time being rather than rely on the Russians for trips to the Space Station.

Instead of sending up a white flag for our nation's premier science agency, I believe we must close the gap in human spaceflight. To do so, I have introduced legislation allowing NASA to extend the shuttle's service while work continues on development of the next generation of space vehicle. My legislation will make the retirement of the shuttle dependent on the availability of a replacement ship or until NASA determines that the space shuttle's capabilities are not needed to keep the space station viable. The measure will also provide acceleration of the nation's human spaceflight programs to ensure we continue to have future access to space.

Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt simply stated "It's bad for the country...This administration really doe not believe in American exceptionalism."

However, not all astronauts are on the same side on this issue. Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin states "Many said the president's decision was misguided, short-sighted and disappointing. Having the experience of walking on the moon's surface on the Apollo 11 mission, I think he made the right call. If we follow the president's plan, our next destination in space, Mars, will be within our reach."

We shall hear more from the President on April 15th. I hope he can recharge the nation and lay down a supportable doctrine.

Lost in Space?

Presidents have made a number of space-related statements over the years that inspired the Nation:

President Kennedy (1961): We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too. -- President John F. Kennedy's May 25, 1961 Speech before a Joint Session of Congress (see story here)

President George H. W. Bush (1990): We stand at a halfway point. . . . Thirty years ago, NASA was founded and the space race began. And 30 years from now, I believe man will stand on another planet. -- President George H.W. Bush in a commencement address at Texas A&I University. Looking beyond the travails of a national budget crisis, President Bush outlined a timetable for human exploration of Mars, calling for an American flag to be planted on the surface of the red planet no later than the year 2019, the 50th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing (see story here)

President George W. Bush (2004): Mankind is drawn to the heavens for the same reason we were once drawn into unknown lands and across the open sea. We choose to explore space because doing so improves our lives and lifts our national spirit. -- President George W. Bush, in a speech at NASA headquarters, unveiled an ambitious plan to return Americans to the moon by 2020 and use the mission as a steppingstone for future manned trips to Mars and beyond (see story here).

President Obama (2010): No quote to date on latest policy. However, last month, the Administration announced plans to redirect America's space program by eliminating NASA's $100-billion plans to return astronauts to the moon and using much of that money for new rocket technology research (see story here).

So there we have it. First we reach the moon, then we reach for Mars, then we look closer to home and go back to the moon, and finally we throw in the towel and refuse to provide any particular destination. In a time of great economic turmoil, Americans should still be able to dream. So much for hope.