Plenty of Candidates with No Place to Go

NASA recently announced it had 18,300 applications for its next astronaut class (the posting closed December 14th). This is an impressive number and the highest applicant count ever for what will be 8-14  positions. The final selection will not take place until the middle of 2017.

So where will these newly-minted astronauts go? It is still unclear. Even the future of the space station is unclear, though it seems we will be flying astronauts there through 2024 (hopefully on US-made rockets).  And with a new president coming onboard next year, the manned-mission path may zig or zag again. 

Of course, the private entity Mars One had about 4,200 applicants for its mission to Mars.  Yet no one really thinks the final candidates will be seeing Mars anytime soon, if ever. 

We need more than applicants - we need a clear mission with dates as well as a commitment to finding.  NASA reminds me of an airline hiring pilots when it lacks its own planes and has no plans to leave the airport even if it did.