A Dream Taken – Obama Questions the Moon Mission Again!

I have been left out of the space program all my life. You see, when I was a child, I got a book about the planets, and, knowing that being in the study of science was the way I wanted to make my living, as well as take up my spare time, I announced to all, at the age of 5 that I wanted to be an astrophysicist.

Well, I knew exactly what these people did, because I had studied about it, but you can imagine how many people I needed to explain this to, and how many condescending pats on the head I received growing up.

By the time I was ready to start my real path toward my ultimate journey, in junior high, a terrible thing happened. Tricky Dick Nixon was elected. He unilaterally decided that we no longer needed to heed the call of President Kennedy, and go to the moon on a regular basis, or move toward any missions to other planets.  Well, we went, as the plans were already in place, and then all other plans stopped before I had much of a chance to contribute.

Another career path for me.

Cut to 2009. A Democrat set us on the path on the moon, and I’ve been awaiting another Democrat to take us back again. Too late for me, but perhaps not too late for one of my progeny.

from ComputerWorld

Plans for NASA to send humans back to the moon might be in jeopardy.

President Barack Obama’s administration today called for an independent review of NASA’s human space flight activities.

Looking at possible alternatives to programs already in the pipeline, the review is geared toward making sure the country’s human space flight program remains “safe, innovative and affordable” after the space shuttle is retired, NASA says.

Acting NASA Administrator Christopher Scolese said in a statement, “The thousands of workers who have given so much over the years to bring human spaceflight to where it is today deserve nothing less than a full assurance their commitment will be applied in the smartest and most practical ways.”

The review announcement came just as NASA today unveiled its $18.69 billion budget request for fiscal year 2010. It marks a $903.6 million, or 5%, increase over 2009 funding.

NASA says that, all totaled, an extra $2 billion has been added to the agency’s 2009 and 2010 budgets under the Obama administration.

Former President George W. Bush presented to NASA the goal of going back to the moon, and then a move on to Mars.

This was one of the few things we ever agreed upon, and for the life of me, I can’t see how he justified it to himself. After all, I had seen him be against almost all other advances in science. (Perhaps he knew nothing would come of it, as there would be no funding – he had spent that money on a war.) I had hopes that President Clinton would do something about this, but he had his troubles with a Republican Congress. I have had hopes that President Obama would see this as a clear need, and that the money is well spent.

The space agency has been working toward setting up a lunar outpost by 2020. NASA scientists have been planning on using robots to help humans get the job done.

NASA spokesman Allard Beutel has told Computerworld that robotics will be needed to build any workstation or habitat structure on the moon.

Carl Walz, director of advanced capabilities at NASA and a former astronaut, has said that NASA scientists plan on positioning robots and robotic rovers on Mars before the first astronauts arrive.

That way, the robots will be ready to help their human counterparts on what will probably be NASA’s most taxing mission yet. The robots also may be called on to create rocket fuel out of gases in the atmosphere, so the astronauts have the fuel they need to get home.

With the review announced today, the entire project may be up in the air.

The independent review team, which will be led by Norman Augustine, a former aerospace industry executive and a recipient of the National Medal of Technology, will work with members of NASA.

The space agency also noted that the team will consult with Congress, the White House and the public, along with industry and international partners.

NASA reported that it will continue its work on developing technology for the planned moon mission while the review is being conducted.

How many times must a list of things that affect our everyday lives, making them better, be compiled, to get the point across to some people?

President Obama, cut back on the stupidity of an extended war in Afghanistan. History tells us that it can’t be won, short of total nuclear annihilation – and, as far as I am aware, that is off the table. Let’s use that money (billions and billions in my best Carl Sagan voice) to go back to the moon, we’re going to need it for expansion, as the state of Florida will be gone, due to sea level rise (that nasty global warming that the Repubs want to deny), and the rest of the country will be overcrowded, from the illegal immigration, combined with the idiots who feel the need to have more children than they have fingers or toes. Let’s send some of the offspring of these benefactors of the farmer mentality to the moon to cultivate something useful to them, and us.

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