Nasa

[steelish]

Closing the door on space exploration is like closing the door on our furture as a species.

I agree! (at the very least we are closing the door on our ability to compete with the other countries that are continuing with space exploration)

I am/would be (is it defininte?) saddened by it. I have been fascinated by space exploration ever since Sputnik-1 was sent into Earth orbit in the 1950's. I remember Laika, Gagarin, Shepard, Glenn, and Tereshkova. At the pinnacle were Armstrong and Aldrin.

I remember the shock of the Challenger and Columbia disasters, and how it was explained that sometimes it takes the supreme sacrifice of some of the best people for human development to continue. I don't know if I believe that entirely, but I do subscribe to it in part.

I also remember waiting for months and years for the Mariner and Voyager missions to complete each stage of their planetary tours, and was fascinated by the pictures that were sent back. Likewise I followed the exploits of the Mars Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, and grieved along with Colin Pillinger on Christmas Day 2003 when Beagle 2 went missing.

How much has all that cost? God knows! I can't say it was maney well-spent but I believe it was. But if it could have been spent better, then perhaps it should. How does NASA's budget stand against the national wealth of Bangladesh or Haiti? If the Space Programme is cancelled, will these nations benefit? Or maybe the money could be used to fund the US Health Service ...?

America no longer needs to put a man on the Moon or on Mars to prevent them from being "governed by a hostile flag of conquest", so maybe we should choose to raise up the poorer nations instead, because that would be hard too, although the rewards would be just as great - if it were a challenge we were willing to accept.

I too loved (and still love) planets, stars and space exploration. My mother and John Glenn are cousins! (although they are cousins once removed...whatever that means).

You say; "so maybe we should choose to raise up the poorer nations instead" Is that a 'collective' we or should it be the United States responsibility? We pumped millions into Haiti long before the earthquake. Too bad its President didn't give any to his people...but I believe his palace is quite nice in comparison to even the mansions there.

As a side note - what should happen to the U.S. if a space-exploring country happens to find a renewable energy source in outer space? We won't be able to harvest it. We will be relying on another country yet again.

The NASA of the 60's,70's, and 80's died long ago, these days its more politics ect. Flashy Missions that get the publics attention ect. Even NASA executives were saying it was more a pork trough than a vaiable agency. Bush's talk about a Mars Mission before we even had a viable way of getting there and back ect... I want to see NASA continue, but get rid of the Political Hacks...

Personally, I see Bush's talk of a Mars Mission to be ambitious and forward-thinking. It's better than having a President who, when presented with a possibility, negates it as impossible rather than being visionary. I do agree that NASA is very political. It is, after all, a government-sponsored program. Too bad there are no multi-billionnaires out there willing to take it over.