Let’s build a stairway to the moon U.S. space program

The launching of China’s first manned spaceflight this week has caught the fancy of the world’s most populous country. In the United States, however, interest in the space program is at a low point. Moreover, after the Columbia space shuttle accident, the manned space program seems to lack focus and a sense of mission. What is needed is a new goal, one that is not only achievable but that will provide the experience needed if mankind eventually decides to go farther into space: a permanent human presence on the moon. What might we do on the moon? We can test applications involving nuclear propulsion, radiation control and advanced communications. We can gain experience building habitats in a hostile environment. We can develop solar-powered devices for use in space. We can investigate the practicalities of using laser power transmission for electricity and develop and refine other power technologies for future exploration. We can develop better long-term life-support systems and medicine appropriate to sustain life in low gravity. Of course, these suggestions are for the short term. The U.S. space program has already had many spinoff applications and technology developments that have improved our way of life. Just as those improvements could not have been foreseen, there will be many practical spinoffs as the United States develops a permanent lunar habitat that will lead to improvements in our quality of life that cannot now be predicted. Especially in view of China’s achievements, the lunar space station should be an international program. It would be a powerful vehicle to bring nations together, decreasing the chances for international conflict. A reoriented and reinvigorated manned space program would offer a viable partnership to other space-faring nations that might welcome this opportunity to participate with the United States in developing a lunar habitat. For the United States, it would be a chance to explore practical ways to exist in space for very long periods. The United States needs a practical goal, and a permanent human presence on the moon would invigorate a splendid program that appears to need a better short- and long-term focus. Not only would this project give America renewed interest in the space program, but it would also extend our experience in manned spaceflight toward a simple goal that Americans can easily understand and support. * The writer works on space and technology issues for the government and the private sector. [Not to be reproduced without the permission of the author.]