NASA is Right to Shoot for Moon
Posted on: Wednesday, 28 September 2005, 15:00 CDT
NASA is right to shoot for moon
While the nation faces expensive burdens, from the war in Iraq to rebuilding the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast, it also has economic and national security interests in exploring space. The timing of NASA's proposal for its $104 billion lunar landing project to serve as a stepping-stone to manned exploration of Mars was myopic in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. But the agency's vision for meeting its objectives is 20-20.
NASA Administrator Michael D. Griffin proposes returning to the moon by 2018 using a program that would enable teams of astronauts to have extended stays on the lunar surface. It would replace the outdated shuttle program. ... It also could be done on a pay-as-you- go basis using NASA's existing budget allocation.
... Why pursue space at all?
Last year, orders for U.S. aerospace products amounted to $165 billion, reducing the nation's annual trade deficit by $31 billion. Space exploration has yielded discoveries and technologies that have created new industries, improved land management techniques, given better understanding of the climate and enabled the United States to be more competitive in commercial aviation.
... Manned space exploration should have a place on the national agenda.
-- Indianapolis Star
Source: Daily Breeze
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