Space Exploration

[Trilobyte]

I would be really interested to hear some of your opinions on the future of space exploration. Some specific questions/ideas:

1. In general, is the investment in space exploration "worth it?"

2. Is NASA doing a good job?

3. Do you see China as a threat, both short- and long-term?

4. Viability of the ISS, Space Shuttles, Moon Base, Mars Landing, Bush's plans etc.

5. Anything else you like!

[zachman]

1. Yes
2. No
3. China will be a threat in five years or so. Its economy seems to be on a permanent surge.
4. More funding needed. Hubble funding should not be cut for the Mars plan.
5.I want the government to start looking at a large scale Mars greenhouse that releases oxygen and carbon dioxide. That seems a little far fetched right now.

[Bleeding heart conservative, HTMLdon]

1. Absolutely Yes.
2. Yes.  You try shooting a vehicle with people on board into orbit.  It ain't easy.
3. It's a diplomatic challenge.  If they become more democratic, then they could be a partner.  If they do not become more democratic and continue with their Communist ways... then we must address the issue as a threat.
4. Bush's plan for space exploration is a positive move forward for teh program.  I'm confused about what the ISS's job is, and I fear NASA is too.  The Space Shuttle has just about ended its efficient term of use, but I suspect we'll continue to use it for another 5-10 years.  Eventually, we'll accomplish all of our goals in space.  It just takes good leadership - like the leadership President Bush is providing - to get the job done.
5. I concur with Zachman - we've got to find a way to survive long-term on another planet if colonization is to be an option.

[??????????]

1. In general, is the investment in space exploration "worth it?"

Yes, I believe it is worth it. I believe their are resources on close planets that may help us. I also believe their may be life somewhere though I don't believe any has visited us.


2. Is NASA doing a good job?
No, the upper echelon needs to be fired and replaced. They are failing to push us ahead in exploration. I say this because they have yet to rid us of that obsolete Shuttle.

3. Do you see China as a threat, both short- and long-term?
Yes and no. The phrase that China is the "Largest military museum in the world" is very true. I believe in the future we will have collapsed their communist government. We will overthrow them with our economic system.


4. Viability of the ISS, Space Shuttles, Moon Base, Mars Landing, Bush's plans etc.
I agree with all of Bushs' plans. The ISS is a good stepping stone for future space travel within the solar system. The space shuttle is obsolete and should be removed from service and I say this because we are getting no where with it. All of those other things we should push.

[7,052,770]

1. In general, is the investment in space exploration "worth it?"
Absolutely.

2. Is NASA doing a good job?
No!

3. Do you see China as a threat, both short- and long-term?
We should work with them.  Then we can both be on the same page, and progress that much faster together.

4. Viability of the ISS, Space Shuttles, Moon Base, Mars Landing, Bush's plans etc.
Full speed ahead!  I perhaps support Bush's space plans more than anything else he's proposed.

[M]

1. In general, is the investment in space exploration "worth it?"

Yes.

2. Is NASA doing a good job?

It's doing well what it's doing. The problem is current priorties, NASA seems rather directionless. Bush's plan should give us an opportunity to fix this problem.

3. Do you see China as a threat, both short- and long-term?

What is a threat? Economic competition, yes. On foreign policy, no, there only territorial claim at odds with us is Taiwan, and that should eventually be resolved peaceably- either by the Hong Kong-Macao "one China, two systems" compromise, or after China's form of govt changes. In terms of space, no. Uh little competition is a very good thing.

4. Viability of the ISS, Space Shuttles, Moon Base, Mars Landing, Bush's plans etc.

ISS- viable. But is it really worth it? At this point we should finifh up, but its going nowhere.

Shuttles- a great fleet for their time, but we need nextgen craft.

Moon Base/L4 and L5- Heck yes. Should be both an inhabited colony, a research/possibly manufacturing facility, and Spaceport. At least one at L5 and one in the Tycho Crater.

Mars landing- yes, but make it permanent.

Bush plan- a very good start.

5. Anything else you like!

What about building a ship in space? A ship contructed in zero gravity could be very aerodynamic. Arthur Clarke mentions this possibility in one of the Space Odyssey books- might be 2061, I forget.

An near term World Space Agency would be nice, and should be feasible.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

1. Yes
2. No
3. Short term China  is not a threat.  Long term depends, but I suspect that the next man to walk on the moon will be speaking Mandarin.
4. ISS and the Shuttle are a sideshow that should be shut down. A south polar Moon base where it looks like ther might be some water might work, but without water anything on the moon will be just a sideshow. As an outpost, a Mars base is a possibility but until they can get a permanent population of 1,000 or so up there, it'll be just a circus.
5. India probably has the smartest space program right now. They aren't bothering with the bread and circus aspect of a manned space program, but concentrating on the practical with a modest science component.  Until we're ready to consider a serious colonization effort somewhere, manned spaceflight is a unnecesary expense.

[John Dibble]

1. Yes, the space program has brought many benefits and new technologies, though they could spend the money more efficiently.

2. They used to, when they actually got stuff done. They haven't really made any great progress as far as I can tell. I support privatizing the space program. When it only takes a private organization $20 million to run their own space program, as compared to how much it takes NASA, it seems NASA should only serve to authorize launches.

3. Not really.

4. Not under NASA.

[NYGOP]

No to all of the above

[12th Doctor]

1. No

2. No

3. No

4. No

5. No

[Nym90]

I'm a 100% supporter of the space program. It has brought us many advances and will continue to into the future. Not to mention that the general "quest for knowledge" is one of the great things that sets us apart as a species. We should focus more time and energy into exploring other worlds and learning from them.

That being said, yes, NASA certainly could use a little direction. I do fully support Bush's proposal to send a man to Mars. NASA needs to have a clearly defined mission and then stick to it.

[Akno21]

I would be really interested to hear some of your opinions on the future of space exploration. Some specific questions/ideas:

1. In general, is the investment in space exploration "worth it?"

2. Is NASA doing a good job?

3. Do you see China as a threat, both short- and long-term?

4. Viability of the ISS, Space Shuttles, Moon Base, Mars Landing, Bush's plans etc.

5. Anything else you like!

1. I don't think so. What have we accomplished in space the last 20 years?
2. Right now I don't think NASA has a vision, which is neccessary to be successful in a venture like this.
3. No. I think China could be an important ally if we respect it.
4. The moon colony and a Mars landing are the most unrealistic, but yet the only ones that are worth pursuing.
5. NASA should be a low priority.  

[ilikeverin]

1. In general, is the investment in space exploration "worth it?"

Absolutely!  Think of what we could accomplish!

2. Is NASA doing a good job?

I guess, but it would be nice if:
i) We could scratch the space shuttle for a Single Stage To Orbit (or whatever) craft soon.
ii) Mission Control and Launch Control could be merged in Florida!

3. Do you see China as a threat, both short- and long-term?

No, not really.  I don't see space as a platform for weapons... more as a place for science.

4. Viability of the ISS, Space Shuttles, Moon Base, Mars Landing, Bush's plans etc.

ISS: \/\/007!
Space Shuttles: See #2
Moon Base: Should be an eventual goal...
Mars Landing: Once again, should be an eventual goal...
Hubble: WTF is Bush thinking?  Has anyone in the Bush administration seen the photos from Hubble?  

5. Anything else you like!

NASA is quite important to our future.

[muon2]

I'll concentrate on number 1. Many aspects of basic science have a time scale to produce results that're way too long for any business to sustain. In addition the commercially viable parts of the results are generally unpredictable at the outset. Government investment provides the appropriate stimulus to overcome the risk-averse nature of the private sector.

Much of the space program falls in this category. There have been expansion of knowledge and commercial spinoffs from the start: satellites and early manned exploration, the shuttle in the 1980's, and astronomical missions including Hubble and the Mars Rovers most recently. I have no doubt that Cassini will also fill both fucntions of knowledge and commercial spin-offs.

Like any government stimulus, the government needs to know when to back off as the private sector gets involved. Rutan's recent private space launch is a hopeful sign that manned vehicles can move to the private realm as satellites did long ago. The government is particularly vulnerable to overstaying its welcome in a market when there is a lot of good PR involved - and space exploration is a case in point. The ISS is probably one of the weaker programs, but has a lot of PR that sustains it. Remote control well past the expected life of the Rovers is a far more meaningful accomplishment.

[opebo]

Space exploration is great, but should be private.

[Nation]

I would be really interested to hear some of your opinions on the future of space exploration. Some specific questions/ideas:

1. In general, is the investment in space exploration "worth it?"

Not right now, but eventually.

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Nope.

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Not as long as we keep an eye on them.

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Albeit it is a small amount of money he wants to invest in it compared to other things, I still believe trying to land on Mars is ridiculous.

[muon2]

Space exploration is great, but should be private.

Most exploration on earth is rarely private - unless there is a clear economic resource that has already been identified, like oil. What should be private is space utilization. Already many satellites are private ventures (telecommunications, etc.). Pure exploration into unknown areas still requires public support.

Public infrastructure in space can also has commercial value; the government created the GPS satellite system, but there is a vital and competitive market that uses the system. This is similar to a roadway that becomes a path to greater economic development. Most roads would not exist without public support, even those that are essential for commerce.

[PBrunsel]

1. In general, is the investment in space exploration "worth it?"

No, it's too expensive. The Space Race is over and we won. We must stop using public dollars to fund these journeys to some planet, it is a waste of government funds and a tax burden.

2. Is NASA doing a good job?

No, it needs to be privatised.

3. Do you see China as a threat, both short- and long-term?

China is no threat. It is just some Communist nation that sent a man in space decades after we did. We defeated one Communist nation (the late USSR) and we crushed it into dust. China is and never will be a threat.

4. Viability of the ISS, Space Shuttles, Moon Base, Mars Landing, Bush's plans etc.

The Moon Base will take billions, if not trillions, to build and billion to maintain. It will come out of the people's pockets. The Space Shuttles should be privatised along with NASA. Bush's Plan is foolish. We need to save our money, not use it to go to Mars. We have problems here on Earth that must be addressed. $10 Billion to go to Mars is way too much. It is another tax burden on our hard working citizens.

[TheWildCard]

1. In general, is the investment in space exploration "worth it?"

Yes with no doubt... When ever we begin exploring space it seems we end up creating newer and better technology not to mention the jobs that would be created by doing this.

2. Is NASA doing a good job?

No... The NASA of today is far away from its glory days. They are in serious need of new vision.

3. Do you see China as a threat, both short- and long-term?

As far as space exploration yes... But I don't see this as a bad thing competition is always a driver.

4. Viability of the ISS, Space Shuttles, Moon Base, Mars Landing, Bush's plans etc.

I believe all of these things to be very viable.

I'd just like to add we should never stop exploring the uncharted and unknown... What if Lewis and Clark never went on their expedition simply because they couldn't afford it? What if no one went looking for the American contitnent just because it was too expensive? My point here is we shouldn't let the lands of our own planet be our only place for exploration I feel the positives way out wiegh the negatives in the long run.

[??????????]

If the human race wants to survive and strive interstellar space travel will have to occur.

[Frodo]

I would be really interested to hear some of your opinions on the future of space exploration. Some specific questions/ideas:

1. In general, is the investment in space exploration "worth it?"

Yes, it has led to major technological advances in the past few decades, not to mention untold contributions to science.  It is unfortunate we are not investing more.

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I haven't paid enough attention to NASA to make any informed judgment regarding its work.

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China is a possible threat, though it is by no means a foregone conclusion -we need China as much as China needs us, and any war will devastate both.  Of course, that is not to say that neither side is preparing contingency plans for that event, nor that they shouldn't. 

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We should get the International Space Station completed quickly; scuttle the Space Shuttle as a waste of money; develop new rockets that don't use up as much fuel and weigh as much, as well as not just being updated versions of their 1960s predecessors; and afterwards focus most of our attention on terraforming Mars (to make it inhabitable for human civilization), and eventually settling it.  It should also be a joint international venture by both the United States, the European Union, Russia, and China. 

[David S]

Space exploration is great, but should be private.

Incredible! we agree on something!!

[7,052,770]

Space exploration is great, but should be private.

Incredible! we agree on something!!

he probably doesn't feel that way now

[John Dibble]

Space exploration is great, but should be private.

Incredible! we agree on something!!

he probably doesn't feel that way now

Indeed, he probably now feels that the government should fund space exploration for the purpose of finding a giant space lion or some other suitable galactic beast to feed the religious to.

[Inverted Things]

Right now, space exploration is a dead end. The moon colony is simply not feasible, and human exploration of Mars would accomplish nothing other than bragging rights.

Einstein's speed limit appears to be insurmountable, and if we can't travel faster than light then we won't be doing any interstellar travel.