There are also two words that you won’t find in the Obama Biden space policy (and you won’t find the space policy anywhere on their website). They are “Moon” and “Mars”. Obama is abandoning the US return to the Moon and plans for manned flights to Mars. He just doesn’t want to say it explicitly because he would lose Florida if he did.

And yet…

You will find very little support for a mission to Mars among today’s space scientists, myself included. There is so much more we can learn at this point from unmanned probes, that there is not scientific reason to send a human being to Mars. Add to that the inherent danger in the program – you are sending people on a months long journey in a tin can, with the vacuum of space inches from their living quarters, to a planet that is not habitable without lots and lots of technology. And you can’t send help, or bring them back if something goes wrong. Does it really make sense to send humans to Mars now, at such a risk, when there is so much more we can learn about the entire solar system by continuing NASA’s highly successful unmanned program?

Meanwhile, no one in the industry (aside maybe from a few Lockheed-Martin engineers) really believes that Bush ever intended to begin a Mars program. It was a trial balloon he floated at the State of the Union when he wanted to appear visionary instead of just the dumbass who got us into an endless, pointless war. You think Bush & Co actually provided any money for this wonnerful idea of his? NASA has had its entire mission redesigned, causing massive cuts in all of its other scientific programs. Programs that might actually teach us something about where we came from.

Couldn’t agree more. Unlikely for a while though, at least while the country is in a state of constant war. I’m not sure if NASA currently gets even a half a penny from every tax dollar, but there is always that familiar “Why spend money to go to space when we have problems on Earth” refrain. We went to the moon as political competition, we built the space station as symbolic political cooperation. Maybe a joint mission with the Chinese or a de facto competition to get to Mars first would do the trick.

Apparently Jake Garn, who was a Navy Pilot and who was a Brigadier General, got so spacesick onboard the shuttle that the spacesickness scale is in terms of Garn Units. “”one Garn” is the highest possible level of sickness.[1]”

I am sorry he was so sick, but uh, … that was probably his conscience speaking.

In the early 80s, Senator Jake Garn R-UT pressured/conspired with NASA to fly him, ostensibly so that the Senate could examine its work. But it was obviously a boondoggle. Congressman Bill Nelson, D-Fl wanted in on the schtick, so up he went too.

Not as pilot and with a background as a lawyer, it’s not clear what “science” Bill Nelson did.

Don’t get me wrong, in their positions, I probably would have dipped into the taxpayer till as well to wangle a flight to space. So I honor their congressional corruptitude and huge congressional balls.

I would have preferred a different sort of support from Congress and the President.

John Glenn: Right Stuff.
Bill Nelson: Not so much.

I’d normally be willing to overlook that because I am biased and I like NASA, but I can’t let you put Glenn and Nelson in the same sentence calling them both astronauts.

But I’d actually love to hear Obama or actual astronauts and rocket scientists discuss the alternative to Ares, known as Jupiter (or DIRECT 2.0). (Bill Nelson will never do this.)

I am waiting for Mars too. I’m not sure either of us can count on NASA and our current politicians to get us there.