From: Dr Sebby (drsebby@hotmail.com)
Date: Sat Jan 10 2004 - 15:42:33 MST
...oh i agree with you Mermaid; his reasons are never for anyones benefit
but his own, but in this time of turmoil any way we can funnel money to NASA
is that much less spent on big things that go "boom".
...by the way, why isnt anyone tinkering with a lander that could visit
Europa and get underneath that ice. it seems a dead certainty that there
would be abundant and i'm guessing rather progressive life forms down there.
is it too far away for us to remotely control it or something? what are
the difficulties in such a venture?
DrSebby.
"Courage...and shuffle the cards".
----Original Message Follows----
From: "Mermaid" <hidden@lucifer.com>
Reply-To: virus@lucifer.com
To: virus@lucifer.com
Subject: Re: virus: terraforming mars
Date: Sat, 10 Jan 2004 03:39:09 -0700
[quote from: DrSebby on 2004-01-10 at 01:11:22]
...if bush could somehow push some financing towards such a moon venture, i
would see it as a much deserved albeit out of place gesture of humanity
before he is banished from office.
[Mermaid]you think? here ya go....bush *does* seems to have the idea to
colonise the moon...
imo, it seems like yet another election promise..like the one about
legalising all hispanic illegal immigrants. but then again, bush might have
genuine interest in claiming the moon and the red planet for J.C.
Bush Plans Missions to the Moon, Mars
By MARCIA DUNN, AP Aerospace Writer
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - President Bush (news - web sites) is planning a
permanent science base for astronauts on the moon that could serve as a
steppingstone for sending humans ultimately on to Mars, according to senior
administration officials.
The president wants to aggressively reinvigorate the space program, still
reeling from the Columbia tragedy nearly one year ago, said the officials,
speaking on condition of anonymity.
White House press secretary Scott McClellan confirmed that Bush would
deliver a speech Wednesday describing his vision of the long-term direction
of the space program, but he did not reveal what Bush would say.
"The president is strongly committed to the exploration of space," McClellan
said Friday.
A major question is how to pay for an expensive space initiative while the
nation is struggling with record budget deficits and the high costs of the
war against terrorism.
McClellan said that the White House budget office was involved in the
administration's space review, and that Bush will "put forth a responsible
budget that meets our highest priorities while working to hold the line of
spending elsewhere in the budget."
A Nobel-winning physicist who investigated the shuttle accident is among
those who would rather see more affordable robots — rather than astronauts —
exploring the lunar and Martian surfaces. He points to NASA (news - web
sites)'s Spirit rover newly arrived at Mars.
"The cost of a manned enclave on the moon, I think, is going to make the
space station look cheap. That's the only good thing about it," said
Stanford University's Douglas Osheroff.
In any event, "I think we're still 30 years from going to Mars and if
there's any reason to do that, I don't know," Osheroff said.
NASA officials did not return phone calls.
Bush does not intend to propose sending Americans to Mars anytime soon, but
instead envisions preparing for a Mars expedition more than a decade from
now, one administration official said.
The White House has been looking for a new revitalizing role for NASA for
months, with Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites) leading the
interagency task force since summer. The speculation over a major space
initiative began heating up in early December.
Rep. Ralph Hall, R-Texas, a member of the House Science Committee, welcomed
the news that Bush would be making an announcement about space.
Hall said he has long been trying to get the president more interested in
space exploration. The president never went to Johnson Space Center in
Houston while serving as Texas governor; in fact, last February's memorial
service for the seven Columbia astronauts was his first visit.
Bush's fresh interest in space happens to coincide with an election year. A
new bold space initiative, it is thought, could excite Americans.
"I had the feeling the last 2 1/2 years people would rather make a trip to
the grocery store than a trip to the moon because of the economy," Hall
said. "As things are turning around, we need to stay in touch with space"
and the science spinoffs it provides.
It was the Columbia accident that helped force a discussion of where NASA
should venture beyond the three remaining space shuttles and the
international space station. The panel that investigated the disaster called
for a clearly defined long-term mission — a national vision for space that
has been missing for three decades.
Astronauts last walked on the moon in 1972; in all, 12 men tread the lunar
surface over a 3 1/2-year period. This time, the president favors a
permanent station, administration officials said.
Bush's father, on the 20th anniversary of the first manned moon landing,
made a similar call for lunar colonies and a Mars expedition. But the plan
was prohibitively expensive — an estimated $400 billion to $500 billion —
and went nowhere.
No one knows what the new venture might cost or how NASA would pay for it.
House Science Committee spokeswoman Heidi Tringe said lawmakers on the panel
had yet to be briefed on the specifics.
Earlier this week, Bush put in a congratulatory call to officials in charge
of NASA's latest Mars rover. He called the Spirit rover's successful landing
a "reconfirmation of the American spirit of exploration." Another rover is
due to arrive at the red planet in two weeks.
Many space buffs see the moon as a necessary place to test the equipment and
techniques that would be needed by astronauts on Mars. It's closer, just
three days away versus six months away for the red planet.
Visionaries say observatories could be built on the moon and mining camps
could gather helium-3 for conversion into fuel for use back on Earth.
Others, however, contend that astronauts should make a beeline to Mars.
Still others, including John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth,
believes the nation should complete and fully maximize the international
space station before dashing anywhere else.
___
Associated Press writer Scott Lindlaw contributed to this story from
Washington.
link:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040109/ap_on_go_pr_wh/back_to_the_moon_4rus:
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