Bush may call for a return to the Moon

[ottawan]

alokmohan!

You state your opinion yet fail to enter into discussion.

The fact that there is no "cold war" does not preclude a return to the moon, or a future mission to Mars.

These are initiatives proposed by the present administration and have nothing to do with Gagarin, Apollo or the Cold War.

Please try to approach these issues with an open mind.

[Astronuc]

Appolo project was prestige issue of Americans and was byproduct of cold war. Now no cold war, no moon going.

Such a statement is an over-simplification of the situation.  Since the 1980's the US has invested in the Space Station, Hubble Space Telescope and numerous other satellite and exploratory projects.

Since the cold war has ended, significant resources of the US have been diverted to two wars in Iraq (otherwise known as Gulf War I and II) and conflicts in several other countries, e.g. Bosnia.

Hopefully as matters settle down somewhat, or we adapt to the current situation, America and the world can start to think of beyond ISS.  I would like to see a multilateral, make that multinational, space program.

[xir]

i agree with Astronuc, hopefully, a calm down in international conflict will make things better for space exploration.

On the flip side when theres no war, the CIA usually set about fixing it (joke)

[Orstio]

From Nature.com:

Bush's space vision loses focus
Mark Peplow
US budget for sending astronauts to Moon and Mars is slashed

President George W. Bush's project known as the 'Vision for space exploration' looks likely to stay firmly on the launch pad after budget cuts at NASA were supported by a key government committee yesterday.

The budget proposal gives NASA $15.1 billion in 2005, $1.1 billion less than it requested, and $229 million below the agency's budget this year. The full House and Senate is likely to vote on this bill later this year.

The cuts strike hardest at some of the initiatives announced with great fanfare by Bush in January this year. For example, he promised to send humans back to the Moon by 2020, as a stepping stone for human exploration of Mars and beyond. But a mere $372 million has been provided of the $910 million needed to kick-start the project.

"We simply could not afford to fund the vision," admits James Walsh, chairman of the subcommittee that recommended the cuts earlier this week. The US House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations, which is responsible for overseeing all budget proposals through its subcommittees, ratified the proposals yesterday.

NASA's administrator Sean O'Keefe says that without the cash, the 'Vision for space exploration' will remain nothing more than a vision.

In an open letter sent yesterday to Bill Young, the chairman of the Committee on Appropriations, O'Keefe tried to persuade Young not to accept his subcommittee's proposals. "The President's budget proposes the means to support the 'Vision for Space Exploration', while the subcommittee's position does not provide the resources," he wrote.

O'Keefe added that space science would undoubtedly suffer as a result: "The recommended funding level for NASA would adversely affect its ongoing science and technology programmes."

Return to flight

NASA will, however, get the full $4.3 billion that it needs to return the space-shuttle fleet to active duty. This is expected to happen in the spring of next year. After the loss of the space shuttle Columbia on 1 February 2003, it has been seen as a matter of principle within the space agency to get its remaining shuttles running again as soon as possible.

But the space shuttle is due to be phased out by 2010, to be replaced by a 'next generation' piloted vehicle. The tightened budget now provides only about one-quarter of the proposed development costs of this new craft, which would hamper its proposed deployment by 2014.

Other initiatives hit include Project Prometheus, which aims to develop nuclear-powered engines for craft such as the Jupiter Icy Moon Orbiter (JIMO). This ambitious mission would send JIMO to visit three of Jupiter's moons (Callisto, Ganymede and Europa), which may harbour vast oceans beneath their icy surfaces. The $230 million withheld from this project looks likely to delay the proposed 2012 launch date.

There is some good news for NASA, however. After the successes of the Spirit and Opportunity rovers, a robotic Mars mission got the full $691 million that the agency had requested.

[alokmohan]

For the present no moon.But JIMO isnew side.Oh I like europa so much.Robotic mission to mars will help us to learn about mars, our future hopeful abode.Moon is too costly now.Lets have mars.

[remcook]

http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20040728-124356-2684r

Next: NASA's new atomic rocket

hmmmm...interesting

http://www.exploration.nasa.gov/index.html

[remcook]

this sounds optimistic

http://www.eians.net/2005/01/05/05mar.html

..but I don't really buy it

[Astronuc]

Alokmohan posted a comment yesterday under Everthing India about an announcement made in Ahmedabad.  I wonder if this was simply a repeat of the Moon-to-Mars goals from last year.

It seems strange that a definitive statment would be issued by some official during an overseas visit, rather than the NASA administrator making a major announcement from Washington.

I wonder what is meant by the phrase "send a man to Mars", rather than land a Man on Mars.  It would be a waste of effort to send someone to orbit Mars and then return.

That person also must be very healthy.  An incapacitative illness could be fatal.  Also, the article mentions that "astronauts suffer from a range of peculiar cardiovascular and neurovestibular diseases ".

However, imagine the competition to be the one astronaut, who would be a child or teenager now.

[remcook]

I think NASA should host a show, called 'american astronaut' or 'who wants to be an astronaut' to select the chosen one. They could funds half the mission with it as well! 

[Astronuc]

Rem - great idea!  

 

But given the kind of people who participate in such programs . . . 

Maybe NASA could send a chimpanzee along for company.  But then cleaning up after a chimp would be a pain.

[remcook]

two words:

hyperintelligent rats

[remcook]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0502/07okeefe/

"NASA's budget enables new age of exploration"

full budget;
http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/107487main_FY06_med.pdf

[remcook]

nice article about NASA's moon plans (the hardware side)

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/custom/space/orl-asec-moon073105,0,3136666.htmlstory?coll=orl-home-promo

[Astronuc]

From the article that Rem posted - here is on of NASA's concepts -