Moon Dreams

[acmavm]

Saturday, January 10, 2004; Page B06

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4907-2004Jan9.html?referrer=email

<snip>

BILL CLINTON used to be mocked as the first baby boomer president. He was so undisciplined, the critics used to sneer: He thought life's normal constraints and rules did not apply to him, and he lacked the seriousness to impose priorities on his laundry lists of initiatives. President Bush has escaped this critique, at least for the most part: His frame is trim; his hair is trimmed; he seems the very embodiment of discipline. But now this escape must surely end. A human settlement on the moon? A manned flight to Mars? If Mr. Bush really does embrace those objectives next Wednesday, as his staff suggests he will, it will be fair to ask: Does he not believe that life's normal constraints and rules apply to him? Does he lack the seriousness to decide priorities

<snip>

We are not against presidents who pursue big ideas, even expensive ones. We can think of several worthy candidates, as we have said before: Make sure that every child who qualifies for Head Start is actually covered by the program; extend housing assistance to the 5 million American families who qualify for it but nonetheless are excluded; and provide preschooling and health insurance for all the nation's 4-year-olds. Mr. Bush himself boasts several bold and, in our view, crucial initiatives that require his continuing attention if they are to succeed: He has launched a multifaceted assault on terrorism, embarked on nation-building ventures in Afghanistan and Iraq, and promised to greatly expand America's efforts against the AIDS virus.

<snip>

The success of NASA's latest Mars venture has proved the worth of unmanned missions, while manned space flight is exorbitantly expensive. After President George H.W. Bush proposed a return to the moon as a way station for Mars, sticker shock soon ended the moon talk, and no doubt the same may happen again. In which case the current President Bush will have floated an unserious proposal, succeeding merely in sounding big and capturing newspaper headlines.

edit: lost my ability to cut and paste.

[Eric J in MN]

1. I never thought of George W. as disciplined.

I never thought of George W. as disciplined.

I think of him as a grown-up rich kid who always had path paved for him with big money and connections to help him every step of the way.

I'd like to buy a baseball team and sell it for big profit, but alas, I don't have those connections.

George W. takes too many vacation days as President to be called "disciplined."

[JPZenger]

2. Bush's Moonbase

The next time you hear someone pleading with people to donate to the food bank because the needs have greatly increased,

The next time you are stuck in traffic congestion because there is not enough funding to improve a road,

The next time your kids need special help in school, but the teacher is overwhelmed because the class sizes are too large, or your school needs to hold classes in closets because of lack of space,

The next time you get your real estate tax bill and wonder how you are going to pay the increased taxes,

The next time your local library cuts back its hours because of lack of funding,

The next time your house gets burglarized by a drug addict who couldn't get treatment because of a lack of funding -

Then decide whether the U.S. really has $800 BILLION to spare to send a couple guys to Mars.

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Some people are saying that if we spend hundreds of billions to go to Mars, maybe there will be some scientific breakthrough that might justify some of the expense.

If we really want to advance science and technology, I believe we would be much better off developing technologies that we KNOW have direct applicability to improving the world - such as the types of renewable energy sources that could be available for cars with zero air pollution. Or, we could commit that $800 billion to curing cancer.
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It will cost 100 times as much to have a space craft take 2 people to Mars as to have an unmanned craft accomplish the same mission. Among other reasons, this increased cost is because of the need to have a higher level of safety and to provide life support systems, and also to return the craft to Earth.

Do we really care whether the photos from Mars are coming from a robot or from a camera held by a person?