I just took a "Level 9" Tour at the Space Center in Houston.
- We got to see full mock-ups of the living quarters they had designed for the moon, the living quarters astronauts are living in now in Antarctica to get used to the harsh living conditions.
- We got to see the fully-usable prototype rovers they had designed for the Moon and Mars. The things still had dirt on the tires from driving around the sands of Arizona.
- We got to see the forty-foot deep pool called the "Neutral Buoyancy Lab" that is the best simulation of space here on earth. They put full mock-ups of the space station down in the pool, and the astronauts suit up and spend 8 hours a day down there in the water practicing missions here on Earth over and over so they can get it right the first time up in space.
- We got to be in the mission control room, sit in the flight director's chair, and be in the spot where the world first heard the words from Armstrong after stepping on the moon.
That tour was a spiritual experience. And, as an engineer myself, it showed me my dream job. My dream now is to work for NASA in a program that sends man to Mars.
So, I'm going to say right out front that I'm a little biased. This plan from Obama is disheartening to say the least.
First off, this article is unclear about the Constellation Program. You probably all know this, but just to be clear, the Constellation program's ultimate goal was to send men to Mars, not just the Moon. The mission to go back to the Moon and colonize it was just a stepping stone in that plan.
My guess is that whatever money that is or would have been put into NASA and the Constellation program will be paid back and more in
trickle-down technologies, jobs, and inspiring people across the world both young and old to take up engineering. The worth of the program is, in my opinion, far beyond the price tag. Can you imagine the day, when man steps on the Moon again? I don't think any of us here were alive when that happened, and it seems wholly unfair that it hasn't happened in our lifetime. Now, can you imagine the day, when man steps on Mars?
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Originally Posted by Leonardo Da Vinci
For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long to return.
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How Obama could cut probably one of the most effective government programs that generates real science, real worth, and most of all,
real jobs is beyond me. Wall Street gets $700 billion. NASA can't get a slight increase of less than $1 billion. Not to mention the waste of throwing away four years of money and work discarding the program.
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Originally Posted by Professor S
Surprisingly, I'm all for this. NASA hasn't done squat in terms of manned flight in 30 years. I think if this is opened to private industry they will make far more leaps forward than NASA will (as long as the government makes it possible by supporting private investment through tax credits and limited regulation).
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That is completely unfair and personally, I think b.s. If you consider the ISS and Shuttle program to be not doing squat, then you are either ignorant of what they're doing or completely biased.
The only reason NASA stopped manned missions to the Moon is because of politics such as Obama's -- that is, lack of funding. The Apollo mission was a complete success. Congress cut the funds needed to finish the program. Big surprise.
And the only thing now stopping NASA from going to Mars is politics. It's harldy because NASA doesn't have the ability.
I'm all for private industry doing space exploration, but I don't think it means NASA has to stop. In fact, the private industry already does most of the work for NASA, through contracting. But to pretend that private industry based on what is economic can replace NASA with a focus not on the economic, but exploration and science for all mankind, is just wishful thinking.