Posted on 03/01/2006 7:09:18 PM PST by lauriehelds
Some of the most highly promoted missions on NASA's scientific agenda would be postponed indefinitely or perhaps even canceled under the agency's new budget, despite its administrator's vow to Congress six months ago that not "one thin dime" would be taken from space science to pay for President Bush's plan to send astronauts to the Moon and Mars.
The cuts come to $3 billion over the next five years, even as NASA's overall spending grows by 3.2 percent this year, to $16.8 billion.
Among the casualties in the budget, released last month, are efforts to look for habitable planets and perhaps life elsewhere in the galaxy, an investigation of the dark energy that seems to be ripping the universe apart, bringing a sample of Mars back to Earth and exploring for life under the ice of Jupiter's moon Europa — as well as numerous smaller programs and individual research projects that astronomers say are the wellsprings of new science and new scientists.
The agency's administrator, Michael D. Griffin, says NASA needs the money to keep the space shuttle fleet aloft, complete the International Space Station and build a new crew exploration vehicle to replace the shuttle.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
They axed JIMO, Mars sample return, and the Terrestrial Planet Finder??? Wha???
Noooooooo :(
Sad ping
When reported a month ago the reaction was: so, what's that. There is zero interest in finding habitable planets.
The look for habitable planets is not a SETI type thing at all but a gigantic space telescope that would be able to image earthsize planets around other stars directly.
If there's one place in the solar system where life exists, I'd imagine it would be on Europa.
I'd imagine it would be Earth. < /deadpan >
I'd imagine it would be Earth. < /deadpan >
What in God's name would lead you to such a ludicrous conclusion??
Um, "ALL THESE WORLDS ARE YOURS EXCEPT EUROPA...."
Good point!
Beware of the cat:)
"Who, me?"
If you think the budget cuts are bad now, just wait until the boomers start retiring and voting to maintain and increase their current benefits. Those selfish fools have run up $8 trillion in debt, to be paid by the grandchildren. So what's a few more trillion? So what if we lose the space race? The important thing is that gramps makes his tee-off time and gets his cocktail of drugs.
Maybe the chinese will give an American a token ride to Mars 50 years from now, if they can find one that isn't obese or dumb as a load of bricks. Probably not.
If the US would withdraw from the 1967 UN Outer Space Treaty and open a land office for registration of property claims this country would take off so fast and go so far that the rest of the dumb world would wonder where we went.
As opposed to interest in Astronauts circling the earth in the Internation Space Station...doing what? Scratching themselves?
There is pretty much zero interest in space development aside from commsats and tourism, neither of which involve development of celestial resources. There is zero interest in NASA, and nobody is even aware that NASA was going to be looking for new habitable worlds, which doesn't matter anyway since the 1967 Treaty would prohibit development of new planets if found.
They gave up the dominion of the world; we have given up dominion of the Solar System. And for what? For an empire of debt.
"an investigation of the dark energy that seems to be ripping the universe apart"
"Dark energy" might not exist, scientists say
World Science | Feb. 14, 2006 | some geek who doesn't have a Valentine
Posted on 02/28/2006 1:17:49 PM EST by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1587112/posts
"efforts to look for habitable planets"
Optical Device Cancels Starlight So Astronomers Can See Distant Planets
University of Arizona | 02/28/06 | Lori Stiles
Posted on 03/01/2006 7:07:08 PM EST by KevinDavis
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1588117/posts
"bringing a sample of Mars back to Earth"
ill-advised.
"NASA needs the money to keep the space shuttle fleet aloft"
Cancel US support for the ISS. Problem solved. Or, stop flying the STS, and use the money to develop (or redevelop) heavy lift capability to complete the ISS in a more economical manner (but hardly on schedule).
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