Posted on 11/25/2018 3:05:13 PM PST by DFG
If you study the history of NASA’s Apollo program in the 1960s, one thing you come to realize is that the tight timetable to reach the moon by the end of the decade meant that NASA didn’t have time to ossify into a bureaucracy, and they did things (i.e., took risks) in those days that would never be permitted today.
But you knew NASA had slipped into the maw of the administrative state when President Obama told NASA administrator Charles Bolden in 2010 that “Muslim outreach” should be a primary mission for the space agency.
Well now it appears NASA doesn’t even want to go to Mars even if it could go to Mars. Gizmodo offers an account of recent panel discussion about Mars hosted by Lucianne Walkowicz, the NASA/Library of Congress Chair in Astrobiology, and you have to read this, not to believe it, because of course the real problem with going to Mars is that it would represents “colonialism.” No, seriously, that’s what the thinking is:
(Excerpt) Read more at powerlineblog.com ...
Bump
Estrogen-fueled emasculation.
If that truly is the mindset at the top, those leaders must, MUST be replaced asap. Otherwise nothing space-related will proceed as most the public expects. Get those progressive zealots out of there!
Is Mars mentioned in the Koran or in any of the hadith? If not, there would be no reason for NASA to take an interest in going there.
When the Congress started to treat NASA as just another pork barrel, space exploration became was still possible -- but the Demagogic Party and some RINOs wanted to dump all over President Reagan, so instead of Space Station Freedom, we wound up with the ISS, a ridiculously expensive overpriced budget-gobbling STS, and yet also the yeoman work done to get real science through via fractions of the NASA budget resulted in the Hubble telescope, planetary probes including Mars landers and unmanned lunar mapping missions. NASA is (finally) considering getting out of the launch biz and using competitive contractors instead of the $9000 toilet seat people. The ISS obsolescence was going to be moved out to 2028 (at which point parts would be nearly 30 years old), but that's looking less likely wiith the recent crises aboard the thing.
Reading between the lines, they do not want the United States to be in a position to gain any benefit from space exploration, unless most of the benefit goes to the Third World.
NASA needs a mass firing, and be completely replaced.
Before I knew him, my ex was part of the team that got Apollo 11 astronauts down safely. He was a WW2 fighter pilot and eternal GREAT Patriot.
I can only imagine the rate of spin in his grave.
Muslim outreach, what utter horseshit. That obama was a terrible president.
NASA went to pot when it started funding James Hansen to vilify CO2.
Leftists would rather spend all that money buying votes. The Democrats main constituency could care less about space exploration. Its a white thing I guess.
The USA needs satellites in orbit for various reasons including defense of American interest both in space and on Earth. Space telescopes are cool. Living on the Moon?! Phooy Bah Humbug. 21st century waste of time and money.
Hmmmm ... so Muslims are from space.
I think it goes back farther, back to the decision to focus on manned space flight after Apollo.
Personally, I date it to Bush 41, and the pushing of the ozone hole to help Dupont’s freshly patented Freon reformulation as the old patent was expiring.
When we got into the space truckin bidness the shuttle was a waste of time and money
Rapid downhill spiral began when they persecuted one of the German scientists for alleged war crimes and forced him to leave the US. NASA never recovered from that. They replaced the self-taught Germans with college ‘educated’ boys.
I think we'd be better served by re-engineering our orbital and lunar technology first. We need new thinking regarding launch designs, reentry, and orbital stations.
We need to be able to sustain a constant supply chain to one or more orbital platforms, as well as transport between orbital platforms.
And we need these new designs to be upgradeable as technology continues to advance.
All of this will increase our presence in orbital space beyond a dozen people at once. At some point, we should be able to sustain 100 or more people in space. Hopefully, this could lead the way to true space-based industry.
-PJ
Mars is a totally inhabitable planet. The technological challenges are huge and expensive to overcome.
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