[NonZeroSum]

Maybe this will be the wake-up call we need for sensible space policy.

[Hegewisch Dupa]

bump fer later

[Frank_Discussion]

One would hope...

[marron]

Whoever leads in the development of space technologies is going to own the next century. If that is someone other than the US, we will take our place on the shelf of has-been countries right next to Britain.

Right now the competition is still fairly open. Any country, or company, willing to invest at the right point can leapfrog its way to a place in the sun, ahead of all of us.

But space technology is never really going to take off, or bear fruit, until it opens up to private actors, companies, investors, entreprenuers. And that isn't going to happen until some mission brings home some interesting core samples from some neighboring body.

I envision a two-track program as being the best we can do. A slow track, as we slowly develop the technologies for maintaining a permament human presence in orbit, and hopefully very soon on the moon, and improving the technologies for the heavy lifting into orbit, and higher speed propulsion.

In parallel, we should be developing the robots that will bring back the core samples from the Moon, from Mars, from the near asteroids. It will just take a couple of interesting samples to blow the lid off this thing.

Until that happens, it will take government money to seed the research. If we don't do it, someone else will, and our grandkids will be working for them. Probably washing their cars, and cleaning their houses.

[KevinDavis]

We don't need robots to do all of the exploration. I agree for more privatization of space exploration. There is a lot of companies that want to do it. If we don't get off our collective butts and stop worrying about the here and now and start worrying about the future, America will become a second rate nation.

[demosthenes the elder]

very good. someone has noticed the elephant.

[Man of the Right]

I agree with the author's key point: time to decide space exploitation/exploration goals. I would add by society, not just the NASA lobby.

Astronomical distances, technology, and lack of public support render the current program fantastical.

[NonZeroSum]

Ping.

[discostu]

While I'm not against robotic exploration we must keep in mind that it's not the goal. The goal of space exploration has to be to get enough PEOPLE off the rock for human civilization to continue without earth. There's a mathimatical certainty that eventually earth will cease to be habitable, could be a rock (which happens periodically), could be pole reversal (which happens periodically), could be the sun stops being our friend (which happens eventually); if we're still stuck on the rock when that day comes all of our accomplishments amount to zero. Robotic exploration could accelerate exploration, but we must never forget that eventually we not only have to send people we need to send a lot of them.

[jimkress]

NASA is an anachronism, a dinosaur.

You want safe, cost effective space travel? Commercialize space exploration. Get rid of NASA and the associated onerous government regulations on space flight by private companies/ individuals..

Space is a place, not a program.