[Notary Sojac]

The biggest problem I see is that for the last 25 years "manned space exploration" has consisted of flying over and over into LEO so that the "explorers" can twist some bolts on another piece of orbital hardware, or push the button to start an experiment showing how earthworms have sex in zero-G.

Not that our astronauts don't have skill and guts, I admire them and would ride up there with them in a second.

But "exploration" it ain't.

[buccaneer81]

But "exploration" it ain't.

You're absolutely right.

The forward momentum of the space program was killed by Nixon. If we had continued on with Apollo and then shifted into the next gear, we would have had a small (6 man) moonbase by 1985 and a manned Mars mission by 1995. After that, the future would have been wide open.