[ETL]

Democrat Rep Sheila Jackson Lee wants to know if Neil Armstrong's boots are still there.

Sheila Jackson Lee (Democrat!)
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
From Texas's 18th district

On a visit to the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 2005, Jackson Lee made embarrassing news by asking if the Mars Pathfinder had taken an image of the flag planted there in 1969 by Neil Armstrong.[2]

Prior to the 110th Congress, Jackson Lee served on the House Science Committee and on the Subcommittee that oversees space policy and NASA.

http://web.archive.org/web/20100409095818/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheila_Jackson_Lee

[PGR88]

Mars is just a refueling station for trips to Jupiter!

[Harpotoo]

No, it requires a one way only commitment:-)

[cuban leaf]

Obviously the first step is to figure out how to fold space. It’s easy peasy from there. :)

[UCANSEE2]

[Zuben Elgenubi]

like anti-cancer advances that could spring from tackling the threat posed by radiation in space.

Boy, there's a leap of faith.

[Buckeye McFrog]

"We have to have a vision that lasts more than one administration,"

Kind of hard to do that when you get an administration that thinks NASA's mission is to boost self-esteem among Muslims.

[Vendome]

Really?

And here I though it would be just a weekend trip....like going to Vegas.

Looking forward to going....Can’t wait to leave

[Boogieman]

Translation: we need lots and lots of money for many, many years, and don’t expect to see any actual results for a long time.

[plain talk]

Boots on the ground is cool... but REAL expensive. I would like to see an analysis of what next gen robots could do on Mars. The future of space exploration is machines not people. I would put resources on robots.

[onedoug]

We’ll never be able to discover if life rose or didn’t there until we put geologists on the ground.

[cdcdawg]

We can’t go to Mars, we have to take care of our vulnerables!

[DiogenesLamp]

Democrat Rep Sheila Jackson Lee wants to know if Neil Armstrong's boots are still there.

I assume that is a joke at her expense?

[Maceman]

By the time we’re ready to send astronauts to Mars, sex robot technology will probably be sufficient to ensure that no one on the early missions goes crazy because of physical deprivation.

[central_va]

All I want is a wall. Screw Mars.

[governsleastgovernsbest]

As soon as I saw the headline, I was wondering how long it would take for someone to post about SJL!

Good to see my fellow FReepers didn’t disappoint!

[Carriage Hill]

“...required — logistically and scientifically — to safely land humans on Mars.”

The first group - and maybe more groups - probably won’t be coming back.

[zeestephen]

We can send 25 highly sophisticated rovers and orbiters to Mars for less money than it costs to send one human spacecraft.

Interested in science and technology? Send robots.

Interested in adventure stories? Send Matt Damon.

Except for space tourism and rocket thrill rides, space travel will have no commercial value for many, many centuries.

In 2018, our job is to do basic research.

We can let future generations pay for the practical applications.

[PIF]

That panel sounds like the panel that took up Bush’s Moon to Mars plan. This ine will likely end the same ... in silence and ignominy ...