Pretty soon you will be seeing Exxon, Pepsi, Champion, Castrol, Stayfree, Kotex stickers on the side of planetary probes.
maybe it’s a good idea. i dunno.
Seems to me Cameron and his 3-D offer was the first push down that slippery slope.
Actually, I could see the NASCAR approach to funding space exploration. After a mission is complete, the astronauts could have press conferences the way that NASCAR drivers do (”Yeah, this is a great rocket, and our groud crew was just awesome...”). Hmmmm, and Ares rocket covered in sponsor logos. Heck, I would pony-up some cash to have my name on the side of a NASA rocket.