[demlosers]

To infinity and beyond hehe...

[Brett66]

Yeah but, what about all that money we waste in space being used to....(insert favorite socialist agenda here)

[RoughDobermann]

"But, but, but.... What about all the problems here on Earth!!!"

[Moonman62]

The program itself will yield huge scientific breakthroughs that will also add to our economy's growing strength and diversity.

They said the same thing about the ISS. Now it's an admitted $100 billion mistake. But now we must ditch it and start a $1 trillion mistake.

[ambrose]

[mrsmith]

Ah, the finest tradition of America!

Takes me back to the first extraterritorial research the federal government funded:
"The United States Exploring Expedition, with six ships, was carried out under the command of Lieutenant Charles Wilkes (1798-1877). Authorization for the Expedition was signed into law by President Andrew Jackson on May 14, 1836 and the overall cost of the enterprise reached more than $900,000. The Expedition covered some 85,000 miles, carrying out scientific study and collecting in Latin America, Antarctica, the islands of the central Pacific, and the northwestern coast of North America."

Some links: THE LINDA HALL LIBRARY HISTORY OF SCIENCE COLLECTION
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTE LIBRARIES

A million dollars in 1836 for a four year trip by six ships to map currents and draw pictures of flora and fauna - wow that young country really thought they were Hot Stuff!

[qam1]

Forget Mars.

We should be heading toward Mercury. (Of course land on the poles where there isn't the temp extremes).

Unlike Mars we are sure there is already lots of water there, There is even hydrogen and oxygen in the Atmosphere so we can make fuel while there.

It's on average closer than Mars so we can get to and from it more often and easier. Being lighter it would be easier to blast off for the return trip.

And being so dense there is probably lots of valuable Heavy Metals unlike Mars which is basically just Rust.

[Digger]

In 1989, Mr. Bush's father, worrying about "this vision thing," also proposed a mission to the moon and Mars, but fiefdom battles in NASA, resistance in the Democratic Congress and a growing deficit killed the idea

So to substitute he make businesses spend Billions on the Americans for Disabilities Act. Yep, that's my kind of vision.