[Strategerist]

Now let's get that submarine probe to Europa

Nah, it's far more important and interesting to ship people back and forth to the International Space Station and have them pick their noses or do whatever it is they do up there.

[dhuffman@awod.com]

You beat me to it. It is for this ISS dog-and-pony show that we gave up the SCSC. PHUI

Either we are equal or we are not. Good people ought to be armed where they will, with wits and guns. NRA KMA

[Erasmus]

Headline:

Research into zero-gravity nosepicking produces unexpected scientific fallout

[Unmarked Package]

"Nah, it's far more important and interesting to ship people back and forth to the International Space Station and have them pick their noses or do whatever it is they do up there."

LOL!

I'll give you an abbreviated explanation and justification that NASA Administrator Michael Griffin has said in the past about the value of ISS for future manned missions to Mars. Please don't shoot the messenger.

It's NASA's position that we don't currently have the knowledge necessary to survive in space on a manned mission to Mars and back with an extended stay on the surface and can't get that knowledge without a manned, zero-G laboratory to run the necessary long term experiments. The ISS is a critical first step to get the knowledge required for future manned missions and outposts on Mars and the Moon. Now, if you don't think manned space exploration is important it doesn't mean much, but it's one critical justification for the ISS.

The Columbia accident delayed the completion of ISS long past the original plan and only recently did they return to a full three-person crew on ISS.

The real science onboard ISS has suffered in the delayed schedule but that will change very soon. Construction of ISS is going full speed ahead now. The Europeans will have their Columbus research module added to ISS this year and the Japanese Kibo research modules start going up in December, 2007. By the way, the Japanese have some really impressive science facilities planned for ISS.

The ISS is doing some real science now, but it has been a PR event to a large extent since the Columbia accident, but not due to lack of planned research activities. We'll soon see a full crew of six researchers aboard ISS with very little time to pick their noses, at least not caught on camera I hope. :-)