Bush's Mars Plan Attacked - It's just pie in the sky to the foreign press.

Slate ^ | January 20, 2004 | Carl Schrag

[Cincinatus' Wife]

(AFP/Tim Sloan)

Can anybody be surprised that most of the world's papers were less than impressed by President Bush's plans for a manned mission to Mars? While the thrill of interplanetary exploration makes for a hot election-year topic at home, much of the foreign press saw it as rocket-fueled American imperialism.

Characterizing a roundup of United Arab Emirates residents' views on Bush's latest policy announcement, the Gulf News said, "[P]resident Bush is promising the moon—quite literally—but people are skeptical about the plan being realized, and call it just another 'political gimmick' designed to uphold US supremacy and resume the space race."

Other voices in the Middle East were less charitable. The Palestinian Authority's Al-Hayat Al-Jadidah practically sneered: "The U.S. is preparing for the invasion of Mars and other planets. ... What are the other planets chosen for the US invasion? Are they an axis of planetary evil?" (Arabic translation courtesy of BBC Monitoring.)

Ridicule of Bush's plans wasn't limited to the Arab world. A columnist in the Age of Australia envisioned the day, not too far in the future, when American astronauts will traverse the rusty red rockscape—"so our scientists will be able to verify the existence of Martian rocks." As for the tremendous price tag affixed to the project? Not to worry. If it doesn't get spent on travel to Mars, it'll go for bombs and freeways, not education and health care. And what tangible impact will such an undertaking have on the future of the world? "A human trip to Mars is about as useful as a surfing trip to the Dandenongs."

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Interesting mix.

[cripplecreek]

they couldnt hit the broad side of a barn if they were locked inside.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

I've read more on this than you could imagine. And I suggest everyone calm down and listen to people who aren't carping because their program is in question or getting hysterical because the Sagan/Golden/Clinton era is over. Now is the time to get behind Bush and help propel NASA out of the hole it dug. As they say, all ships will rise with this tide.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

they couldnt hit the broad side of a barn if they were locked inside.

I'm going to remember that one.

[cripplecreek]

yup.

[tet68]

Other voices in the Middle East were less charitable. The Palestinian Authority's Al-Hayat Al-Jadidah practically sneered: "The U.S. is preparing for the invasion of Mars and other planets. ... What are the other planets chosen for the US invasion? Are they an axis of planetary evil?" (Arabic translation courtesy of BBC Monitoring.)

Of course the question the brilliant arabs should be asking
themselves is," What kind of people are these that Allah
would allow them to travel to other planets, but not allow
arabs to do so?"

Guess critical thinking isn't a strong suit with them.
Oh that's right, not allowed.

[Bars4Bill]

PASA.

[taxed2death]

"We" shouldn't go to mars. "We have robots that can do it easier, and cheaper. Here goes GWB again, spending more money "We" don't have. Just put some better cameras on the next few Mars rovers and save billions....

"We" feel our tax burden is quite high enough, thank you.

What price for Tang, and Teflon?

"We" are being bled to death for a gub-mint jobs program for white coller workers........

I cannot afford any more "compassionate conservatism".....I'm broke already... :(

[marron]

Bush's "plan" signifies the end of the once-glorious American Manned Space Program.

I have the same concern. Even if this weren't Bush's intention it could be the result as future congresses start putting their stamp on future budgets.

Frankly $200 million is nothing. A billion dollars is nothing if you are serious about doing this. We could be on Mars for the cost of a couple of months in Baghdad, and its not an either-or thing, both are do-able. And its not really optional, in my mind.

The country that masters space technology is the only country that is going to matter in the decades going forward. The primary purpose of going back to the Moon is not moon rocks, although they are missing a good bet if they don't take the opportunity to drill some core samples. The purpose in going is the development of the technology. A three-day voyage is a sea-trial for what it takes to go farther. The development of the technologies of a permanent moon base has direct application to the same technologies for the mobile base that will make the two-year round trip to Mars.

And the purpose in going to Mars is not just to bring back more rocks, it is again to develop the technology to go farther yet. Although again, we would be fools if we didn't do some thorough seismic mapping of the Martian subsoils. And get some more core samples.

The purpose in going is to develop the capacity for going, because the country that does that leads, and the others follow along behind. Its not the rocks, its the skills.

[Joe Anybody]

I speak democrat... I can translate:

"must not let GWB demonstrate leadership"

"must not let GWB communication vision"

"must not let GWB speak of things that might cause patriotism becasue it can only lead to ethnocentrism which makes it hard to convince other americans that we are vile"

"must not let GWB offend the rest of the world by demontrating that they are challenged in Olympics and space travel"

[orionblamblam]

> The shuttle program will be ended with no replacement.

WOO HOO!!!! The Shuttle is a disaster, and needs to be killed dead forever permanently, and take to the grave all similar concepts. A reusable payload shroud? Monstrously silly.

> The ISS will be turned over to the Russians

WOO HOO!!!! The ISS is another disaster. Scientifically useless and in the wrong fargin' orbit. Let the Russians have it.

> The "pie in the sky" is not adequately funded.

Horsepuckey. NASA'a funding level *today* is adequate for a steady manned Moon/Mars program that takes about a decade to get men to the Moon... just cut off the financial sinkhole of Shuttle and ISS. Unlike Apollo, the bulk of expendature - developing the Saturn V and orbital rendezvous techniques - does not need to be done; Shuttle-derived vehicles such as Shuttle-C, Shuttle Z or Magnum could be developed at a small fraction of Saturn's cost... and we already know how to do orbital rendezvous. We could even go back to the Moon with Atlas V's and/or Delta IV's.


Shuttle was going to die relatively soon anyway. The design is already 30 years old, fabulously expensive, and serves no purpose that could not be better served with an orders-of-magnitude cheaper launch system. Better to have a planned end for Shuttle than to continue to run the program until the next one fails catastrophically, and NASA is simply killed.

[Zeroisanumber]

Considering what has come out of the space program (velcro, microwaves, cell phones, and TANG) it's more like an investment than throwing good money after bad.

[orionblamblam]

> We have robots that can do it easier, and cheaper.

We do? We have robots that can inspire? That can give children dreams of going themselves and thus the inspiration for getting a better education? Robots that can have babies on a new world and create new civilizations?

Wow.

Do we have fembots? I'd like to get an estimate on a fembot.

[pfflier]

Wait, wait, wait. I live in the United States of America.

Number one: I do not care what euroweenies think.

Number two: Euroweenies have displayed an exceptional ability to secure failure from success in many arenas for centuries.

Number three: I do not appreciate anyone who engages in bath avoidance or who eats snails expressing an opinion about me, my country or our President.

My advise to euroweenies is to buy American.

[Phil V.]

If you'd like to be on or off this MARS ping list please freep me

[Cold Heat]

LOL!

Eurotrash, Democrats, Dogcrap...............It is all the same to me!

[KellyAdmirer]

They won't find it quite so farcical after we establish our next penal colony for terrorists on Phobos.

[yoe]

Well it isn't "pie-in-the-sky" to science and math teachers as they know what a renewed effort at NASA means to students and teachers alike. I haven't the impressive list of innovative inventions that have come from space exploration and the science to get there. If someone has it, I wish they would post it.

”Can anybody be surprised that most of the world's papers were less than impressed by President Bush's plans for a manned mission to Mars?”

No! because most people are still centuries behind in innovations; however, there was a time before America, when great things were discovered in the known world, starting around the 15th century and we still benefit from those inventions/discoveries today. People who laugh or ridicule attempts at progress are shortsighted.