Curious Cautionary Caveat on NASA Future Mission Artwork

Mars Today ^ | 3/4/04 | Keith Cowing

[LibWhacker]

Curious Cautionary Caveat on NASA Future Mission Artwork

Keith Cowing
Thursday, March 04, 2004

Editor's note: Why do virtually all of the images in this NASA Human Spaceflight website gallery of exploration concepts still have this cautionary caveat attached to them? This would seem to leave the impression with visitors to the website that NASA is still unsure of what the President has charged them to do. Indeed these words of caution often outnumber the words used to describe what concepts and activities the image portrays.

"Note: NASA currently has no formal plans for a human expedition to Mars or the Moon. This image and others displayed may not reflect the hardware and overall concept of possible visits to either of those celestial bodies. However, the art work represented here serves as a comprehensive study of various concepts and ideas developed as possibilities over a period of years. The renderings were accomplished by NASA and/or NASA-commissioned artists."

[LibWhacker]

Could be wrong, but I don't think it's paranoia to say that, as with most agencies in the Federal gov't, there are plenty of clintonoid hangover obstructionists at NASA waiting to throw a wrench in the works at the first opportunity. We've gotta get them out of there before we begin any serious work on sending men to Mars.

[Prime Choice]

The caveat is in place because a lot of people these days have a penchant for taking things out of context and claiming something exists when it doesn't. This is especially true of things relating to NASA.

If you doubt this, just do a Google search on the "face on Mars" and "Lunar landing hoax."

Because of NASA's work in outer space, anything it produces tends to be flypaper for freaks.

[stevie_d_64]

Well...Look at it like this...

Formal plans are brought together by informal and under the radar conceptual type work...That is being done right now...I know this because I know some of the people doing this work now...

There is a lot more to getting us back to the moon or Mars on big ole spaceships and landers and rovers and all that...

The logistics of supporting a single human being (regardless of the gender, race or religious background etc etc blah blah blah...)

We pretty much know how to do it already...Its getting it all together into a workable program that takes a while...

Just to get the original posters issue with the disclaimers on these images...I wouldn't let it bother you that much...Artwork is just that...Art...

Anyway...Its going to take a ton of money and then some to at least get something on the pad and off to Mars...Thats the big secret...Or is it...

I believe the science and engineering to accomplish this task will be done as it always has been done...

I think what will get us back on the moon and off to Mars is private corporate support, and the risk management from that community to make it a success...

But I can tell you one thing...Whatever is said here has been addressed as far as the issue of how we sell it to Joe Q. Citizen...And thats what the artwork is all about...How it is captioned is not really how we should percieve how they are going about making it happen...

Later,
Steve

[NaughtiusMaximus]

If Kerry is elected they'll have to dump the single female astronaut and replace her with a happily married gay couple. Won't that be just fabulous?