[extropy-chat] White House is hoping to renew space intrigue

Giu1i0 Pri5c0 gpmap at runbox.com
Sat Dec 6 08:52:53 UTC 2003


>From the International Herald Tribune: The Bush administration is developing
a new strategy for the U.S. space program that would send American
astronauts back to the moon for the first time in more than 30 years,
according to administration and congressional officials who said the plan
also included a manned mission to Mars. A lunar mission - possibly
establishing a permanent base there - is the focus of high-level White House
discussions on how to reinvigorate the space program following the space
shuttle Columbia accident this year, said the officials, who spoke on
condition of anonymity. NASA, along with other agencies, has been providing
the administration with information about these long-term objectives," said
Robert Jacobs, a spokesman for the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration.
NASA officials met in Washington this week as part of a national space
policy review prompted by the Columbia disaster, which killed all seven
astronauts aboard. While officials stressed that the White House had yet to
sign off on a specific plan, they said President George W. Bush was expected
soon to unveil a strategy that would include manned missions to the moon and
to Mars. The idea is to motivate NASA engineers and researchers by aiming to
explore deeper reaches of space than the current shuttle fleet is capable of
visiting. Vice President Dick Cheney recently met with members of Congress
to discuss the proposals, the officials said.
NASA officials and space specialists increasingly believe that recent
American human space flight activities - particularly the delayed and costly
construction of the International Space Station - do not push the envelope
enough to motivate researchers and engineers or spark the kind of public
fascination with space that was generated by the first missions to the moon.
A challenge to go back to the moon and reinvigorate the space flight program
would be welcomed by the public.
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