Dr. Shane Posted September 9, 2009 Share Posted September 9, 2009 Obama space panel says moon return plan is a no go White House panel of independent space experts says NASA's return-to-the-moon plan just won't fly. The problem is money. The expert panel estimates it would cost about $3 billion a year beyond NASA's current $18 billion annual budget. "Under the budget that was proposed, exploration beyond Earth is not viable," panel member Edward Crawley, a professor of aeronautics at MIT, told The Associated Press Tuesday. The report gives options to President Barack Obama, but said NASA's current plans have to change. Five years ago, then-President George W. Bush proposed returning astronauts to the moon by 2020. To pay for it, he planned on retiring the shuttle next year and shutting down the international space station in 2015. All those deadlines have to change, the panel said. Space exploration would work better by including other countries and private for-profit firms, the panel concluded. The panel had previously estimated that the current plan would cost $100 billion in spending to 2020. Former NASA associate administrator Alan Stern said the report showed the harsh facts that NASA's space plans had "a mismatch between resources and rhetoric." Now, he said, Obama faces a choice of "essentially abandoning human spaceflight" or paying the extra money. The panel, chaired by retired Lockheed Martin CEO Norman Augustine, includes executives, scientists and ex-astronauts. It posted a summary report Tuesday on both White House and NASA web sites. NASA can't get beyond low-Earth orbit without spending more, but space travel with astronauts is important, the panel found. That will cost an extra $3 billion a year and is "unquestionably worth it," Crawley said. The question is where to go. The Bush plan was to go to the moon, which would serve as a training ground for flights to Mars. The Augustine panel agreed Mars is the ultimate goal, but said going to the moon first is only one option and not the preferred one. Instead, the panel emphasized what it called a "flexible path" of exploring near-Earth objects such as asteroids, the moons of Mars, and then landing on the moon after other exploration. [text taken from link] Quote Pastoral Family Counselor... Find me at www.PostumCafe.com Author of Peculiar Christianity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted Oplinger Posted September 9, 2009 Share Posted September 9, 2009 Hmm...wonder what they have for a back-up plan. Having a base on the moon was the plan for assembling, fueling, and launching the larger space-craft needed to take teams to Mars. There was also the possibility of using moon resources. I guess the Russians and the Chinese will have to take the lead on this, as it seems our president appears quite determined to take the US space program down a few notches (I guess it's the "US won the race to the moon" apology...) Billions for auto unions, ACORN, and well-heeled financiers in the banking industry, but nothing for NASA. Priorities, priorities... Quote "As iron sharpens iron, so also does one man sharpen another" - Proverbs 27:17 "The offense of the cross is that the cross is a confession of human frailty and sin and of inability to do any good thing. To take the cross of Christ means to depend solely on Him for everything, and this is the abasement of all human pride. Men love to fancy themselves independent. But let the cross be preached, let it be made known that in man dwells no good thing and that all must be received as a gift, and straightway someone is offended." Ellet J. Waggoner, The Glad Tidings "Courage is being scared to death - and saddling up anyway" - John Wayne "The person who pays an ounce of principle for a pound of popularity gets badly cheated" - Ronald Reagan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators lazarus Posted September 9, 2009 Moderators Share Posted September 9, 2009 LOL, but if course if they were to make a recommendation to spend the money your response would again be priorities, priorities......"why spend so much money when"...... it's all good but it still funny. Quote Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocrities. The latter cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly submit to hereditary prejudices but honestly and courageously uses his intelligence. Einstein Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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