Bush: Missions to Mars, Moon permanent space station

[trailergod]

wow... this i like... finally

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...d=544&ncid=716

WASHINGTON - President Bush (news - web sites) will announce plans next week to send Americans to Mars and establish a permanent human presence on the moon, senior administration officials said Thursday night.

Bush won't propose sending Americans to Mars anytime soon; rather, he envisions preparing for the mission more than a decade from now, one official said.

In addition to proposing the first trip to the moon since December 1972, the president wants to build a permanent space station there.

Three senior officials said Bush wants to aggressively reinvigorate the space program, which has been demoralized by a series of setbacks, including the space shuttle disaster last February that killed seven astronauts.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Bush's announcement would come in the middle of next week.

Bush has been expected to propose a bold new space mission in an effort to rally Americans around a unifying theme as he campaigns for re-election.

Many insiders had speculated he might set forth goals at the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers' famed flight last month in North Carolina. Instead, he said only that America would continue to lead the world in aviation.

Earlier, White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters traveling with Bush in Florida that the president would make an announcement about space next week, but he declined to give details.

It was the Columbia tragedy that helped force a discussion of where NASA (news - web sites) should venture beyond the space shuttle and international space station. The panel that investigated the Columbia accident called for a clearly defined long-term mission — a national vision for space that has gone missing for three decades.

House Science Committee spokeswoman Heidi Tringe said lawmakers on the panel "haven't been briefed on the specifics" of the plan but expected an announcement.

Rep. Ralph Hall, R-Texas, a member of the House Science Committee, said he welcomed the move because he has tried to get the president more interested in space exploration.

"I had the feeling the last 2 1/2 years people would rather make a trip to the grocery store than a trip to the moon because of the economy," Hall said. "As things are turning around, we need to stay in touch with space" and the science spinoffs it provides.

Engineers would have to build new spacecraft for the trips to and from the moon and Mars. If the Apollo-style mission design was adopted, there would also be the need for landing craft that would undock from the mother ship and touch down to the moon or Mars.

go to link to read the rest of the news article

[blugh]

Hm. This is probably the first Bush initiative that I completely 100% support.

[Borgtex]

Bush promoting the research of knowledgement? There's something strange here...

[discostu]

Originally posted by blugh
Hm. This is probably the first Bush initiative that I completely 100% support.

.......me too :big grin:

[corfy]

All I can say is, "It's about time."

I have been waiting all my life to see a person walk on the moon (one of the hazzards of being born 3 years after the last moonwalk), and I have been wanting to see a person walk on Mars as well.

I always thought that the original moonwalk should have been a beginning, not an end. Now, it looks like it will finally be the beginning it was meant to be.

Bring it on!:big grin:

I just want to know how long it will be before we are vacationing on the moon.

[Jake]

Mars is unrealistic but the moon might be a move in the right direction.

and discostu, the big difference between the "beloved" Clinton (who was the first one to screw our economy) and Bush is that when we're really being attacked Bush is willing to do something about it


Anyway, this won't happen for a LONG time, the Saturn 5 cannot be used as its costs are astronomical, there is no engine that can get us there and really nothing to do there once we get there, the ENTIRE US space program would have to be completely overhauled and the new generation of scientists doesn't have a clue about what to do. THen you consider the risk factor such as the US will not allow for an American to die in space (the biggest problem behind the Gemini program) and basically this isn't happening for the next 20 years. And we can't just abandon the MArs missions many of which are en route and the ISS which is in a decaying orbit and the Space Shuttle Program which by itself needs overhauling

[SharkmanSIX]

I dunno guys? Mars? Sounds dangerous, I was watching this documentary and there was this tornado and it went WOOSH! and it blew this guys head off and then this rock hit this other person. In the face! And there was this other one with this robot, and it killed this dude and then Tom Sizemore got attacked by aliens... and he blew them up.

[aS!Dz]

This news makes me want to watch "Red Planet" agen

and i bet one of them gona use the famous quote from mr kilmer.. " FCUK THIS PLANET "

[Gaumont]

Total waste of money. The cost of sending up people is A LOT higher than sending up probes. And the scientific benefits of having a human there is minimal. So best way is to keep sending robots up. The cost of sending up food and water is enourmous.

Considering how the economy is in US, and how big social economics problems they have. The money should be spend on better things.

[Jake]

then again it's efforts like this that bring more money, improve the economy and inspire people for generations to come. Once again, this should be humanity's endevour not just an American one.

[amr.ramadan]

That's a nice election propaganda. The man knows how to fool people right.

[Jake]

so basically everyone that proposes something new is trying to get reelected?

Don't forget, this idea has been floating around for some time

[corfy]

Originally posted by Jake
Don't forget, this idea has been floating around for some time

Yeah, since before we walked on the moon the first time.

I don't think this is just a reelection gimmick. There are too many people who believe that the space program is a waste of money, despite the fact that if all of the money from the space program were diverted to Social Security and Medicare, the money would last approximately 10 days, which either shows how little we are spending on the space program or how much we are spending on Social Security and Medicare.

[enkydu]

I think it's a great idea. I was surprised Clinton didn't suggest something like this.

Even if it's not 100% feasible, the US gov't is the only entity in the world that has the financial capabilities to accomplish something like this without potentially bankrupting itself. The technological advancements that we could gain as a society would be worth the money spent.

I hope that this continues to get a lot of press. Republicans, unfortunately, often times don't get excited about stuff like this so there's a chance that this may fizzle out if people don't jump on board.