Everything

by Christopher Brouse

Virginia Tech — Obama released his new budget which included canceling all future manned missions to the moon and mars. A lot of people would probably say that NASA is dying anyway, which is terrible because of everything that they do. The reason I’m angry at Obama is three-fold:

1) Obama claims that the only way to save America from spiraling into a depression from our already deep recession is to increase innovation (something that I agree with). Yet, his hypocrisy stands as he shoots down the single best innovator in the nation. Looking at NASA’s history we can see that many of our modern conveniences come from developed NASA technology. Look simply at ONE mission, and exclude all the other work that NASA has done since its inception. In this case, I chose the Apollo mission. The technology that was created from that includes: smaller (modern) computers, synthetic fibers that are used in clothing, and water filtration. (These are my favorite three from a huge list [see http://www.sti.nasa.gov/tto/apollo.htm for more]). Now imagine all of the rockets that NASA has made and how many other unnamed contributions they have created. While over a long period the funding for NASA is expected to increase, a majority of that money is going specifically toward developing “in-orbit fueling”. Which, may not yield the same technological advancements as building a rocket, like the Apollo. Many of the developments that have come from NASA come from designing around an issue, specifically keeping humans alive and comfortable in space.

2) Obviously, all the people working on the Ares rockets (the ones scheduled to go to the moon/mars) probably lost their jobs, and anyone who would make parts for the rocket (e.g.: manufacturers) won’t be getting paid. For someone who claims to be trying to preserve jobs he is throwing away an awful lot of them. Even state officials (of several states) are worried about the jobs being lost. Think also, indirectly. All of NASA’s suppliers are going to take a hit and may also have to increase lay-offs. Some 7,000 jobs are expected to be lost.

3) We just found WATER ON THE MOON. After crashing a rocket into an isolated region NASA discovered 24 gallons of water. Water is a valuable resource in space for two reasons. Humans need water to sustain life. Also, water is a necessary component of rocket fuel. In my personal opinion, we should be investing more money into manned moon flights so that we can establish a colony. If the government doesn’t, then hopefully a corporation will (which would still be terrible because then aforementioned corporation would have grounds to stake a claim on the land they settle on); otherwise, we are wasting a valuable resource. Right now it looks like Obama is handing the future of space travel over to the private industry.

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