The recent approval of NASA’s 6 percent budget increase has taken a lot of flak in the political arena and the scientific community, but both groups, for one reason or another, fail to see the scope of President Bush’s vision for future space exploration.
The House of Representatives voted in favor of the budget increase 344 to 51, but some complained that the two-foot-thick stack of budget documents it came with gave them almost no time to review it thoroughly, according to Florida Today. NASA has been repeatedly given the congressional cold shoulder when it comes to lobbying for investments, but since Bush made his bold announcement that NASA would be getting all the help it needs, it seems that Congress is grudgingly and unwillingly supporting the measure. More than likely, members of Congress would much rather see that money go toward their annual salary increase and retirement pension (congressmen don’t use social security).
To make matters worse, many members of the scientific community are opposed to Bush’s agenda to put men back on the moon and then on Mars. “A stark financial and resource refocusing is underway at NASA in which robotic efforts will be planned less for pure science and more for supporting future human spaceflight,” said Space.com writer Robert Britt. In layman’s terms, scientists are upset because their brilliant robots and ingenious machines of science will be replaced in an unexpected twist of fate by astronauts bound for nearby planets rather than undiscovered ones. Understandably, they would like to see as much hard science per dollar spent as possible, but without anything tangible to show for their efforts, it’s going to be hard to demonstrate a need for a space program in the future. People just don’t get excited about space dust like they used to.
When Bush announced his plans for NASA he said, “Mankind is drawn to the heavens for the same reason we were once drawn into unknown lands and across the open sea. We choose to explore space because doing so improves our lives and lifts our national spirit.” In the shadow of a war, a space shuttle accident and terrorist attacks, one would think seeing an American on the moon again would give the United States something to smile about.
It is true that in the face of tragedy, people come together, but it doesn’t always have to be that way. Perhaps it has been forgotten that the great achievements of a handful of individuals can have the same if not greater effect.
Skepticism is a resource that is inexhaustible, but regardless of what the politicians and scientists think or say, the money being appropriated to NASA should be considered a sound investment. It will supplement the thousands of jobs that NASA has created and, in turn, it will spend more money which will bolster the economy. It will also seed the ingenuity and creativity of the NASA engineers with which the possibilities are endless. The space shuttles will once again be able to fly until they are decommissioned by their long overdue replacements, and America will once again lead the world in exploration.