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It surprises me that already NASA is in a shuffle to reallocate its
funds. More than surprising, actually, I find it disappointing and
frightening. While I do defend the idea of sending a manned mission to
Mars (the ultimate goal of this new announcement, as I understand it), I
did not realize that this announcement would immediately stimulate
action. I thought perhaps a thoughtful debate (like ours?) would take
place first.

Why is NASA shuffling now?

I am reminded of a conversation I had about half a year ago with an
astronaut who vaguely told me that manned mission to Mars was "not a
priority with the current administration" when I asked if he thought it
would occur in his lifetime or mine. Do you think it's possible that
NASA was waiting for an opportunity - an excuse, if you like - to start
working on such an immense project?

Finally, to set the record straight, I did not mean to suggest that
GWB's announcement meant that he had the vision of JFK. Rather, I was
pointing out that the ASTC listserv community seems to be particularly
negative on humans in space again. For me, it's not a political argument
(i.e. "this will go away when there's a new president"), perhaps because
I'm still hoping that it doesn't have to be. Sure, the announcement was
politically motivated. But I might be willing to live with that if the
end results are unimaginable advances for science and technology in the
first half of the 21st century.

Bill

Bill Watson
Education Director
Gulf Coast Exploreum Science Center
Mobile, AL
(251) 208-6851

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