It's been over 50 years since Americans have walked on the moon and it looks like it's going to be a few years more before it happens again. In a post-modern display of incompetence the current schedule of rocketing fragile humans to the lunar surface and back is being postponed until 2027. The ideas behind NASA's super project are here.
While those of us standing in the yard looking at a full moon on the evening of July 20, 1969 were amazed and proud that Americans had safely reached a place outside the earth's atmosphere, the novelty has worn off. It would have been nice if a large flare or strobe light had been made visible but we took their word for it.
There's really no connection between moon landings and the launching and use of satellites for communication and scientific research. People like Elon Musk, with a desire to move on to Mars are welcome to do so on their own dime but the rest of us are unlikely to enjoy any real benefits from their efforts. Of course, the Neo-Whigs enthusiastically point out the many benefits from the publicly financed space program trickle down to the consumer but those advantages could just as easily be produced more cheaply by directed research and development. There are genuine problems here on earth that need to be solved. Perhaps, since this is a "democratic" society, a vote needs to be taken to determine if the population wants vacations on Mars at some time in the distant future more than they do research on Alzheimer's disease, cancer and teen crime.
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