There’s a lot of media buzz about President Bush’s supposed upcoming announcement about another manned venture to the moon. Today’s “Lou Dobbs Tonight” had a representative cable news segment with a couple interesting highlights:
KING: The administration review includes setting a target for retiring the shuttle fleet, a plan to phase out the International Space Station, picking a new space vehicle for manned flights, debating the costs and benefits of a permanent moon base, and developing a proposal for a mission to Mars.
NASA is urgently debating and refining proposals. And Vice President Cheney is consulting key members of Congress.
SEN. SAM BROWNBACK (R), KANSAS: Great countries need to have visions to pull them on forward.
KING: The last moon flight was 31 years ago, December 1972. Sources tell CNN, NASA’s target for returning to the moon is about 15 years from now.
Fifteen years from now? Why might it take so long? As I recall, in the 1960’s they met Kennedy’s goal of making the initial moon mission in under a decade. Now that we’ve already done it, why should it take longer to do it again? I thought production times were supposed to speed up with experience.
BROWNBACK: You’ve got the Chinese now going into space and saying that they’re interested in going to the moon. We don’t want them really to beat us to the moon. And, instead, we’d rather be there and be able to develop the resources, the areas, the sweet spots for observation.
Beat us to the moon? Uh, Senator . . . haven’t we already been there? Or do we need to set up a moon military base for it to count?