BACK TO THE MOON — by Steve Nadis
Last year, President Bush had a vision: to put a man on the moon. A few days ago, NASA confirmed this vision with a plan for doing just that, putting a man on the moon by 2018. But the moon is, well, doggone far and getting a man (or woman) up there (on there?) is going to be pretty doggone hard, isn’t it? But wait a minute? Wasn’t some fellow named Armstrong messing around up there (on there?) back in 1969, almost 50 YEARS before NASA’s current target? Well, if we could do it once–or actually several times–we should be able to do it again, right? Maybe not. Back in the 1960s, NASA’s space program attracted some of the best minds in the country. The agency has come down more than a few pegs since then. But maybe, just maybe, we’ll be able to do what we did 50 years before. The key, the experts at NASA say, will be to use old-fashioned technology. In the meantime, “visionary” projects like this will drain money from scientific space missions that everyone knows yield far greater payoff.
But then again nobody cares about my visions. I say maybe we can get an airplane to fly again at Kitty Hawk. We missed the 100-year anniversary (which would have been 2003) but we can always shoot for 2053. Or at least we can dream…
Posted by in 13:59:00
And where the hell is my hover car?
I don’t get this (thick today) but that takes nothing away from the overall excellence of your comment.
Do you actually expect the same people who send people into space in a vehicle that is literally falling apart to be able to send them all the way to the moon? Just getting to the space station safely is a challenge. Going to the moon is fantasy.
Now THAT was funny! NASA’s and Bush’s new goal: Getting an airplane to fly again at Kitty Hawk. Perfect! Although, this time can we make sure Bush is at the controls and the plane crashes really, really hard? Oh, don’t worry about Cheney. As soon as he realizes he’s President, he’ll have a heart-attack.
Maybe OldRoses is right; aiming for the moon may be too high. Kitty Hawk, as Gatemouth suggests, might be an appropriate goal for NASA.