On Sun, 07 Sep 2003 23:20:56 GMT, "Steven D. Litvintchouk"
wrote:



Rusty Barton wrote:

On Sun, 07 Sep 2003 12:34:33 -0400, "Scott M. Kozel"
wrote:



Lost in Space: NASA Badly Needs a Mission That's Worth Dying For
http://www.timesdispatch.com/editori...BBM3JA7KD.html



"150-billion dollars for a suitcase full of red dust! Think of all the
things that could be done here on earth with that money!"


That's what stands between NASA and a Mars mission.

As the International Space Station (ISS) has shown, the U.S. isn't
averse to spending billions of dollars on a space project, even one of
dubious value like the ISS, so long as there is a perceived political
payoff.

In the case of the ISS, the Clinton administration cared less about it
being a space station than about it being an international
something-or-other. It became a demonstration of international
cooperation in space, and a way to flatter Yeltsin, and a way to employ
all those Russian engineers who we feared might make weapons instead.
So we not only went ahead with the ISS, we carried along the Russians
even though they had many delays and problems with their own part of the
project.

Therefore, one way to get a Mars mission started is for some President
to do an end-run around the Congress by first going to the U.N. and
lobbying the U.N. to authorize a Mars mission under U.N. auspices. Once
the U.N. is committed to going to Mars, Congress will go along rather
than be seen as dissing the U.N.. That ploy has worked before for
several U.S. presidents.

Unfortunatly the UN consists of 200 countries, and for a UN Mars
mission which countrys national is going to have the honour of being
the first person to step onto the martian surface? You could ignore
the wishes of the smaller nations, but the permanent members of the
security council and none menbers consist of richers and more powerful
countries i.e. Would America allow a French astronaut to be the first
or vice versa.


Christopher
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
"Kites rise highest against
the wind - not with it."
Winston Churchill