Something Exciting in Space

We’ve been told that NASA will launch an exciting mission, sending astronauts to land on an asteroid. Nobody’s excited. Why not?

The “plan” has no destination (which of the thousands of asteroids?), no deadline (uh, maybe 2020…but who knows?), no launch vehicle and spacecraft (they’re talking about quickly building and designing a new heavy launch vehicle…but nobody’s saying how that really fits into the “asteroid” plan)…and worst of all, no serious guaranteed budget to pull program that could culminate in a manned mission to an asteroid.

In short, I don’t take it seriously. And I think those who do are naive. (Though, I really, REALLY hope they’re right and I’m wrong!)

But people don’t join NASA to work on imaginary missions or to play politics with the budget. NASA people—engineers, managers, and others—want to do great things. Some already do, even under current restraints. We’ve had a stream of sensational unmanned missions. And the shuttle program was a technical challenge and an impressive success—but endless earth orbital missions can be—let’s face it—ultimately boring. Been there. Done that.

Something Astounding WILL Happen

An American robot on the moon?

Even though the asteroid mission seems like never-never land, somebody—possible NASA—will do something sensational in space.

Two imaginative and daring plans were brewed (unofficially) in the NASA skunk works. One idea: land a humanoid robot on the moon. This is cheaper than sending a man, avoids the possible pitfall of redundancy, and highlights advances in robots…and the potential. Yeah, the robot would be a surrogate for a human being—but one you would find unforgettable. (The Japanese came up with the same idea.)

The other recently revealed NASA idea is to send people—lots of them—on a one-way mission “out there” somewhere. In other words, start the human race on a project to start colonies in space. It sounds like science fiction, and I’m sure would run into huge objections if it went anywhere—but it IS exciting, demonstrates imagination, and would require technical advances. And someday humans WILL need to expand beyond earth. Why not start planning now?

If Not NASA, Who?

Private companies and other countries could also end up doing something exciting. For example, China may be working it’s way towards a manned moon landing. They’ve had few manned flights, and they’ve been widely spaced. But there program seems methodical and each flight seems more advanced than the last. Furthermore, they may be building a launch vehicle capable of sending astronauts (China calls its astronauts “taikonauts”) around the moon.

Private companies have potential. Surely, the sub-orbital passenger flights by Virgin Galactic should be interesting…for awhile. But what about other ideas, like space hotels?

There are a lot of companies and countries and many possible projects. Which will happen? Which will fail. All I can say is: I’m more than ready for a really exciting space adventure. ASAP.