Buzz Aldrin: Great American, gets it wrong

Aldrin: Let's stop and do some research.

Words cannot express how much I admire Buzz Aldrin. But…

He seems to think that America faced a choice of going to the moon or going to Mars, and wisely chose the latter. NASA’s new  course in space is allegedly to spend time and money doing research and finding the best way to send people to Mars.

Chemical rockets are slow, and have other shortcomings. There must be a better way—according to Aldrin and others. We will find that better way.

And maybe we will. But Buzz misses a key point. The choice isn’t whether we send people to the moon or to Mars.

It’s whether or not we send people anywhere. Because, once NASA stops building rockets and sending people into space, it’ll be difficult—maybe impossible—to ever get funding for it again. We’re giving up actually sending people into space and have decided to just research—theoretically—the best way to do it.

Aldrin is always saying about the moon: been there, done that. Well, he’s been there, but not too many others. And nobody’s been there since 1972 and nobody’s capable of getting there today.

I don’t think it’s about the destination. Either we’re sending people beyond earth orbit, or we’re not. Looks like we’re not.