We Will Need Specifics to Evaluate Proposal [Gordon]
By REP. BART GORDON
As the brave astronauts of shuttle Discovery worked in space to continue our commitment to the International Space Station, it's an appropriate time to think about the future of America's space program.
Our space program is a source of pride, inspiration, knowledge, and innovation. It is worth supporting. Hundreds of thousands of Americans are working hard to maintain our preeminence in aerospace. They include people right here in Tennessee at the Arnold Engineering Development Center and other locales, and they all should be proud of what they have accomplished.
Getting beyond low Earth orbit is the right direction for the human exploration part of America's space program - whether by returning humans to the moon; visiting asteroids near Earth that could potentially come in contact with our planet; building large scientific telescopes millions of miles from Earth; or eventually continuing on to Mars and beyond.
We are a nation of explorers. In that regard, the specific destination and the timetable for reaching it are less important than having a clear understanding of what we want to accomplish when we get there, and what benefits the nation will gain from that exploration.
Base appears to offer promise
That's the context in which Congress will have to examine NASA's proposed new lunar base. Like our bases in Antarctica, a moon base appears to offer the promise of a research facility that could advance our knowledge, prepare the nation for future exploration and promote international cooperation in science and technology. And like our presence in Antarctica, it's strategically important for us to be on the moon, given other nations will eventually be there, too.
However, we will need more specifics from NASA and the President to fully evaluate the current moon base proposal for its value, feasibility and, of course, affordability. If a return to the moon is really the President's priority, he needs to come up with the funds required, not simply take money from NASA's other core missions and programs.
In 1958, NASA was established as an agency with multiple important missions. As a result, the nation has invested in significant R&D in aeronautics, Earth and space science, new technology development, and human space flight and exploration. Over the past four decades, each of these investments has delivered tangible benefits to our economy, workforce, and quality of life — not to mention to the nation's scientific enterprise. If now is the time to return to the Moon, there must be balance in the path forward so that we don't jeopardize these other important activities.
It's that balance that I will seek to broker in my position as the new Chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science — the committee that oversees NASA.
I will work to ensure that our space program advances knowledge that benefits each of us. Human space exploration to the moon and beyond can and should continue as an important part of our overall space program, but we will need to make sure that it is carried out efficiently, safely and in balance with NASA's other important missions.
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