Our View
By:
Shandra Jordan
Patrick Crossland
J.J. Babb
Christopher J. Ortiz
President Bush’s new plan for NASA asks for the space agency to
reorganize by retiring the shuttle program by 2010, launch a manned
mission to the moon between 2015 and 2020 and to build a permanent
lunar base as a stepping stone to Mars.
This new initiative will give NASA new direction and a new
focus. Bush has committed $12 billion over the next five years on
new space exploration; $1 billion will be new money, the rest will
come from grounding current projects.
That might sound bad, but how long has NASA been orbiting the
earth? This new mission that NASA has been handed will hopefully
put excitement back in space exploration for NASA scientists and
the American public. Aside from Opportunity and Spirit, the two
Mars rovers, NASA has been dull.
We do feel, however, that this new drive has to do with
competing with China and their advancing space program. Hopefully
by completing the International Space Station and with eyes on the
Red Planet, the United States could extend and improve its
international relations on Earth.
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