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.