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October 12, 2005
Our Future Is In Space
The following letter was published in the Washington Post, Tuesday, October 11, 2005, Page A16. Reprinted by permission of the author, Gary Barnhard, Chair of the NSS Executive Committee.
Our Future Is In Space
To paraphrase Arthur C. Clarke, it is not clear if the Oct. 2 editorial "Ground This Mission" represents a failure of nerve, a failure of imagination, or both.
The editors should understand that:
* If you do not provide for the future, you can't count on there being one, much less the one you would like coming to pass.
* The dichotomy between people and robots is largely false. In space, robots act as extensions of people, forging the trail of exploration, but it is the combination of people and robotics that will make space exploration and settlement possible.
* The trade-off is not between basic social services and NASA programs. The problems the editorial cited are systemic and are affected more by dedicated personal involvement than specific amounts of funding.
The limited funds that the nation devotes to space exploration and development are "seed corn" for the future. If the price of freedom is eternal vigilance, the price of the stars is our willingness to sustain a quest for better tomorrows.
GARY PEARCE BARNHARD
Chairman of the Executive Committee
National Space Society
Washington
Posted by apsmith at October 12, 2005 03:43 AM
