Sine Qua Non

To Infinity, and Beyond!

To those without a visceral reaction to his very existence, President George W. Bush continues to surprise:

President Bush is said to be on the verge of announcing plans to build a permanent science base for men on the moon that could serve as a stepping stone for sending astronauts ultimately on to Mars.

Of course, since it is President Bush, we must have an opposing viewpoint:

"The cost of a manned enclave on the moon, I think, is going to make the space station look cheap. That's the only good thing about it," said Stanford University's Douglas Osheroff.

Yes, of course. That will be the only thing good about it. The incredibly vast number of spinoffs and improvement to our lives that were generated with the last major space effort can never happen again. At least, not if it makes President George W. Bush look good. Admittedly, I do wonder where the money is going to come from, but the recurring false dichotomy that we must either have only manned or unmanned missions seems a bit silly. The naysayers also seem to fall prey to a utopianism that requires we be able to run before we can walk.

I'm kind of looking forward to the next State of the Union Address. How about you?

Posted by Charles Austin at January 9, 2004 01:28 PM