As I have said before, the reason we need to go there is because as humans
we need to go there. My mother often said that my father had "itchy feet"
and that I always needed to go to the top of whatever high spot there was,
whether it was a mountain or just a rock sticking up out of the ground. Why
does the bear go over the mountain? To see what is on the other side. Thus
it has always been, and thus it will always be. Profit? Nah. Fame? Nah
again. Why go to Pluto? Just to go there; as humans we need no other motive.
We MUST go to see what is on the other side of the mountain, or to the next
planet, or the next solar system, or the next galaxy.
Our challenge is to do it, and that takes money and commitment, and
agreement on a variety of levels that this is what we want to do. One person
can climb a hill and see what is on the other side, but going to the next
planet takes more than a solitary effort. Governments need to pool their
resources to make it happen, and that can only happen if a large number of
citizens agree that the effort is worth the expense. Cost/benefit? More than
that, for in most cases the benefit may never even equal the cost in
dollars. Oh, my! Now what? Well, for some of us in this group, the challenge
is to develop and publicize the mechanics of a workable machine that can
drill through the ice mantle of our favorite Jovian satellite. To me, that
seems to be the simple part. The hard part is convincing Joe Lunchbucket
that his hard earned tax dollars will be well spent in putting together all
the pieces that will get that little gadget from here to there. I love what
Hibai Unzueta has done in producing real drawings of what might work
mechanically. I also love what Bruce Moomaw is doing in keeping track of the
many discussions affecting space exploration plus the chemistry/physics of
what we might find once we get there. But who is bringing this all together
as a package that can be presented to the budgetary decision makers? I think
we need a real powerhouse with a broad base to popularize the exploration of
space, but unfortunately Robert Heinlein is no longer available, and I don't
know if Mr. Clarke is still around to spark another blockbuster movie for
the teenagers.
Step up, you writers. Come forth, you publicists. If we are to reach the
next planet, let alone the stars, we need the visionaries with the talent to
capture the imagination of the next generation, nay, the next two or three
generations. There's more to be said, but my thoughts so far exceed my poor
ability to articulate them, that I must stop for now before I alienate even
those who might agree. Think on my words, and see what you produce.
Watch the skies!
Gail Leatherwood
----- Original Message -----
From: "Edwin Kite" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Thursday, February 15, 2001 3:06 PM
Subject: Re: NASA Funding
>
> > Frankly, I don't really care about the pluto mission. I'm not
> > sure why everyone else does. Is there something valuable and important
to
> > be learned from studying pluto? Not that I can see. Am I missing
> something
> > here?
>
> Yes, it's called exploration. Science is not the reason we send spacecraft
> to the planets; if it was, why would NASA's budget be as large as the rest
> of science - excluding medicine - put together? Science is simply
something
> interesting to do when you've got there. We don't go to Jupiter (for
> example) to clear up niggling mysteries about it's aurora, magnetic field,
> and interior in order to gratify the few hundred die-hards who can both do
> the math and find joy in it. We go there out of wonder and awe - and to
> satisfy the ancient urges to do something about our origin and destiny.
The
> same thing drove the building of the pyramids, and, I suppose, the frantic
> potlatching of the West Coast indigenous Americans. Pyramids, potlatch,
> Pluto. The complete survey of the solar system would be a fitting monument
> to our civilisation - and it's this urge for completion that's driving the
> desire to get this thing off the pads now, not the admittedly ridiculous
> smokescreen about
> By the way, since Bruce Moomaw et al have planned a low-cost probe,
why
> not take this to the logical extreme and build one for $5 mn? How to do
this
> is layed out in detail in Bill Yenne's "Interplanetary Spacecraft"
> (Brompton, 1988).
>
> Edwin Kite
>
> ==
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