What's Next
This is really addressed to Bruce Moomaw, but this is the only email address I have for him. No, it's not about Europa, so don't get on my case. I know that, but this is the only way I know to get my thoughts out. Bruce, you have repeatedly bashed the space shuttle and the ISS as colossal boondoggles, and I have often taken issue with that position for a variety of reasons which I thought at the time were valid. However, and this is a big HOWEVER, I'm beginning to agree with you and the others who question the sense of continuing something that is not only not producing anything worthwhile, but is diverting badly needed resources from finding better ways to explore space--or "explore" it at all. Please see my question at the end and see if you can come up with anything. A number of the things I've been reading on the internet following the Columbia disaster have to do with arguments for and against keeping the shuttle/station program alive.One comment seems to be a lament that the public just doesn't seem to care all that much about the program, whatever it is. Joe Latrell went to his kids' schoolroom to talk with the kids about the disaster and was met with indefference--"Thanks for dropping by," I think the response was.Why? Because as far as the shuttle/station is concerned, there is NO exploration taking place! We've been circling the earth at 240 miles up for years, and aside from the Hubble repair mission and the Columbia research mission, we haven't gone anywhere or done anything new. So what's to get excited about? Damn little.That raises the question of whether we have learned all we can from the station, and very little, if anything, new will come from spending billions more. Same is true of the shuttle. True, it's the only thing we have, but maybe the time HAS come to bring the folks home, lock the door, and go up only as often as necessary to boost the station back up to the proper orbit. I would favor keeping it there as a relay point for trips further out, but maintaining a crew seems to be a waste of time and human power. One thing it could be used for is a "space classroom" for future mission personnel so they could get the feel of microgravity, space suits, and tool use. Pretty expensive, but maybe worth it.In an article on Slashdot.org, (www.slashdot.org) Gregory Benford said that we have not conquered two things we must have before we even think seriously about going to Mars: (1) a true self-supporting biosphere, and (2) an artificial gravity that could be produced by centrifugal force with the habitat module on one end of a tether and a spent container of appropriate weight on the other. He commented that Russians who have set the endurance records in microgravity never have regained full mobility, and even those who have been up for six months or more are still having problems. Check out the whole article.So what's to do? Maybe the answer IS to stop spending more billions on a program which has essentially run its course and put the money into development of better propulsion systems, such as nuclear or ion drives, better comm and computer controls, and so on. Prepare to go to the Moon and set up permanent housekeeping so we can develop the true biosphere we need and get used to living, working, and playing in reduced gravity.Any ideas on how we get this brilliant and insightful thinking to the decision makers?Ad Astra!Gail Leatherwood
On/Off Topic
Since we seem to have so much trouble reining in those who have something to say about space exploration, how about this? Suppose we either just change the name of the group, or keep the name for its intended purpose and just stop worrying about what is discussed? A. This is a wonderfully diverse group with a sincere desire to foster efforts in getting off the planet, and B. There is actually very little to discuss productively about Europa, at least for the foreseeable future. I'd like to see the group continue because it's such a rich resource, and current events discussion could help keep the interest of the members up in the doldrum periods of Europa interest. Please be assured this is in no way a criticism of our site administrator--his is a thankless job at best, and we should all give him a big "Well Done!" for putting up with us for as long as he has. What thinkest thou? Gail Leatherwood
Re: On/Off Topic
I didn't mean to imply that the shuttle/station wasn't the best that could be done at the time, although some evidence to the contrary has been produced during this past week. We know that many decisions about the whole program, from the earliest responses to Sputnik to actual construction of the ISS and its mission definitions, were political, not technical or scientific. We HAVE learned a lot, but my thesis is becoming that we've "been there, done that, let's move on to the next stage." Let's not put any more resources into something that is aged and unproductive; something that is preventing other avenues of exploration. Gail - Original Message - From: John Sheff To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, February 11, 2003 8:43 PM Subject: RE: On/Off Topic There IS stuff going on regarding Europa (i.e., this new Prometheus Project), but people are so into flaming about Columbia that, unfortunately, no one seems interested in talking about Europa. (Ive tried.) One of the difficult things Ive had to learn about life is that people have different points of view. This doesnt necessarily mean they are ignorant, or evil, or even - wrong. Intelligent, well-informed, well-intentioned people can be presented with the same facts as me, and come to totally different conclusions. Whats worse, rarely will my arguments however well-reasoned convince them that I am right and they are wrong, nor are they likely to convince me. So Ive given up trying; I still enjoy the satisfaction of knowing, deep down inside, that I AM right! Having said that, I still believe that the shuttle was the best we could come up with at the time given the constraints of technology and budget, that the ISS (or something like it) is a necessary stepping stone to a permanent human presence in space, and the more wonderful unmanned exploration of the solar system gets, the more it whets my appetite for going there in person. I cant imagine anything as exciting as the thought of living in a spacefaring civilization. Maybe someday John Sheff Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Cambridge, MA 02138 Voice: 617-495-4671 Fax: 617-496-0193 E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website: http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/
Re: ADMIN: reminder about the list
My apologies also, Jeff, especially if I was one of those causing problems. I agree with Bruce: this group has always had a lot to say about a lot of things not necessarily related to Europa. BTW, you mentioned other lists we could use for broader discussions. Would you name a few? I know a couple, but would like to know more. Thanks. Watch the skies! Gail - Original Message - From: Jeff Foust [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, February 03, 2003 11:34 PM Subject: ADMIN: reminder about the list Hello, I hate to have to play the bad cop here, but I do want to remind people that the purpose of the [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailing list is for discussions of topics directly related to Europa, including exploration of it. While it's understandable to want to talk about the shuttle tragedy, there are far more appropriate fora for doing do than this list. Please respect the wishes of those who signed up for the list only for Europa discussions by limiting your messages to that topic (and by posting in plain text, not HTML, by the way). I will say that I had to spend some time over the last couple of weeks getting this server off one blacklist compiled by a, shall we say, over-zealous anti-spam group. (It appears to be completely unrelated to this list, as a whole range of IP addresses were blocked for the perceived transgressions of a single person.) This is why some of you may not have received any messages from this list for the last couple of weeks. It takes a non-zero amount of effort to maintain this list, so all I ask is that you follow a couple simple guidelines to make that job easier. Sincerely, Jeff Foust list administrator [EMAIL PROTECTED] == You are subscribed to the Europa Icepick mailing list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Project information and list (un)subscribe info: http://klx.com/europa/ == You are subscribed to the Europa Icepick mailing list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Project information and list (un)subscribe info: http://klx.com/europa/
