Lunar News Network

NASA Review Board Questioned

I think this issue (AP - Inspector General: Conflict of interest on NASA review board) should be of concern:

A board set up to review construction of the spaceship to return astronauts to the moon is loaded with employees of the very contractors they are supposed to scrutinize, breaking federal law, a government watchdog says. [...] The board consists of 19 members charged with providing "independent" assessments of the project designed by NASA but built by private firms. However, nearly one-third of them work for those firms. Four of the six contractor employees were also stockholders in companies making money off the NASA project.

This arrangement has the appearance of impropriety and should be corrected to insure public confidence in NASA procedures.

Presidential Space Politics

Wired Science reports on fears that the next president, no matter who wins, may not fully fund or value the space program (Wired News - Presidential Candidates Too Quiet on Space Policy):

But a question that is of increasing concern among space scientists, engineers and supporters is what will the new president's space policy do? For many space voters there is a deep fear that the industry may face yet another deep re-evaluation of priorities, program "deferrals" or cancellations. In my 12 years in the work force I have seen little but that and there has been a huge cost financially, technically, and culturally that we are still bearing.

This report (in contrast to the previously mentioned report), contains one small quote from an actual candidate. Hey, we take what we can get.

Candidates on Space

CNN has a report on where the candidates stand and space policy issues (Candidates and the space race):

One issue the presidential candidates are not saying much about is space exploration. But some scientists, military experts and intelligence analysts say the next president may well determine whether America keeps an edge in space.

The report goes on to note that the candidates have offered few specifics and their lack of vision raises the danger the U.S. leadership in space will fall behind our international competitors. Actually, this report doesn't really tell us much at all about where the candidates stand on space issues. Come on CNN,  you can do better. At least give us a few quotes from the candidates.

Go To Mars, Skip The Moon?

This Wired News report (Americans Find Out NASA Is Going Back to the Moon) offers an answer to the question about why we should go to the Moon first instead of going direclty to Mars:

It's a good idea to go to the moon to not only check out all systems and hardware, but more importantly (and more transferably) to design surface-operations protocols, to work out kinks and most importantly for a new generation of space explorers -- to build up experience before the more-challenging Mars expeditions.

Going to Mars will always be dangerous, but if we use the Moon as a practice run we can improve our chances of success on Mars.

Building A Lunar Science Community

Space.com has an important report about the need to resurrect the lunar science community if we are to return to the Moon (Lunar Science Community Needs Rebuilding, Researchers Say):

NASA's plan to return to the Moon - first by robotic missions scheduled to start this year, followed by the replanting of human footprints there by 2020 - will require a new cadre of lunar research and exploration specialists. [...] The rebuilding of a lunar science community is essential, said Paul Spudis, a planetary geologist and lunar expert at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston. "We not only need competent lunar scientists to plan and execute the future exploration of the Moon, but also to help design and build the machines and technologies we need to learn to live and stay on the Moon ... particularly in regard to resource utilization and long-term habitation. It is important to get started with students at all levels now so that a stable, experienced lunar science community exists when we return to the Moon," Spudis said.

There is also an important discussion taking place in the comments section of the article about the need to inspire a new generation of students to study science. I'd like to suggest one way to inspire a new generation raised on video games and YouTube: allow students to pilot a lunar rover by remote control from the classroom and record their excursion so they can send the clip to friends and family and post to their social networking sites. It would be viral marketing for NASA and would help build public interest in the Moon-Mars mission. 

NASA Spin-Offs

The Political Action For Space blog notes a new feature on the NASA website which highlights all the spin-off benefits that we have earned over the years by funding NASA. So, the next time someone asks what we get out of funding space exploration, you will have a ready answer.

Gravity Pills?

The Colony Worlds blog notes advances in treating the physiological effects of low-gravity environments (New Drug May Help Counter Muscle Loss From Micro Gravity). This is important, since prolonged exposure to low-gravity environments has a detrimental effect on bones and muscles and will therefore be a medical issue for the lunar colonists, as they will have to acclimate to 1/6 of Earth's gravity.

International Space Spending

It will not come as a surprise to most of you to learn that many countries have ambitious space programs. This report (Guardian - Global space spending up 11 pct to $251 billion) follows the money and finds that the U.S. enjoys a sizable lead:

Revenues from worldwide government and private spending on space projects rose to $251 billion last year, up 11 percent from 2006 despite slowing growth in many countries, an analysis released on Tuesday said. [...]Combined U.S. defense-related spending totaled $45 billion, or 71 percent of U.S. government space spending. [...] China's civilian space spending may have totaled $1.5 billion in 2007, the Space Foundation said, calling this a conservative estimate. [...] Russian space spending rose 49 percent to $1.32 billion in 2007 from a year earlier, driven largely by increased investment in Russia's GLONASS global navigation satellite system, the analysis said.

Obama To Cut NASA Funding

Space Politics notes a direct exchange at an Obama rally (More on Obama’s Wyoming statement) between the candidate and a space program supporter. Apparently, Obama didn't really answer the question and although he was a bit vague on specifics of what exactly he would do with the human space program, his general position seems to be to defer the shuttle replacement and cut funding for the Moon-Mars program. HT: The World Guardian

Obama on Space

Space Advocates for Obama has been set up to focus attention on Obama's policies on space exploration. HT: Cosmic Log