NASA. A study in contrasts

In this rare, and perhaps unique instance, Obama’s mission for NASA was considerably more ambitious, and far less practical, than the one President Trump is to announce today.

First, the White House statement:

Our long journey to the stars—and the Moon
Forty-five years ago today, NASA’s final Apollo mission landed on the surface of the Moon. No human has walked there since.

This afternoon, President Donald J. Trump will tell the country that it’s time to refocus our vision for American space exploration.

In signing Space Policy Directive 1 today—the first recommendation of the recently reconvened National Space Council—the President will shift NASA’s resources and attention toward the Moon and Mars. Given its relative closeness, the Moon in particular offers humans the best hope for long-term exploration and utilization.

President Ronald Reagan once eloquently captured the sweep of mankind as “his long climb from the swamp to the stars.” With President Trump’s order today, America commits itself once again to writing the next chapter of that story.

Watch the signing ceremony today at 3:00 p.m. EST.

And so President Trump wishes to retask NASA to space exploration. This is a wonderful thing. But Obama also had retasked NASA to a much more ambitious purpose:

Trying to connect science and engineering to islam, as well as help muslims “feel good” about Islamic accomplishments in those fields.

That, was an ambitious project.

About Eeyore

Canadian artist and counter-jihad and freedom of speech activist as well as devout Schrödinger's catholic

3 Replies to “NASA. A study in contrasts”

  1. There are many reasons to return to space, some of them scientific and some military. First the military, Russia and China are working to establish moon colonies, if they can build bases on the moon they control who does what every where on earth and they control who is allowed to go into space. The Earth is at the bottom of a gravity well and this is allows anyone at the top of the gravity well to dominate anyone by throwing rocks at them. The people at the top of the gravity well don’t need nukes, rocks of varying sizes will work. This was first spelled out to the world in “the Moon is a Harsh Mistress” by Robert Heinlein and has been used in many SF books since. This was the inspiration for the weapon called the Hammer of Thor, Rods from God and Flying Crow bars, Titanium steel bars as big around as a phone pole and about half as long dropped from orbit to destroy varying targets. A high explosive yield without any radiation.

    The scientific reasons are known and unknown, spotting asteroids that can destroy live on earth and change their orbit. Then there are the unknown scientific discoveries. A new launch system that is much cheaper then the current one. A new space drive that allows rapid travel in space. New developments in Nanites. New discoveries in medicine, Dr. Travis Taylor has said that we are on the crux of new scientific discoveries that will change everything.

    Let us once more Boldly go where no man has gone before go to new worlds, see new things and once again return to the bold explorers we once were, yes people will die but people die every day. You don’t stop driving because of traffic deaths so why stop space exploration because some of the explorers will die?

  2. Frankly, I don’t care about the reasons. I would love US to go back to space exploration. Long time ago I wanted to be an astronaut 😉