In preparation for the upcoming election, both President Bush
and Sen. John Kerry have taken differing views on human space
exploration and what NASA’s main mission should be.
Throughout his administration, Bush has made progress in
developing space programs and fulfilling his mission. In January
2004, he announced his space exploration vision at NASA
headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Bush stated his first goal would be to complete the
International Space Station by 2010. Others included the
development of new spacecraft capable of leaving the earth’s
orbit and landing on other planets and moons.
“Our third goal is to return to the moon by 2020, as the
launching point for missions beyond,” he said.
President Bush’s budget for the 2005 fiscal year promises
the addition of an extra $12 billion over the next five years, a
White House press release noted.
In contrast to Bush, Kerry’s plans concerning human
exploration of space are more cautious. Kerry says he will siphon
funds from human exploration and focus on other aspects of space
exploration and research, according to the campaign Web site.
“The Kerry-Edwards administration will focus NASA on those
areas of aeronautics and space research where the greatest public
benefit can be realized,” Kerry said in a statement on his
views of space policy, which is posted to his Web site.
He stated that he had a plan to pay for a strong, stable and
balanced U.S. aeronautics and space program, proposing a five-part
plan that would include an increase in funding for NASA.
It would also include the pursuit of a space and aeronautics
program which would place an emphasis on aeronautics research and
development.
“Space exploration is a global undertaking that would
unite all nations in the common quest for greater understanding,
“ Kerry’s Web site said.
The decisions Bush or Kerry make once elected could affect the
types of research UCLA scientists working with NASA will do.
Geophysics and planetary physics Professor Gerald Schubert is
enthusiastic about human space exploration.
“Human exploration is very exciting and has always been a
desire by human beings to seek the unknown and discover new worlds,
whether here on earth or elsewhere,” he said.
He is currently involved in a project called Jupiter Icy Moon
Orbiter, through NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The
mission is part of a program called Prometheus, which was
established by the Bush administration to provide nuclear powered
spacecrafts and give technical expertise to explore outerspace.
The new mission would send nuclear powered spacecrafts to look
for life on Jupiter’s moon, Europa, and would be the first
nuclear powered mission. Space nuclear reactors are already being
developed.
According to a December 2001 NASA study, space travel is
hazardous to health. One problem is a loss of bone calcium that
lasts indefinitely the longer a person is in space.
“The risks to human health of long duration missions
beyond Earth’s orbit, if not solved, represent the greatest
challenge to human exploration of deep space,” the NASA study
reported. Scientifically, Schubert said more can be accomplished
with a machine.
“With a person in space, you need a lot of money and
building materials for spacecraft, which a robot doesn’t
need. So you can put all that into experiments and research,”
he said.
“Whether human exploration is good or bad really depends
on the situation,” he said.