From: LARRY KLAES (ljk4_at_msn.com)
Date: Fri Feb 27 2004 - 14:24:59 PST
----- Original Message -----
From: Larry Kellogg<mailto:larry.kellogg_at_sbcglobal.net>
To: lunar-update_at_altair.com<mailto:lunar-update_at_altair.com>
Sent: Tuesday, February 24, 2004 11:01 PM
Subject: [lunar-update] The dawn of a new age
Good day,
I have copied an editorial opinion below with permission from Rob Bignell,
the Press-Citizen's editorial page editor.
-----------------
Good afternoon Larry,
Thank you for your kind words about my op-ed piece. For myself, space
exploration captures the same spirit that brought pioneers to the Great
Plains.
Please feel free to restribute it. All we ask is that the newspaper
name/author's name/date of publication appear with each copy (of course,
that's on the link if were distributing that).
Rob Bignell
Editorial Page Editor
Iowa City Press-Citizen
-----------------
Sunday, December 28, 2003
America recommitting itself to space exploration would herald...
The dawn of a new age
By Rob Bignell
[See the article below or go to their web site. - LRK -
I thought it was very positive and gives you some ideas for why going to
On another note closer to my work space, I mentioned I was going to the All
It might be possible for you to come along if this web streaming actually
- LRK -
To: Resident Staff
The All Hands meeting scheduled in N201 Auditorium for this Wednesday,
Center Director Hubbard will discuss the developments on the budget, the new
snip
Larry Kellogg
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sunday, December 28, 2003
America recommitting itself to space exploration would herald...
By Rob Bignell
With the 100th anniversary of flight having arrived, the United States
Establishment of a moon base, a manned trip to Mars and mining of the
That the United States didn't continue to adequately fund and encourage
The primary argument against space exploration typically isn't an indictment
Indeed, we should target more money and attention to each of those worthy
But the real flaw of the "wrong priorities" argument is its assumption that
Economic growth
An excellent example of space exploration's positive economic impact is the
During the 1960s, scientists knew landing safely on the moon would require
During the 1970s, private industry copied and improved these computer
"Project Apollo helped to create whole new industries, processes and
That's not all Apollo gave us. Ultralight composites developed for
A permanent moon base, with mining of the asteroid belt and trips to Mars,
Scientific advances
Returning to the moon hardly would be a challenge for the United States. But
Only on Earth is there a biosphere that can accommodate human life. If we
Finding the answers to a myriad of how-to questions initially will spur
Exactly how these advances will result in better health care, more efficient
At the very least, space exploration will result in more efficient and less
Most important, though, we'll spur interest in the sciences and other
International camaraderie
A generation of engineers and scientists was inspired by the launch of
But cultural awareness and the arts also would benefit. Unlike Apollo, where
A part of the human condition is understanding ourselves in new environments
While space exploration alone is a worthy endeavor, there remains the
Reaching the asteroid belt, however, is when the first galleons will return
A hundred years ago this month, the Wright brothers demonstrated how a
Reach Rob Bignell, the Press-Citizen's editorial page editor, at
Let us know what you think of this story...
http://www.press-citizen.com/opinion/122803perspective.htm ==============================================================
If you know of someone that would like to look up with you, and
mailto:larry.kellogg_at_sbcglobal.net<mailto:larry.kellogg_at_sbcglobal.net>
Larry
http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/ -
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.6
: Fri Feb 27 2004 - 14:39:53 PST
http://www.press-citizen.com/opinion/122803perspective.htm
-----------------
space is important.
Hands meeting tomorrow.
gets posted to the Internet as a whole. The time is 9:30 a.m. Pacific time
and the e-mail is addressed to us at Ames so not sure how wide an audience
was desired. It will be directed towards what Ames can do to support the
Exploration Initiative and Ames is just one of the NASA Enterprises.
G. Scott Hubbard, Center Director will be presenting.
------------------------------------------------------------
From: Ingrid Desilvestre, Executive Assistant to the Director
Subject: All-Hands on Ames and the Exploration Initiative - Feb. 25 on
NASA TV and Web
February 25, at 9:30 a.m. will also be broadcast on NASA television Channel
20, and will be webcast and archived at:
http://vanseg-1.arc.nasa.gov/2004/SE040225-01.ram
Exploration initiative and their implications for Ames.
------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.larryrussellkellogg.net/mars.html
http://www.larryrussellkellogg.net/index.html
http://www.press-citizen.com/opinion/122803perspective.htm
The dawn of a new age
should recommit itself to space exploration.
asteroid belt are all achievable goals during the next two decades. But they
will require a great financial commitment over several years, one that makes
the price tag for invading and occupying Iraq look like bargain basement
clothing. Yet space exploration will bring about far greater economic and
spiritual awards to humanity - and unlike in a war, innocent bystanders
won't die.
space exploration after the six Apollo moon landings is a testament to the
shortsightedness of that era's leaders and the political opportunism of
NASA's critics. We should have had a permanent space station in orbit by the
end of the Carter presidency. We should have established a moon colony
sometime during Reagan's second term. We should have set the first human on
Mars as George H. Bush was running for re-election. The Clinton years should
have been spent exploring the asteroid belt and outer planets. Right now, we
should be erecting a base on the Mars. If we had done all of this, the human
race would be materially wealthier and experiencing much less physical
suffering.
of the endeavor but the supposition that there are more pressing needs for
humanity's limited resources. Why not end world hunger, after all? Why not
find cures to diseases? Why not give youth new schools, more teaches and
better textbooks? Why not end world poverty?
goals. But the dollars already exist to feed the hungry, cure the ill and
raise the poor. Consider that Americans annually spend $750 billion on
gambling, according to Harvard Law School professor Paul Weiler. We also
annually dish out $501 billion for carcinogen tobacco and treating its
related health problems. Another $57 billion is spent annually on illegal
drugs, the White House Office of Nat-ional Drug Control Policy reports. We
already "squander" much money at the expense of others.
space exploration would not be part of our struggle against hunger, disease,
illiteracy and poverty. Indeed, space exploration, in fact, spurs the very
economic growth, scientific advances and international camaraderie that are
so necessary to overcoming the great problems plaguing humanity.
relationship between the Apollo program and the 1990s. Though two decades
apart, there is a direct correlation between the technology developed for a
moon landing and the most prosperous period in American history.
several high-speed, on-the-spot calculations that astronauts could not do by
hand and that mission control could not relay in time because of a 2-second
communication delay due to the great distances. The only solution was to
develop compact computers that could be placed aboard the lunar spacecraft.
designs, giving us digital watches, video games and personal computers that
set off the technology and dot-com boom of the 1990s. By the middle of the
last decade, more than 1 billion computers graced the earth, helping to run
everything from cars to washing machines and from ATMs to weather
satellites. Accompanied by sound federal fiscal policy, growth of the
technology industry led to a period of unimagined wealth in America. More
than 22 million jobs were created. About $1.3 billion was spent on hiring
teachers and reducing class sizes at the same time that the national debt
was being paid down. With less poverty and a sense of optimism about the
future, the crime rate fell to its lowest level in 25 years.
products that had never before existed, which in turn helped revitalize the
economies of the entire world," noted Adrian Berry, science correspondent
for London's Daily Telegraph. "Its on-board computers augured the dawn of a
new age for the whole planet."
spacecraft now are used in leg braces. Battery-powered drills for obtaining
rock samples gave us cordless power tools, and Dustbuster vacuum cleaners.
Scratchproof lenses for space cameras led to featherweight, scratchproof and
UV coated eyeglasses. Lightweight graphite created for various space tools
was ap-plied to golf clubs and jet fighter fuselages. Smoke detectors, first
placed on spaceships for safety, now appear in every home. And many of us
eat powdered potatoes and eggs, an outgrowth of Tang.
also will require new technologies - and in turn unleash a new technological
explosion.
problems will arise if we decide to stay there.
want to spend any significant amount of time on the moon, we must re-create
our ecological cradle in an artificial environment. That means ensuring that
colonists have their own water, air, heat, food, waste removal and
protection from radiation and meteorites. Ferrying such supplies from earth
to a moon base and then back again, as we now do with the International
Space Station, isn't economical in the long run. Fortunately, creating a
self-contained biosphere is hardly an insurmountable task, but as Peter
Kokh, a former board member of the National Space Society points out, we've
still got a lot to figure out.
research at universities and in private industry all across the United
States. Iowa can benefit by utilizing its biotechnological expertise to
develop the plant life and pharmaceuticals necessary to keep moon colonists
alive. The University of Iowa, with its superior medical facilities, could
ably research many of the health issues that humans will face in a
low-gravity and stressful environment.
agriculture and new consumer products has yet to be fully imagined. But
compare the future envisioned by 1960s television show "Star Trek," which
went off the air the year humanity finally stepped on the moon, with what we
have today, 30 years after Apollo. With the exception of transporters and
warp drive, Apollo essentially gave us everything that Iowa's Captain Kirk
"had" in the 23rd century: We possess cell phones, lasers, desktop
computers, view screens, intercoms, floppy discs, dirt-resistant clothing,
heartbeat monitors and more.
polluting fuel sources (we'll want to minimize our waste in tight quarters
on the moon). We'll create bioengineered foods that offer greater yields,
are more nutritious and contain built-in resistance to diseases (on a
spacecraft that spends 36 months traveling to and from Mars, our plants must
be extremely fruitful).
cultures among our children.
Sputnik and the space race in the 1950s and 1960s. Imagine how today's
children would respond to this string of fantastic achievements: humanity
living on the moon, the first human being (perhaps she would be
African-American) to step on Mars, the adventure of seeing Saturn's rings
for the first time ... Across the world it would create a sense that
mathematics and science is important and encourage intense interest in those
subjects and their myriad fields.
the United States depended on a couple of allies (Spain and Aus-tralia) to
host remote tracking devices, we almost certainly would have to work with
Europe, Japan, Russia and other nations to ensure that our space ambitions
could remain affordable. These efforts would improve international relations
and nourish interest in other nations and cultures as we interact with them.
through creative expression. When people stay on the moon, Mars and in space
for long periods, it will shift their perspective and understanding of the
universe. Many lunar astronauts, for instance, say seeing the earth so small
in the black of space caused them to recognize humanity's fragility; many
say they grew spiritually during their journey. Such transformations will
yield new paintings, musical compositions and literature just as certainly
as the discovery of new building materials altered architecture in the past
century.
question of what people would do on a permanent space station or moon base.
Beyond improving the facility, most of the initial work would be scientific
research. Much of it, admittedly, would be of little interest to the general
public or geared at taking our next step in space; on the moon, for example,
we'd focus on reaching Mars; on Mars, we'd concentrate on reaching the
asteroid belt. But we should remember that the first European colonies in
the New World rarely offered any useful trade value to the mother country
for many years.
with gold. The asteroids are rich with minerals. One of the rocks, for
example, contains more iron then currently exists on all of Earth, according
to the Space Studies Institute in Princeton, N.J. Another asteroid holds at
least $5 trillion of platinum. Mining operations could provide our planet
with plenty of its now dwindling resources.
visionary challenge met with simple parts from a bicycle shop lifted
humanity to new heights - literally and figuratively. Slightly more than
half a century later, the Apollo program proved the great, long-term
economic value in space exploration. We can recapture that momentum - and
compassionately apply our newfound knowledge and wealth - to better the
human condition.
rbignellic_at_press-citizen.com<mailto:rbignellic_at_press-citizen.com>
opinion_at_press-citizen.com<mailto:opinion_at_press-citizen.com>
WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK
==============================================================
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