Draft report outlines US Moon/Mars exploration.
MUFONET-BBS NETWORK - MUTUAL UFO NETWORK
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³=START= XMT: 14:39 Tue Jun 11 EXP: 15:00 Wed Jun 12 ³
³ ³
³WHITE HOUSE PANEL PROPOSES OPTIONS FOR RETURNING TO MOON, ³
³EXPLORING MARS ³
³ ³
³WASHINGTON (JUNE 11) UPI - A White House panel Tuesday ³
³outlined four strategies for future U.S. space exploration ³
³that call for returning to the moon early in the next ³
³century and completing the first human trip to Mars in ³
³the year 2014. ³
³ ³
³The panel also outlined a number of bureaucratic steps and ³
³technological programs, including developing a nuclear- ³
³powered rocket, to enable the nation to continue manned ³
³space exploration into the next century. ³
³ ³
³The group also endorsed NASA's proposed space station ³
³Freedom, which has been struggling to win funding in ³
³Congress. ³
³ ³
³''Leading world powers have always explored and profited ³
³from new frontiers and territories,'' said former Apollo ³
³astronaut Thomas Stafford, who chaired the panel known as ³
³the Synthesis Group. ³
³ ³
³''Space is the new frontier of the industrialized world in ³
³the 21st century,'' he said at a news conference where the ³
³report was released. ''As Americans, we must ask ourselves ³
³what our role will be in man's expansion into the solar ³
³system: To lead, follow or stand aside.'' ³
³ ³
³Vice President Dan Quayle, chairman of the National Space ³
³Council, appointed the 27-member group of experts from ³
³government, industry and academia 10 months ago to explore ³
³how best to carry out President Bush's proposed Space ³
³Exploration Inititative. ³
³ ³
³''By starting the Space Exploration Initiative now, we can ³
³enable America to lead humanity on its inevitable path into ³
³space and toward the brighter future '' said Stafford, who ³
³orbited the moon as commander of the Apollo 10 mission. ³
³ ³
³Quayle praised the 180-page report, ''America at the ³
³Threshold,'' and said the National Space Council would begin³
³weighing the proposed options. He did not set a time frame ³
³for any decisions. ³
³ ³
³NASA Administrator Richard Truly also lauded the ³
³recommendations and said he would work with his counterparts³
³at the Department of Energy and Defense Department to ³
³develop programs, as the report recommends. ³
³ ³
³But John Pike, a space expert with the Federation of ³
³American Scientists, questioned whether the proposals are ³
³feasible because they would cost ''hundreds of billions of ³
³dollars.'' ³
³ ³
³''It's no accident there are no dollars attached to it (the ³
³report). People would have sticker shock at the price,'' he ³
³said, adding that environmentalists would probably object to³
³the proposal to build a nuclear-powered rocket. ³
³ ³
³The options are: ³
³ ³
³-Mars Exploration, which would focus attention on Mars. The ³
³plan calls for returning to the moon in the year 2005 and ³
³using the moon to test technology for venturing to Mars in ³
³2014 for a 20- to 100-day stay. A 600-day Martian mission ³
³would occur in 2016. ³
³ ³
³At its closest point to Earth, Mars is 35 million miles ³
³away, meaning it would take about 230 days to get there. The³
³moon, by comparison, is only a quarter-million miles away, ³
³which is only a three-day journey. ³
³ ³
³-Science Emphasis for the Moon and Mars, which would focus ³
³on both the moon and Mars. The first human mission to the ³
³moon would occur in 2003 to study the moon and gather ³
³information about a Mars mission in 2014. ³
³ ³
³-The Moon to Stay and Mars exploration, which would develop ³
³a permanent human presence on the moon beginning in 2004 and³
³also explore Mars in 2014. ³
³ ³
³-Space Resources Utilization, which would be aimed at ³
³exploiting the resources on the moon, specifically helium-3 ³
³and solar power. A robot probe would land on the moon in ³
³2003 and the first human mission to the moon would occur in ³
³2004. A human mission to Mars would occur in 2016. ³
³ ³
³The panel proposed a variety of technological steps for such³
³efforts, including developing a so-called heavy-lift launch ³
³vehicle, a nuclear-powered rocket, a new spacesuit and new ³
³robots. ³
³ ³
³In addition, the panel recommended several bureaucratic ³
³steps, including creating a new National Program Office at ³
³NASA with the Department of Defense and the Department of ³
³Energy. ³
³ ³
³Stafford made a point of emphasizing the proposed space ³
³station would play an integral role in such efforts by ³
³providing a laboratory to conduct research into how humans ³
³adapt to long-term space travel. ³
³ ³
³NASA and the Bush administration have been fighting to ³
³maintain funding for the proposed station, which is set for ³
³consideration by the Senate. ³
³ ³
³=END= ³
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