NASA and
other spaceflight programs worldwide should focus on putting people on Mars,
not the moon, an advocacy group for space exploration said in a new plan
announced today.
"The U.S. landed humans on the Moon nearly 40 years ago," said Louis Friedman, executive director
of The Planetary Society. "Returning to
the moon has not sufficiently excited the public and will require resources
that will be badly needed elsewhere in the space program."
The plan, "Beyond
the Moon: A New Roadmap for Human Space Exploration in the 21st Century,"
included four key elements:
- Focusing
on Mars as the driving goal of human spaceflight.
- Deferring
putting humans back on the moon until the costs of the interplanetary
transportation system and shuttle
replacement are largely paid.
- Accelerating
research into global climate change through more comprehensive Earth
observations.
- Achieving
a step-by-step approach of new achievements in interplanetary flight,
including a human mission to a near-Earth object.
The plan
calls for international cooperation to minimize the costs of the plan to any
one country and to increase public support, particularly given concerns over
the current economic crisis.
"This
is clearly a time of national and international economic uncertainty. Whatever
the long-term impact of this turmoil may be on the U.S. national budget, we
believe that a strong, sustainable space program must remain an important national
and international priority," said planetary scientist Jim Bell, the
Society's president.
SPACE.com reported the expected
plan earlier this week.
Apollo 11
Astronaut Buzz Aldrin commented on the plan: "U.S. landings on the moon
should be deferred so that they can be part of an international base on the moon
preparing the way for permanent settlement of Mars."
The idea
for the roadmap came from a workshop held at Stanford University in February.
Input was gathered from TPS members and the public in town hall meetings around
the world.
The roadmap
is to be presented to the Obama
Administration and Congress.
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