Onward and Outward

Nearly 20 years have passed since Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon, culminating a decade of achievements in space. The lunar landing in the summer of 1969 was the high point of the American space program to date. Nothing since then has matched that accomplishment. The space program, our link to the future, lies in shambles amid the wreckage of the Challenger.

What is needed now is vision. What is called for is a plan for space as bold as John Kennedy’s plan to put a man on the moon. Just as the lunar landing was the right program for the 1960s, the right program for the 1990s will be a voyage to Mars.

This generation will be remembered for having taken the first step off this planet. Now it is time to take the next step. This generation went to the moon. The next generation should go to a planet. And the planet to go to is Mars. Its atmosphere and demeanor are the most Earth-like of all the planets, and getting there and back is within our technological grasp.

Landing on Mars would be a fantastic goal, and it would have a fantastically large price. It is estimated that an automated landing by clever machines would cost $10 billion, and a round trip by astronauts would cost $50 billion. But this could be an international undertaking. The space race of the 1960s need not be repeated. A trip to Mars could be done with the Russians, the Europeans and the Japanese, spreading the cost and the participation among many more of the world’s people.

The exploration of space is among this country’s noblest endeavors. It should remain near the top of our national agenda. It is the right thing to do, and we should not slack from doing it. We should use our vast wealth wisely. As explorers have found out throughout history, exploration is wise, and it pays handsome dividends to boot.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, still reeling from the Challenger disaster, has moved cautiously in recent months in the direction of endorsing a Mars landing. Scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory near Pasadena, which is NASA’s center for planetary exploration, have been working out a plan for some time. NASA should now recommend this to the President, and the President should adopt it as the capstone of his presidency. If he wants to be remembered, this will be something to be remembered for.

The question is not whether we can afford to do it. The question is whether we can afford not to.

On to Mars.