Bush to advocate trip to Mars

President Bush will give a much-anticipated speech outlining a new long-term vision for NASA today. The speech will include the proposals for a permanent research station on the Moon and a manned mission to Mars. The proposed plans have already begun to draw a lot of praise and criticism from various camps in the field of astronomy. \nProfessor Richard Durisen, chairman of the astronomy department, supports both the lunar project and the manned Mars mission. \n"I think the exploration of the solar system is something positive for humanity and for the human spirit," Durisen said.\nNot everyone shares his excitement. Some are concerned about the mammoth cost of such programs and fear that resources may be directed away from other scientific programs and research. Astronomy Professor Stuart Mufson believes that robotic missions to Mars provide a better alternative to manned missions. \n"If anything has become clear in recent years, it is that going to Mars is not simple," Mufson said. "It is clearly not cheap; it is dangerous; and whatever exploration that scientists would like to do can be done with robots." \nMufson praised NASA's successful Spirit Mars Exploration Rover that has been transmitting color photographs of the Martian surface since it landed there on Jan 6. A second rover called Opportunity will land on Mars on Jan. 25. \nMufson is not against the idea of human travel to Mars, but it is too premature, he said.\n"As a scientist, I think the world of going to Mars and understanding what Mars is all about," he said. "But I don't think at this particular stage, when we can not do well in near earth orbit, that this is exactly the time to do it (manned missions)."\nSince the space shuttle Columbia broke apart during reentry on Feb. 1, 2003, the public and Congress have lost some confidence in the space agency. NASA delayed the development of the Orbital Space Plane, which was supposed to replace the aging space shuttles, following the Columbia disaster.\nThe Columbia Accident Investigation Board slammed NASA for overlooking safety concerns. It is hoped new proposals for a permanent lunar station and a manned Mars mission along with the current missions of the Mars rovers will give new purpose to the agency.\nAstronomy Professor Catherine Pilachowski believes that after a 31-year human absence from the Moon, it is increasingly important and necessary to consider the possibility of a permanent lunar station. As a result of the increase in communication technology and human populations, fewer radio frequencies were available for the use of radio telescopes and light pollution was beginning to be detected even at some of the larger optical telescope facilities, Pilachowski said. \nThe Moon, which has no atmosphere and is not plagued by light and radio interference, would make an ideal telescope location, Pilachowski said. Pilachowski argues that manned missions to the Moon would be a lot easier and cheaper than in the 1970s.\n"What happened in the '60s and '70s was that the U.S. made a huge effort to get to the Moon," she said. "Really, it was part of the Cold War strategy. I think in the intervening 30 years that we have come a huge way in terms of the technology, and we now understand the process and problems in a way that it would make it much easier than it would have been in the '70s." \nDuring the 31-year period since the last manned flight to the Moon, Pilachowski claims NASA has made some of its most important discoveries. She said missions to the Moon or Mars draw the attention of the media and public, but the tremendous amount of research being done in space science is hardly celebrated.\n"I have heard a lot of words from the media and Congress about NASA having lost focus, about not having a clear cut vision, but I think that's not true at all," she said. "The attention of NASA over the last thirty years has been very focused on space science."\n-- Contact staff writer Rami Chami at rchami@indiana.edu.