Last Friday night, my kids were thrilled to have "Space Night" at their elementary school, as they were able to meet a real NASA astronaut, learn a little about satellites and planets, and dream about what it might be like to go into space.
They were excited when I told them about going to one of the first launches of the space shuttle, as I enjoyed thinking back on own youthful memories of Americans walking on the moon.
Unfortunately, the younger generation isn't overwhelmed with what we see today from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, a situation that certainly isn't just NASA's fault.
While NASA thrilled the nation and the world with the Apollo and shuttle missions, the space agency has been struggling to captivate that same audience in recent years, and that was evident at a U.S. Senate hearing on Wednesday titled, "From Here to Mars."
"Look," said Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), as he convened the hearing.
"It's an empty dais," as only Nelson and his fellow Florida Senator Marco Rubio were on hand for the hearing.
The NASA gathering certainly did not have the buzz of other hearings on Capitol Hill, something Nelson readily admitted.
"We need to generate some excitement again, among the American people," Nelson lamented, letting his frustration spill out about NASA's current situation.
NASA's budget is now at $17.6 billion; in the mid-1960's, NASA's funding was over 5 percent of the federal budget.
Now money for NASA struggles to get to one-half of one percent.
The way forward for NASA
The current human space exploation plan for NASA has several basic goals:
1) Continued operation of the International Space Station, with a research emphasis on long-duration spaceflights
2) Figuring out public and private solutions to fly cargo and astronauts to low-Earth orbit
3) Fully developing the Orion crew vehicle and the space launch system to get it into orbit and then into deep space
4) Future plans include a rendezvous with an asteroid, and then building a foundation for 'further deep-space exploration'
There is no precise date for when the U.S. might attempt an asteroid mission; a flight to Mars is envisioned by the 2030's.
"We have a strong strategy that extends human presence into the solar system – beginning with Mars – in an affordable and sustainable manner," said top NASA official William Gersteinmeier.
But that might be difficult to achieve with a budget that has been trending downward in the last five years, something that was noted by a former commander of the International Space Station.
"America can and should be the clear world leader of international space exploration," testified former astronaut Larry Chiao.
"What is needed is consistent and sustained, strong political and financial commitments from the White House and Congress," Chiao added.
But right now, more than just gravity is holding back NASA.
"We're in an era of limited budgets," said Sen. Nelson.
With seemingly no real chance of that changing soon - that may only mean more trouble for the space agency and its overall deep space goals.
"Strong, bipartisan leadership is needed to sustain programs across administrations," said Chiao, who now works with the Space Foundation.
"Otherwise, election-cycle changes cause confusion and waste," he added.
And that may well be a good description of what NASA has gone through in recent years, as NASA tries to chart a course for 'where no man has gone before.'
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