The Mars Underground

[Ostronomos]

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/tcTZvNLL0-w

[C C]

And in a world torn by troubles, some say there is no need or will for mankind to reach into space anymore. More than 30 years after the last Apollo astronaut walked on the moon, the American-manned space program seems to have lost its way, unable to reach beyond even low-earth orbit.

The Nixon administration's slashing of the NASA budget arguably stemmed from and was maintained over time by fiscal and traditionalist sentiments that government programs should compete with each other for taxpayer resources. Rather than NASA continuing to receive the "special child" status it had during the Cold War race to the Moon. But it could have been worse; since Nixon unexpectedly strayed outside the coloring-book lines by rescuing what was left of manned spaceflight against the guidance of his advisors, who had desired to pull the plug on the whole shebang.

The rest of politics -- influenced by the New Left orientation back then, was of course against it even during the contest with Russia: "....they would contaminate the moon and its sterility for the sake of 'progress' and spend billions of dollars in the process, while people are hungry, ill-clothed, poorly educated (if at all)." Film footage of hippie events on the day of the Apollo 11 landing illustrated substantive degrees of both indifference about and antipathy toward the achievement by both speakers and audience members.

Today: While both NASA and government activities potentially outrunning NASA may appear to be acquiring a "teacher's pet" status again under Trump, such might just as swiftly go back to waiting and struggling in a soup line along with other programs, under future administrations that are once again typical (i.e., less nationalistic). Trump: "This time, we will do more than plant our flag and leave our footprints. We will establish a long-term presence, expand our economy and build the foundation for an eventual mission to Mars, which is actually going to happen very quickly."

This film was made before non-government space operations became fully demonstrable. Private enterprise flight to and settlement of Mars is criticized by and potentially hampered by contemporary progressive feelings, social justice concerns, and just overall pessimism about capitalism: "[...In terms of affording tickets...] the first visitors to Mars could be some of the wealthiest people on Earth. [...] If we only send the richest among us – a small, self-selecting, and undiverse pool – to explore new worlds, then we would automatically set up a rigged system in favor of those who can buy favor within it. We need to learn from our history, not repeat the faults of our ancestors by perpetuating that same kind of supremacy out into the universe."

An irony with respect to the above is that space exploration via a government agency like NASA, which was spurned during the 1960s as a greedy/wasteful sinkhole, is now preferred over commercialized Martian colonization: "While NASA isn’t perfect, at least it doesn’t award seats aboard its spacecraft to the highest bidder. For that reason alone, the idea that private visionaries could be our main point of access to an entirely new world is troubling."

~

[Ostronomos]

And in a world torn by troubles, some say there is no need or will for mankind to reach into space anymore. More than 30 years after the last Apollo astronaut walked on the moon, the American-manned space program seems to have lost its way, unable to reach beyond even low-earth orbit.

The Nixon administration's slashing of the NASA budget arguably stemmed from and was maintained over time by fiscal and traditionalist sentiments that government programs should compete with each other for taxpayer resources. Rather than NASA continuing to receive the "special child" status it had during the Cold War race to the Moon. But it could have been worse; since Nixon unexpectedly strayed outside the coloring-book lines by rescuing what was left of manned spaceflight against the guidance of his advisors, who had desired to pull the plug on the whole shebang.

The rest of politics -- influenced by the New Left orientation back then, was of course against it even during the contest with Russia: "....they would contaminate the moon and its sterility for the sake of 'progress' and spend billions of dollars in the process, while people are hungry, ill-clothed, poorly educated (if at all)." Film footage of hippie events on the day of the Apollo 11 landing illustrated substantive degrees of both indifference about and antipathy toward the achievement by both speakers and audience members.  

Today: While both NASA and government activities potentially outrunning NASA may appear to be acquiring a "teacher's pet" status again under Trump, such might just as swiftly go back to waiting and struggling in a soup line along with other programs, under future administrations that are once again typical (i.e., less nationalistic). Trump: "This time, we will do more than plant our flag and leave our footprints. We will establish a long-term presence, expand our economy and build the foundation for an eventual mission to Mars, which is actually going to happen very quickly."

This film was made before non-government space operations became fully demonstrable. Private enterprise flight to and settlement of Mars is criticized by and potentially hampered by contemporary progressive feelings, social justice concerns, and just overall pessimism about capitalism: "[...In terms of affording tickets...] the first visitors to Mars could be some of the wealthiest people on Earth. [...] If we only send the richest among us – a small, self-selecting, and undiverse pool – to explore new worlds, then we would automatically set up a rigged system in favor of those who can buy favor within it. We need to learn from our history, not repeat the faults of our ancestors by perpetuating that same kind of supremacy out into the universe."

An irony with respect to the above is that space exploration via a government agency like NASA, which was spurned during the 1960s as a greedy/wasteful sinkhole, is now preferred over commercialized Martian colonization: "While NASA isn’t perfect, at least it doesn’t award seats aboard its spacecraft to the highest bidder. For that reason alone, the idea that private visionaries could be our main point of access to an entirely new world is troubling."

~

It is easy to imagine why progressive, capitalistic feelings to which the potential hampering of private enterprise flight is attributed. Today's Leftist reactions seem less than extraordinary compared to Nixon's redemptive attempts to "save NASA". At least the idea of space exploration is making headway.