Space invaders
“For decades now, America has been lost in space. Ever since the Apollo mission landed men on the moon in the 1960s, the nation has asked: OK, what’s next?”
The answers have failed to stir the imagination: A space shuttle that is little more than a glorified barge into low Earth orbit. An international space station that’s been a white elephant for years. Another moon mission? Been there, done that. Mars? Not in this lifetime.
Last week, President Barack Obama, who has been compared to Mr. Spock, the flawlessly logical Vulcan of Star Trek fame, charted a different course. He scrapped the planned 2020 moon shot and told NASA to turn over rocket building to private companies that are more innovative and nimble than the sclerotic space agency.
The mission: Develop rockets to deliver space travelers to Mars and other planets and asteroids in the solar system in weeks rather than years.
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