Here is an excerpt... Wolf Remarks At Space Policy Institute Apr 28, 2014 Washington, D.C. – Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA), chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee that funds NASA and the many of the nation’s science programs, today delivered the following remarks at the Space Policy Institute: wolf.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/wolf-remarks-at-space-policy-institute#.U-I2bdm9LCR Need for a Return to the Moon I am a little older than some of you, and can vividly remember the excitement in the country and around the world as NASA achieved remarkable milestones in space during the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs, culminating in the lunar landings. These missions spurred a generation of children to become scientists and engineers, fueling our countrys competitiveness and economic success. I still believe that our future in space lies in President Kennedy’s call to go to the Moon. This remains as compelling a destination today as it did in the 1960s. Neil Armstrong, shortly before he died, said, “I am persuaded that a return to the Moon would be the most productive path to expanding the human presence in the solar system.” There is no question that a human return would galvanize the American people – and the world’s – attention. As Neil Armstrong alluded, human missions to the Moon is essential to proving out the technologies necessary for missions to Mars. There is no question that we would want to test these capabilities for long duration missions on the Moon – which is only days away from Earth in the case of an emergency – before we send American astronauts on mission to Mars that would take more than a year. Lunar missions also would restore the confidence of our international partners that the U.S. intends to lead again, after a period of disarray in our space policy. It is also worth noting that since the abrupt dismantling of the Constellation program, this administration has also unilaterally terminated a Mars science mission with our European partners and just this year proposed mothballing the SOFIA mission right as the mission was ready to begin operations, another unwelcome surprise to our German partners. It is no wonder our international partners, who commit significant portions of their space budgets to NASA programs, are questioning just what the U.S. is thinking. That is why – after years of this administration’s mismanagement of these international partnerships – a clear, strategic and coherent exploration mission is necessary now more than ever. And the global consensus for such a mission appears to be the Moon. Dr. Carnesale noted that his commission found, “a great deal of enthusiasm, almost everywhere, for the Moon.” A lunar return accomplishes two important goals: • It reinvigorates our Exploration program with short-term mission that will capture the nation’s interest; • It provides an excellent testing ground for the systems and habitats necessary for eventual missions to Mars. This is the right thing to do both in terms of reasserting American leadership in space as well as contributing to our ability to go on to Mars. That is why I wrote President Obama in December, shortly after the Chinese rover landed on the Moon, urging him to convene a summit to revisit lunar missions, especially in light of steady advances by China. Unfortunately, the administration never responded. This White House doesn’t care about space, and it doesn’t seem to care that it is squandering America’s historical leadership in exploration as others catch up. It simply is not on its radar screen, which is unfortunate because we have never before relied so much on our space assets in our everyday lives.
Posted on: Wed, 06 Aug 2014 14:13:53 +0000
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