From Kennedy to Obama: The Us Space Program Getting Lost in Space?

Credits: NASA/John Frassanito and Associates

When John F. Kennedy was president of the United States, he made a commitment to put men on the Moon. In the 1960s, the idea was purely the stuff of science-fiction and people found it hard to believe, opting to adopt a wait-and-see attitude. But it was a resolve that Kennedy was dead set on and he delivered. It was what placed the United States at the top when it came to dominance in space.

Now that the Shuttle Program is set to be retired (2010), people are looking forward to a new orbiter and more men (and women) landing on the Moon courtesy of the ambitious Constellation program (artists’ rendition, above). This new Moon mission is designed to take the conquest of the Earth’s satellite to the next level and eventually allow the establishment of a manned lunar base. But the goal of Constellation lies beyond the Moon. It’s really a stepping stone to Mars, the planet eyed to be “colonized” in the near future. The direction appears clear-cut, but reality paints a different picture with US President Barack Obama’s new plans for space exploration.

The President, although expressing his support to the country’s space program, had previously announced that budget cuts would be applied and that the Constellation program would be scrapped. Amid criticisms, he made another announcement clarifying that the plan would only be scaled down. He even predicted that he expects people to land on Mars in his lifetime.

Obama’s clarification of his initial pronouncement was met with mixed reactions. Neil Armstrong, the first man on the Moon, was furious. On the other hand Buzz Aldrin seemed to accept the President’s long-term plan. Apparently, an independent body had concluded that pushing through with Constellation now was not realistic. But the consequences of cuts are, among others, loss of jobs, the end of the reign of the US as the world’s leader in space exploration, and perhaps the worst of all, the loss of a nation’s grand vision that began with Kennedy.

Obama wanted to give private industries more reign in the development of technology that will take people into space. He said that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), instead of doing the sending, should simply doing the supporting research-or at least that was what was the plan. Nevertheless, Obama’s follow up to his first announcement made clear a few things: that there would be step-by-step commitments until Mars is reached and that NASA’s budget will be increased by six billion dollars in five years’ time. Estimated to create at least 2,500 jobs in Florida alone by 2012, critics counter that the retirement of the Shuttle program will mean 9,000 jobs lost and that the unemployed certainly cannot wait five years even when the number of jobs still wouldn’t be enough.

Obama critics say that the plans are vague and undermine the supremacy of the US in space, especially now that other countries like China, Japan, and India are making their ambitions forays into space. Russia, under President Vladimir Putin, apparently wants to increase competitiveness in this regard. According to Obama’s new plan, the US will only make the commitment to decide on sending people to Mars come 2015. For many, this is only another way of saying, “We’ll see.”

In this era of terrorism, environmental  problems, and fuel shortages, it makes for sense for Obama to slash the budget for space exploration and to divert resources to priorities. But then again, it also cuts a nation’s spirit and gives its people little to look forward to in a future where a trip to another planet is as common as intercontinental flights. With the US stepping back, another country will likely to take its place in a new space race.