Given the uncertainty surrounding the direction of the human space exploration program these days, a group of young professionals here at JSC assembled with the guidance and support of the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership and local aerospace executives to begin an advocacy campaign and get the word out on why we think human spaceflight is important.
The Young Professionals branch of the Citizens for Space Exploration now has a website that I must highly recommend you give a look: http://www.goboldlynasa.org/
At the moment, we have content on the contributions of NASA research to healthcare, education, national security, energy, the economy, world leadership, and the environment and an application that allows interested individuals to send a letter to their Congressional representatives.
We will soon add a page on why space exploration is inspiring to us and the people we've met and a video on what life would be like without the everyday benefits of space technology. The linked Twitter account will provide updates on innovations from space that are relevant to life here on Earth and developments on the Hill. We are also putting together a Facebook group to really expand our network.
Remember, this is your space program, too. Please spread the word, give your input, and share the link. There might even be a contest to see which state can generate the most support, as our webmaster can track regional participation. Our colleagues outside of Texas plan to try to give us a run for our money...
And there in lies the problem. How do you explain to the ignorant and the science haters how physics (something they could have learned in high school, but chose not to) impacts their everyday life? I dare you to do anything that doesn't involve physics.
Want to know why America is declining so fast? We have moved beyond the day when not needing to know everything is sufficient. The time has passed when drilling a hole and laying down railroad tracks is enough...
Manned space flight? Is a necessity, whether or not you understand, appreciate, or whatever.
See, now that's cool.
Bobo,
There is content in work to give some more "meat" to the site.
Primarily, it's removing gravity as a factor that makes such microbiological research unique. It's a variable that simply cannot be removed in labs on the ground. Salmonella and MRSA actually become more virulent in microgravity, which makes it easier to isolate the mechanisms involved.
jkug,
I think one thing missing from the website is WHY micro-gravity and/or humans in micro-gravity have a beneficial effect on medical research, for example, that can not be duplicated on Earth.
If it's true, if there's a reason that involves particle physics, say, it's also the hardest kind of writing to do.
The writer has to find a way to describe what perhaps can not be easily understood without formal training in physics, and yet make the reader understand.
Is there some condition routinely encountered by medical researchers on Earth that just doesn't happen in micro-gravity? Does micro-gravity free them up in some way?
I appreciate what you're attempting to do and the energy you're putting into it.
When I first started working at JSC, my NASA boss said he'd just like to finish something. I didn't really understand.
When I read the NASA history contained in the Columbia accident report, though, I saw immediately what he was referring to: budget ups, downs, and directional flips. Every administration has it's own take and everybody, I mean everybody, knows exactly what NASA should do.
Try my idea. A bunch of menopausal women in space would have a significalty beneficial effect on us down here on the planet. Trust me.
I'm with arte all the way.
BUT, my wife is going through menopause. I wouldn't mind sending her up in space at government expense. Perhaps the "condition" is less severe when one is "weightless".
Dude....I thought that was hilarious.
artemus,
I can assure that a discussion of how to make NASA relevant to our national priorities is well under way and that I have been among those championing that cause. The new Deputy Administrator, Lori Garver, seems to get it and recently made public statements to that effect.
I'm the wet blanket on this one. Sounds to me like another group of federal employees and contractors lobbying to keep their jobs. I can say that, of course, since I am no longer in a federal job and actually managed to eliminate the one I did have. No thanks necessary. Believe me, we are better off with the loss of that minor part of the bureaucracy.
No doubt that we have benefited substantially from space exploration technology. I have a wonderful jpg of Eta Carinae as my screensaver, and we know so much more about the vastness of our universe. But the point is that we have limited resources and immense public needs. If NASA can figure out how to focus its mission so as to be part of our national priorities, I'm all for it.
J,
That sounds like a very worthwhile project and one that I'm sure the space industry veterans will applaud as sorely needed. I'll definitely check it out and help get the word to my co-workers. Actually, they may have already heard (I tend to ignore a lot of emails) Good luck, good fortune AND of course, Live Long and Prosper!
Loma,
John Lear (his father of Lear Jet fame) claims he has a home on the moon and that we have had a Mars colony since the 50's that was established with the help of the Roswell 'aliens'. I think he said they use the 'Looking Glass' device to travel back and forth. Uh yeah, right, even I have trouble believing that one. Well, not so much me really as his comrades in the government disclosure war. So ACORN is in the clear on this one, too.
The space program has undoubtedly contributed to everyone's well being. How to fund the next big leap, that's the kicker.
Jeez, I was just kidding, ya know???
It's fairly obvious that if it weren't for the involvement of ACORN in the Space Program, we would have already had colonies on Mars and beyond...