Running out of Patience - NASA

"In fact, we have not even been back to the Moon for 40 years. Plus, we have scrapped the shuttle program to be replaced with ... nothing."

Tonight is the first episode of a type of a docudrama different than what was been seen before. It is called Mars, and it is all about human visitation to the red planet. Of course it is fiction as we have not been to Mars as yet. In fact, we have not even been back to the Moon for 40 years. Plus, we have scrapped the shuttle program to be replaced with ... nothing.

In fact, in a short 40 years, we have gone from pioneers on the Moon to nothing more than hitchhikers. What do you mean hitchhikers? Well, it seems like once we scrapped the shuttle program, should we want to send people to the ISS, we need to stick out our thumb. It is beyond embarrassing.

Before I start beating up NASA too much, let me air something else first. We are a planet of 7.4 people. That is a bunch! With all those people, as of today we have explored less than 5% of the world's oceans! And the oceans cover over 70% of the Earth's surface. Also huge sections of Antarctica and Greenland have never been set foot on. Bottom line? Besides space, we still have a whole lot of exploring left to do on Earth.

After we had been to the Moon a few times, I really thought the next logical step was going to be Mars. When President Kennedy challenged the country to travel to the Moon within a decade, we all rose to the occasion. Much science and many new inventions came out of that decade. Today - not so much. NASA is asleep and doing very little to advance science and discovery. Meanwhile, other countries and private investors are racing to fill the void.

Just a brief history reminder. Even though very controversial, Operation Paperclip towards the end of World War II, allowed us to land Wernher von Braun. He was the preeminent rocket scientist in the world - bar none. We were able to snatch him from the Germans before the Russians could get him. And he changed how we approached space travel. In reality, he all but started NASA. 

Long dead and gone, von Braun would be spinning in his grave if he could see how NASA is run today. It is nothing more than a shell, which is still is able to garner tax dollars out of the budget. I for one have run out of patience with NASA. I would like President Trump during his first State of the Union address to tell the country we will have people on Mars within five years. Sound to idealistic? So did going to the Moon in 1960. And yet in July of 1969, we landed folks on the Moon. 

President Trump needs to appoint a new NASA administrator in the mold of Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos. Not some nambie pambie, boot licking politician. A person of bold vision who is willing to come up with creative solutions.

The time is now. Mars is just sitting there, waiting for us to explore it. And after Mars? As the saying goes, the sky is the limit.