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The essential issue for Mars, as well as for most other issues, is the Republican Party's refusal to fund government programs. Until they change or are voted ou

The essential issue for Mars, as well as for most other issues, is the Republican Party's refusal to fund government programs. Until they change or are voted out of office, all planning and discussion are hot air.

avar 12y ago
That's not the issue at all. If you look at the historical budget of NASA[1] it has a very low correlation with Republican presidents[2]. The main issue is that they get a lot of misdirected funding that's mainly allocated as a function of short-term political interests, and that's an entirely bipartisan issue in the United States. 1. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/NASA-Budget-Federal.svg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/NASA-Budg... 2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Presidents_of_the_United_States http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Presidents_of_the_Unite...
- hackuser 12y ago
  I meant now, not historically.
danielweber 12y ago
Neither party really cares. There has been one pro-space guy running for office in the past 15 years.
- vtbassmatt 12y ago
  Unless you count goodspaceguy here in Seattle. http://info.kingcounty.gov/kcelections/candidatesonballot/pamphlet/pamphlet.aspx?cid=45691&listtype=PRIMARY&eid=1256#c20293 http://info.kingcounty.gov/kcelections/candidatesonballot/pa... /s
  - spb 12y ago
    Of course Mike Nelson wants to go to space. He misses his old spaceship, where he had to watch those bad movies with his robot pals. (Oh yeah, I just remembered he dropped the "Mike Nelson" part of his name years ago. Too bad.)
- smackfu 12y ago
  GWB was pretty pro-space. But NASA can't get much done in one or two four-year terms.
  - danielweber 12y ago
    Each president talks about how space is awesome. But lots of other things are awesome and need funding. The one candidate with any real decent space cred didn't make make it very far in his party's primaries last time he ran.
jbooth 12y ago
Actually, funnily enough, the Constellation program got it's big funding push under Bush, while he was talking about all his typical Republican things. Then Obama showed up, cut Constellation and privatized the launch industry, to cries of socialism and communism.
- danielweber 12y ago
  Neither party is going to fund the previous party's space mission. A mission has to be too far along to cancel by the time administrations change or else it will get the ax. If Apollo was still trying to put people in orbit in 1968, Nixon would have ended it to little public outcry.

avar 12y ago

That's not the issue at all. If you look at the historical budget of NASA[1] it has a very low correlation with Republican presidents[2]. The main issue is that they get a lot of misdirected funding that's mainly allocated as a function of short-term political interests, and that's an entirely bipartisan issue in the United States. 1. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/NASA-Budget-Federal.svg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/NASA-Budg... 2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Presidents_of_the_United_States http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Presidents_of_the_Unite...

hackuser 12y ago
I meant now, not historically.

danielweber 12y ago

Neither party really cares. There has been one pro-space guy running for office in the past 15 years.

vtbassmatt 12y ago
Unless you count goodspaceguy here in Seattle. http://info.kingcounty.gov/kcelections/candidatesonballot/pamphlet/pamphlet.aspx?cid=45691&listtype=PRIMARY&eid=1256#c20293 http://info.kingcounty.gov/kcelections/candidatesonballot/pa... /s
- spb 12y ago
  Of course Mike Nelson wants to go to space. He misses his old spaceship, where he had to watch those bad movies with his robot pals. (Oh yeah, I just remembered he dropped the "Mike Nelson" part of his name years ago. Too bad.)
smackfu 12y ago
GWB was pretty pro-space. But NASA can't get much done in one or two four-year terms.
- danielweber 12y ago
  Each president talks about how space is awesome. But lots of other things are awesome and need funding. The one candidate with any real decent space cred didn't make make it very far in his party's primaries last time he ran.

jbooth 12y ago

Actually, funnily enough, the Constellation program got it's big funding push under Bush, while he was talking about all his typical Republican things. Then Obama showed up, cut Constellation and privatized the launch industry, to cries of socialism and communism.

danielweber 12y ago
Neither party is going to fund the previous party's space mission. A mission has to be too far along to cancel by the time administrations change or else it will get the ax. If Apollo was still trying to put people in orbit in 1968, Nixon would have ended it to little public outcry.