Is the best idea really to ask for money from the government? Why shouldn't NASA seek out corporate sponsers and funding? The U.S. government, as of now, has many problems and other priorities to attend to. The $119 billion wasted on Iraq could have been put to much better use in terms of space exploration. That money could have built us a colony ship to send humans to live elsewhere in space. It is obvious the goverment cares very little for space exploration. I assume that if Bush is reelected all the promises of 'The Moon in 2010!' will be gone. What are your thoughts about this issue? Should NASA promote sponsers and work in part with universities?

God knows why he made that silly speech about going back to the Moon and then to Mars - he knows not enough people in the populace would support it. As a vote winner, he'd be better off promising more funds for cancer research. Cutting some of the $400 billion military budget for 2005 and diverting some of those funds elsewhere would be a good start.

I'm going to shut up now cos we can't talk about politics LOL

Private funding? Hmmmm... I think, whether the US government or NASA wants it or not, sooner or later you're going to have private enterprise going to space, albeit for mostly tourism or scientific research. And where would that leave NASA? It's not going to get mothballed, but the day will soon come when NASA realises it's not the biggest fish in the sea anymore.

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"The stars are my home"
"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe... Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion... I've watched c-beams glitter in the dark, near the Tanhauser Gate... all those moments will be lost, in time... like tears in the rain..."

Dippy, re-The capabilities of NASA, its talent, experience and creativity, come from its employees. Any private alternatives to NASA, will draw that talent like moths to an energy-saving, compact flourescent light bulb( :P ).

"If you build it, they will come". Batter Up!

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Pre-Quote: 'To survive one has to experiment. When the environment changes, the traditional way of doing things doesn't work.'

Quote:
"It's the outriders, the organisms that seem to be maladjusted before the change, which are the only ones that survive these changes...in that way a species continues."

Carl Sagan