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Date published: 11/28/2009
PRINCETON, N.J.-- The Review of U.S. Human Spaceflight Plans Committee has now delivered its final report. The 155-page report provides our country with options for the future of human space flight beyond low-Earth orbit. As a member of the committee, I am especially proud of the report for several reasons.First, the report makes clear that the key choice facing us is one of goals, not destinations. Too often the debate over human spaceflight becomes an argument over destination: Should we go back to the moon? Mars? But this risks choosing a destination first, then searching for reasons to justify that choice. At least in part, that is what went wrong with the International Space Station, a destination in low-Earth orbit that is still searching to explain its purpose. Instead, we need to decide on our goals for human space flight and have the destinations flow from these goals. The committee concluded that human space flight serves varied national interests, but sending humans beyond low-Earth orbit has as its fundamental goal charting a path for human expansion into the solar system. This is ambitious, but if this is not our goal, we should restrict ourselves to destinations in low-Earth orbit. Human expansion into the solar system is a goal worthy of a great nation working in concert with other space powers. Second, the report insists on scientific integrity. Too often, human space flight has been justified with exaggerated claims about its scientific payoff. Exploration with astronauts can have significant scientific benefits in several areas beyond the tautological justification of studying what happens to humans in space. As was emphasized by scientists' testimony, astronauts have a tremendous advantage over robot spacecraft when it comes to field geology. Simply being able to pick up a rock, turn it over, expose a fresh surface with a hammer, and then use geological expertise to decide whether to move on to another rock is a human capability that blows away what robot rovers can do. Similarly, the ability to service and repair space observatories that face unanticipated problems favors the astronaut over the robot.
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