Dan Goldin, also Dennis Tito

Recently I read an article about a speach Dan Goldin
gave about Mars. He proclaimed that in 20 years we
could get there, implying that he hopes someone will
let him begin this process very soon. I believe that
NASA is heading in this direction and there is little
to do about it. It does seem that NASA's fixation on Mars is rather single-minded. I don't get the impression that High Frontier has had any influence whatsoever on Goldin's thinking. He actively discourages research on SPS whenever he can, and what money is presently getting spent is over his objections. I remember once hearing him say that his favorite fantasy was looking at a picture of an Earthlike planet in another solar system that a space probe had beamed back. This to me suggests that his thinking is more influenced by science fiction than by NASA's own space settlement studies, which make Earthlike planets largely irrelevant. I'm worried that humans may not
return to the moon in my own lifetime ( and I have a
lot of life left). The Chinese may succeed at this, Perhaps, but it's important to remember that the Chinese are right now where we were in the days leading up to the first Mercury flights. Of course it's always possible that they may progress from there to reusable space transportation systems more rapidly than we did, but they still have a long road to travel. I doubt there will be
more than one single mission to mars, it will be a
long mission, but nevertheless a single one. I'm willing to allow thata Mars Direct approach would probably entail at least a half dozen manned missions. However, if Mars advocates oversell the notion that there might be present or past life on Mars, and if none is found once we get there, we might see a drop-off of public interest even more precipitous than we saw with Apollo. I also constantly question and challenge the idea that Mars Direct type missions will surely and inevitably result in mass settlement of Mars. Oh well,
Dennis Tito could help. He has expressed an interest
in being a mediator between wall street and NASA, but
NASA will likely reject him. Without a doubt. Goldin seemed to view this whole affair as a challenge to his authority over ISS. Goldin would have to be totally out of the picture (and that may be forthcoming) for Tito to be treated with anything better than open contempt by NASA. With his new found
adoration of outer space Umm.. careful there. Tito was a space enthusiast from way back, and even used to work for the space program. he could be an enthuisiastic
supporter of space settlement, When I was in college, SPS was thebusiness plan that was going to open the high frontier. Although concerns about global warming and rolling brown-outs in California might well be cause for renewed optimism regarding SPS, it seems like tourism is now beginning to look like a good business plan. And there's reason to be optimistic that Tito may help out here, on more than one level. I hope the SFF or the
NSS will contact him. I know that the SFF enthusiastically endorsed his flight. Who
knows, I just hope a successful mars mission doesn't
take us to Europa. It does seem that NASA (and public) interest is fixated on the idea of finding life elsewhere. I fear this fixation may be misguided. The history of the notion of life beyond the Earth has been one where there is a willingness to speculate on life in any place where we don't yet have enough data to positively rule it out. It has been a steadyterritorial retreat, as our knowledge of the solar system grows. It bothers me to see our space program select targets based on currently-fashionable notions of where life might be hiding, and the public seeming to assume thatfinding life elsewhere is theonly point of space travel.