House introduces NASA authorization bill that emphasizes Mars over moon

[smp]

From SpaceNews.com:
"WASHINGTON — The leadership of the House Science Committee introduced a NASA authorization bill Jan. 24 that seeks to significantly alter NASA’s current plans to return humans to the moon and make them part of an effort to send humans to Mars."

https://spacenews.com/house-introduces- ... over-moon/

Here we go again. Let's end up with a bunch of competing ideas in Washington, instead of a unified goal the Government can fund and stick to. SIGH!

smp

[GCoyote]

Agreed. Neither project that can make any progress when a new crop of Congress-Critters shows up every two years and rearranges the furniture for 40th time.

[notFritzArgelander]

Agreed. Neither project that can make any progress when a new crop of Congress-Critters shows up every two years and rearranges the furniture for 40th time.

Although NASA program management has not been stellar ( ) IMO Congress and politicians can be counted on to REALLY screw things up.

[smp]

Here's a new article from SpaceNews.com:
"Bridenstine concerned about aspects of House NASA authorization bill"

""I am concerned that the bill imposes some significant constraints on our approach to lunar exploration,” Bridenstine said in a statement posted on the NASA website, referring specifically to language in the bill that would make NASA change its approach to developing a human lunar lander.

In particular, we are concerned that the bill’s approach to developing a human lander system as fully government-owned and directed would be ineffective,” he wrote. “The approach established by the bill would inhibit our ability to develop a flexible architecture that takes advantage of the full array of national capabilities — government and private sector — to accomplish national goals.""

https://spacenews.com/bridenstine-conce ... tion-bill/

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[GCoyote]

He has a point. The greatest advance in global space exploration over the past decade has not been any particular mission or system. It's been the tremendous expansion of competition by and between new commercial space businesses.