Last and First Men

“I'm quite disappointed that I'm still the last man on the moon.”

Eugene Cernan

Although his passing didn't garner the same sort of attention as Neil Armstrong's death, the departure yesterday of ex-astronaut Gene Cernan at the age of 82 provides us with an odd set of bookends: the first and the last man to walk on the Moon are both dead.

Eugene Cernan was part of the third group of astronauts selected by NASA in 1963, and flew on the Gemini 9A, Apollo 10 and Apollo 17 missions, with Apollo 17 marking humanity's last visit to the Moon. Since then, NASA has split its focus between the International Space Station and automated exploration of the Solar System: robotic rovers on Mars and various near-Earth/deep space probes such as Juno, Cassini and New Horizons.

In the background behind these activities has always been the prospect of more manned space exploration - not a return to the Moon, but a larger step, the first manned mission to Mars.

For the last eight years, the White House has strongly supported NASA as part of Obama's focus on science and technology, as well as promoting space initiatives in private industry. This support has enabled NASA to work on refining existing technologies and developing new ones to make the goal of a Mars landing possible, with target dates of early in the next decade for manned exploration of an asteroid*, and sometime in the 2030s for the trip to Mars.

Sadly, nothing lasts forever. In three days, Donald J. Trump will become the 45th president of the United States, and as with many of Mr. Trump's statements, it's difficult to determine exactly what his position on the space program is going to be.

On one hand, he has stated: "NASA has been one of the most important agencies in the United States government for most of my lifetime. It should remain so."  He has also connected space exploration with his desire to return America to greatness: "47 years ago our nation did something that NOBODY thought we could do - we were the first to put a man on the moon. It is time to be number one, again! Believe me, as President, we will once again, Make America First Again!"

Not surprisingly, he also supports the involvement of private industry in space exploration, suggesting that NASA should concentrate on "deep space activities" and allowing the private sector to work on near-Earth projects.

However, Trump has also noted that "A lot of what my administration would recommend depends on our economic state. If we are growing with all of our people employed and our military readiness back to acceptable levels, then we can take a look at the timeline for sending more people into space," and that "In the old days, it [NASA] was great. Right now, we have bigger problems, you understand that. We have to fix our potholes. We don't exactly have a lot of money."

Personally, I can see the coin falling either way.  It's easy to see Trump beginning by putting his house in order as he sees it: bringing jobs back into the US or keeping them there, working on infrastructure, developing the military, and only then turning his attention to space.  But let's be honest. Donald Trump has a more than healthy ego**, and the space program has always been an area of international prestige for the United States. I'm certain that Mr. Trump would be eager to have his name associated with an epic return to space by the USA.

But let's take this to the next logical step. Mr. Trump is also a businessman who has made a lot of money off the branding associated with his name. Combine that with his statements regarding the private sector being more involved in space, and what do we get?

Hopefully valet parking will be an option.

- Sid

P.S. A comprehensive list of Trump's comments on the space program can be found at:
http://www.planetary.org/get-involved/be-a-space-advocate/election2016/trump.html

* I'm surprised to discover that the mandate for this mission includes redirecting an asteroid to near-Earth orbit. What could possibly go wrong with that?   

**  Yes, I realize that this is probably the understatement of the century.