Could NASA be Grounded Indefinitely?

By jw

According to a Time article, Obama’s latest budget proposal would provide over $100 billion in funding to NASA, but does not allocate any of it to continue the Ares rocket testing through the Constellation-project which was geared toward a 21st century lunar landing and eventually Mars. Projects the $100 billion would be allocated for include extending the life of the ISS (International Space Station), better robotics, new flight techniques, and unmanned spacecraft. Sound off in our Forums and let us know what you think!

NASA Ares Rocket

The initiative, for now at least, is more about what NASA plans to cancel than what it plans to pursue. The six-year-old Constellation program, which had been focused on developing new boosters, Apollo-like orbiters and a 21st century lunar lander, all with the goal of making long-term stays on the moon possible, will be scrapped, after $9 billion and a single flight of the Ares 1 booster last October. The longer-term goal of venturing out to Mars is being tabled along with it.

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