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Because we don't have any functional craft that are capable of making the voyage and returning safely.

I'm all for revitalizing the space program. It creates jobs, brings international prestige, and advances scientific and technological development.

The Moon in 15 Years? Hell yes!

I'd like to think that the trip to the moon will be used to develop the kinds of technologies that will be needed to make a round-trip manned landing on the Red Planet somtime in the 20's. If something goes wrong during the developmental stages, Luna is a whole helluva lot closer for a rescue mission.

We're 20 years behind in developing new manned spaceflight technologies. Nothing new has been flown since the Shuttle Endeavour in 1992 -- eleven years ago. The Lag from the end of the Apollo missions and the beginning of Space Shuttle Missions was nine years, but the first shuttles were being constructed by 1975, only three years after the last moon mission. We do have a design competition going on for a new vehicle to replace the shuttles as our primary ground-to-orbit reusable heavy lifter, but nothing designed for interplanetary travel. We have to begin this project from scratch, so a 15-year window is not unreasonable, especially considering all the political bullshit that is going to slow the process right from the beginning.

And now, a bit of preachiness:

Human nature drives us, as a species, to move ahead to places we've never seen and experience them firsthand. To Pioneer, to be the first person ever to do or see a thing, drives many of us. Frankly, there's not much left to explore on this little blue marble, so we cast our eyes skyward. The recent furor about Spirit and Opportunity is evidence enough of this, and these are robotic golf-carts with cameras. To send human beings to another world and allow them to explore first hand the wonders of the cosmos will ignite a national pride not seen in this country for more than 30 years.

I've already had a conversation with my wife about this, and if none of the democratic candidates supports this initiative I will be casting my vote for President Bush in November. I have always felt very strongly that the exploration and colonization of space should be a high priority for this nation, and for far too long NASA has been neglected in the budget and then ridiculed for not being able to perform the same kind of dramatic missions they had in the heyday from the mid-60's to the early days of the shuttle flights.