Mission unthinkable

摘要

Less than two years after it was announced with great fanfare, President Bush's plan to return people to the moon is in trouble. The signs are everywhere. Take Operation Offset, a proposal devised by a group of Republican legislators to cut government programmes and free up funds to pay for damage done by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Conspicuous on the chopping block is NASA's moon and Mars initiative. Another austerity proposal, suggested by economist Maya MacGuineas, recommended much the same thing: cancel NASA's Crew Exploration Vehicle, the spacecraft that would carry humans back to the moon.