Open Forum: NASA: Moon launch of our Century

Speakers: Doug Taggart, Chair Committee on Transportation and Aerospace policy
Barry Tilton, vice-Chair, Committee on Transportation and Aerospace

This forum began with questions to attendees to help give ideas to the speakers as to what direction their committee should focus its efforts regarding, in particular – the recent US Congressional decision to stop Space Exploration.
Should IEEE develop a policy statement in regards to this decision? In a nutshell, Obama’s administration and congress has the attitude toward NASA and Space “Been there, Done that” and wants to direct monies spent on space to more practical endeavors such as transferring American technology to third world countries.
Is IEEE, as engineers, in a position to help guide policy?

Repeatedly, throughout the discussion, attendees circled back around to the question of Why?
What is the benefit of Space exploration? Why send people to Mars? Why go back to the moon? In my opinion, NASA has done an extremely poor job of “selling” space since the Star Wars program. I think most Americans see the return on investment as extremely poor as though NASA only accomplishment is to show us pretty cool photos of Space and other galaxies. Again….what’s the benefit?

Barry Tilton made an exceptional point at the end of the evening: NASA is funded at the pleasure of Congress and NASA is forced to “re-tool” upon each new Administration. Projects don’t get completed and therefore they have little to show for it. This is a fundamental problem that could be solved by congress locking in funding until the project is completed – no matter what the administrative change in government happens to be. Canada is a good model for this.

It was discussed by several like minded attendees that we – NASA, engineers, the government, needs to determine Why…..why explore space? Is it for nationalism, defense, to discover rare minerals, or is it just to satisfy our basic American need to “explore”?
In my opinion, we should allow Commercial, entrepreneurial companies to explore space, especially if the motive for doing so is financial gain – mineral exploration in particular. Wouldn’t our engineers be better served if IEEE petitioned (lobbied) the government and encouraged commercial space exploration?
One argument discussed – private enterprise is not interested in pure research and it is governments’ responsibility to fund space exploration? I disagree. Industry funds pure research through our universities and colleges quite successfully.
Do we want government involved in mineral exploration?

Yet, Speaker Barry Tilton made a good argument for government funded space exploration “Humans are their best when they are exploring. It’s the question we don’t even know to ask that is most likely to move mankind forward” The question – have we, as Americans no longer have a passion for exploration?

The question remains: Should IEEE develop a strategy statement, from an engineering perspective, a declarative statement – or is that just putting the cart before the horse?

I think most left the forum with more questions than we entered the forum with, yet there appears to be a consensus on one thing: NASA, IEEE, the American people need to answer the question WHY. Why do we want to explore space? What will motivate us? One attendee echoed “we need to provide a challenge. When it’s there, people will rise to the occasion – as Americans, we have a great history of rising to the occasion” Once we can answer the question “Why”
Then we (IEEE) can move forward with developing a policy and “selling” it to politician and the people.

-Gary Perman