AFP reported that an anonymous White House advisor said, “The Constellation program (to return to the Moon) is dead.”
On the 28th, US officials revealed that the “Return to the Moon” program, passed by the Bush administration in 2004 with a planned cost of up to $230 billion, has actually been shelved by President Obama. Instead, Obama will allocate $5.9 billion to NASA over the next five years. A portion of this will be used to extend the lifespan of the International Space Station (ISS) to 2020, and another part will be used to encourage private companies to develop spacecraft to transport astronauts to the space station after the Space Shuttle is retired. With the termination of the “Return to the Moon” program, the development plans for a series of related equipment, such as the new generation “Saturn” series rockets, lunar landing spacecraft, and lunar rovers, will also be terminated, which can significantly reduce the financial pressure on the US government.
The news is shocking, but perhaps expected. Why? It is a matter of money. According to statistics from 2009, the entire Constellation program would cost $230 billion. This is a considerable sum, and President Obama’s budget plan is insufficient to support the return program formulated by former President Bush. An aide to an elected official familiar with Obama’s plan stated that Obama has “effectively ended the return to the moon program.” Another point proves this reason: the large amount of funds remaining after the termination of the “Return to the Moon” program will mainly flow in three directions: (1) developing newer rockets for Mars exploration; (2) launching more remote sensing satellites for monitoring global climate change; (3) developing more commercially promising projects similar to “space taxis.” It seems that NASA is also thinking of ways to make money. I wonder if aerospace will “change its nature” under these circumstances.
However, space expert John Logsdon also stated that the end of the return to the moon program does not mean the end of America’s space ambitions. “Although the Constellation program is dead, it doesn’t mean space exploration is dead,” he said. NASA may begin cooperation with the private sector and international partners, focusing on the future of the International Space Station after 2020.
From this perspective, perhaps other countries have a high probability of taking the lead in a manned moon landing in the 21st century before the United States returns to the moon. Perhaps, that country is China... Perhaps in the 21st century, the first language spoken on the moon will be Chinese, truly using Chinese to speak a sentence that will be immortalized, such as “One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” On that day, it will not be us, but people from other countries who will need to use a dictionary to translate the meaning of that sentence! That single sentence will be understood by all descendants of Yan and Huang!
Reference: http://news.sina.com.cn/o/2010-01-31/152517023101s.shtml
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