While it was increasingly clear in the last couple of weeks that NASA would not close the lunar robotics office at Marshall, the Huntsville Times reported today that it was official: NASA would keep the office open at a cost of $20 million a year for the next six years. However, what the office will be doing after next year’s launch of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter remains uncertain, given that NASA has indefinitely postponed plans for a lunar lander and other follow-on missions. Also left unanswered: since NASA decided to close the office to save that $20 million, what other program(s) will have to take the hit to make up that money? But, at least, Sen. Richard Shelby, the most outspoken opponent of the move, won’t be spending as much time counting down the days until January 2009…
This is an almost complete waste of money, but Dr. Griffin apparently has suggested that these folks could be kept busy studying the comsats and LPS (Lunar Positioning System) that a permanent presence on the moon would require. . . .
— Donald
What about NASA isn’t an ‘almost complete waste of money’ nowadays?
“but Dr. Griffin apparently has suggested that these folks could be kept busy studying the comsats and LPS (Lunar Positioning System) that a permanent presence on the moon would require. . . .”
So much for Griffin’s space commercialization speeches about having industry deliver these kinds of support capabilities to a future lunar polar base.
Sad. Really sad.
Anonymous, very good point. I hadn’t thought of that.
— Donald