What do you want to see next in space exploration?
by Stephen Block
November 26, 2012 | 0 comments
My vision for the future is a solar system-wide economy, where resources are harvested throughout the solar system and sold on Earth. All else will follow. ... more »
by Jimmy Powers
November 26, 2012 | 0 comments
I am not a scientist. I am simply an older, retired taxpayer with a love of science borne of growing up during man's conquest of space and stepping foot on the moon. I was a science major in college but never worked in the field. No one has to persuade me of the intrinsic value of basic research or the benefits to society of exploration of space or any other scientific exploration. But as a baby boomer disappointed at the stage we are at in human exploration, I think it needs to be pointed out to Planetary Society members that ... more »
by Jack Stewart
November 26, 2012 | 0 comments
I want to manned exploration of our solar system. Human expansion and permanent homesteads on Mars and our moon. I believe it is our destiny to colonize the solar system and eventually beyond. I know I'll never see that happen but I have hope for my grandchildren and their children ad infinitem. Mankind is meant for so much more than this puny planet. God gave us an inquisitive nature so that we may explore everything He created for us. ... more »
by L. J. Strom
November 26, 2012 | 0 comments
While the recent robotic missions to the planets, Mars in particular, have yielded spectacular results, there's nothing quite like getting humans out there. When I was young and space exploration was new and exciting (and "Star Trek," "Star Wars," and "Cosmos" were in the air!), it seemed like a base on the Moon and humans on Mars would be our next steps. I still hope to see these things happen in the coming decades. ... more »
by William Bowling
November 26, 2012 | 0 comments
I would like to see a mission to a Near Earth Object to intersept and positively move it by three different means to quickly see what works the best in an emergency situation to move it!! ... more »
by Royce W Embanks Jr
November 26, 2012 | 0 comments
I believe we have the ability and the equipment to establish a moon base now. Once we demonstrate we can do that we need to move to Mars. We can begin to build in space the craft to get us to Mars. We are wasting time right now, we are not actively being responsible to reality. ... more »
by Jim Elder
November 26, 2012 | 0 comments
1. Moon base. this has the most potential benefit. 2. Get a rover into those deep Mars canyons. That's where the most water will be. ... more »
by Edward Kantor
November 26, 2012 | 0 comments
The title speaks for itself. ... more »
by William Laub
November 26, 2012 | 0 comments
Given the current flat state of NASA funding, and likely to continue, I think the most productive use of funds available is a mission to return a sample of the plume from Enceladus, which has already been shown to contain water and organic compounds. We already have the technology to do this as shown by the sample return from a comet's plume (and no need to develop a drill to go beneath the surface.) It would be great if this could be a joint mission to land a probe on a lake of Titan to investigate the possibility of "life ... more »
by Matthew Marchese, Esq.
November 26, 2012 | 0 comments
Having been born in 1961 I remember watching all the Apollo missions (with Walter Cronkite)when I saw Neil Armstrong step foot on the Moon I thought we, as a species, were on our way to the stars. Since then I witnessed public support vanish and Apollo was cancelled; the Space Shuttle was built with no place to go and finally when the ISS was on the verge of completion our only ride was relegated to museums. We did not even have a replacement ready to assume the burden of transportation of American personnel and cargo to the ISS and beyond. ... more »
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What sparked your passion for space?
by Roberto Gorla
December 2, 2012 | 0 comments
I was twelve years old. In Italy it was deep in the night when Neil descended the ladder. My parents were already sleeping and let me watch Tv alone. I saw eerie figures slowing dancing on a grey, spectral surface. I thought that the Earth can't be the only place where humankind would freely roam. ... more »
by Sebastian Sanzberro
December 18, 2012 | 0 comments
Most people born in my generation (the generation that saw "Star Wars" at age 10 or so, and had our little minds collectively blown), would say space fantasies such as Star Trek and Star Wars were their introduction to the wonders of space. But in my case that is only partly true. What truly solidified my love of space was not just space fantasy, but space reality. As a little kid I remember Mars was, for the most part, a fantasy place; like Santa's workshop in the north pole. Mythical. A fantasy place that I'd probably never see in my ... more »
by Dr. Lisa Tryon
December 18, 2012 | 0 comments
Many years ago my neighborhood experienced an aurora borealis, a very rare occurrence in Connecticut. Everyone was outside staring up at the night sky. I was only 12 but knew what it was and started telling all the adults about it. And now I'm many years older teaching science to high shcool and college students and still awestruck at the beauty of the universe. ... more »
by Harva Sheeler
December 3, 2012 | 0 comments
1948,age 14,female. High school study hall, Orono Maine. Friend gave me his copy of Astounding Science Fiction and that's all it took. Avid sci-fi and non-fiction space science reader. (Walter Cronkite and I were together for all NASA take-offs.)Almost 79 now, retired librarian--but in my heart I'm a member of the staff of NCC-1701 traveling in space where no one has gone before. ... more »
by Ann Morris
December 2, 2012 | 0 comments
For those of us who grew up in Florida in the 1950s and 60s, it would have been hard not to take an interest in space. On May 5th, 1961, the students of Hogan Spring Glen Elementary in Jacksonville, Florida crowded into the school auditorium to watch Alan Shepard become the first American to go to space. All we had was one small black and white TV and probably most of us couldn't really see what was going on but we could hear and we all felt proud to be there sharing a great moment in our country's history. When ... more »
by Michael J. Fekete
December 10, 2012 | 0 comments
As a child in Hubbard Ohio I was constantly amazed at the night sky. There were so many stars out at night I actually had to look for a dark patch instead of the abundance of white stars that filled my view. I was awestruck at what I was seeing. No one I knew could explain what I was actually looking at. Then the TV show Star Trek was introduced. I was only eight years old but it expanded my mind as to what it really was and the possibilities of space flight. I was forever a fan of the ... more »
by Shelley Volz
December 10, 2012 | 0 comments
My eighth grade teacher recommended me (a girl!) to attend NASA sponsored all day Saturday classes in physics, math and a lab in which we ground/polished/assembled our very own 4" reflecting mirror in a Newtonian mounted telescope! I'm not sure which was more awesome, classes teaching physics and using calculus appropriately to calculate escape velocities, or actually building our very own telescopes. No, the most awesome part was having my dad go with me to Pratt Institute in Brooklyn on the subway to help me schlep home my four foot tall telescope and then getting to show him what the ... more »
by Gerald Alderson
December 2, 2012 | 0 comments
In the 1950's when I was a child I would go outside lie in the grass and look up at the stars. I imagined myself riding a spaceship through the stars and seeing what they were. I read about astronomy and space travel. I particularly remember the writings of Willie Ley. When Carl Sagan did that program in the 80's about the travel through space, it was like I had been there before. ... more »
by Mark Holland
December 3, 2012 | 0 comments
In the spring of 1970, I was 16 and spent my afternoons in high school running our tiny planetarium. My Science Teacher gave me a flyer from the Hayden Planetarium for a National Science Foundation summer program for high schools students. I had no idea how I was going to find a place to live, but I applied, and got in. Having an entire summer being taught by grad students with presentations by world-class astrophysicists, plus spending my lunch-hour wandering the Museum of Natural History, fueled my passion for Science and Astronomy. I "pay it forward" by conducting ad-hoc "star ... more »
by Jim Yanacek
December 10, 2012 | 0 comments
Dear Dr. Tyson, In response to your question regarding what "sparked" my passion for space. I doubt that anything sparks a passion for space. This is something you are born with. Something you cannot ignore, something many people will not understand, but something those who do, live in wonderment and awe of our incredibly small part and place in the Universe. One day, we will find other residents of our Universe or they will find us. I regret that I will probably not live long enough to witness this event. I envy those people who will. ... more »
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What might the future be like without space exploration?
by Jim Bell
December 5, 2012
We are born explorers. As infants we first learn to use our senses -- vision, hearing, touch, taste -- to learn about the nature of the world around us. And then -- gloriously! -- as toddlers we add mobility and can finally rove around and explore not just what is within our vision, but also the unknown across the room, or around the corner. It turns out that that urge to explore never leaves us as we continue to grow, as individuals, and as a civilization. Nowadays our fascination with the unknown compels us to explore not just the world around us, but the limitless frontiers of distant planets, stars, and galaxies.
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