Fraters Libertas

NASA Needs To Get Bold

Ever since the end of the moon landing era, NASA has struggled to recapture the public's imagination (and with it the possibility of even more funding). Sure the occasional space probe will provide us with spectacular shots of other worlds, but most of NASA's current missions are nothing but after thoughts for vast majority of Americans. The only time we pay attention to the space shuttle is when it fails and the international space station has proven to be a big yawner.

So what can NASA do to once again get the space program front and center on the American cultural landscape?

Kurt at Writing History (another august member of the MOB) suggests that they get back to basics and focus on their true mission:

NASA claims its mission is to explore space but it isn't being honest with itself. What NASA does is explore things in space, moons, planets, suns and whatever else is flying around out there. Space is just the in-between stuff from here to there.

I propose NASA live up to its claim of space exploration and launch the first manned mission to space. They get a crew together, stock the space craft with a lifetime supply of Tang and crossword puzzles, pick a nice empty spot in space and LIFT OFF! Just like Star Trek, boldly going where no man has gone before.

And never coming back:

It would be the ride of a life time, in fact it would take a lifetime because there would be no returning, one way only. How bold would it be if they turned around half way and returned to earth? What is the point of this? Like any other exploration, to find out what's out there. No one knows what having human consciousness that far away from earth would be like.

But who would volunteer for such a mission?

Picking a crew wouldn't be as difficult as you first might think. There would have to be a certain religious element. Maybe some cloistered monks wanting a change of scenery. It might be kind of lonely if you're the last surveying member of the crew but you'd accept that possibility going in. Or how about some Scientologists, wasn't L. Ron a science fiction writer, seems like a perfect fit. They could let John Travolta steer.

While monks or Hollywood celebs might not be a bad way to go, why not turn this into the ultimate reality TV show? Instead of fifteen minutes of fame, you'd be signing up for a lifetime of stardom. As extreme as that notion may seem, I bet people would jump at the opportunity.

Start off with a bunch of contestants and let the public vote each week to narrow down the field and eventually pick the crew. Show them going through training. Show the launch and their continued adventures as they hurtle through space. You think people on the Real World get up in each other's faces? Imagine being stuck in a spaceship with seven or eight strangers for the REST of your life. We're talking ratings gold here baby.

I don't know about the technical considerations for building a ship that could undertake such a journey. But then again I ain't a rocket science, I'm an ideas man. Anyway those pointy headed geeks at NASA should be able to work out all of those sort of details. That's what we're paying them for, right?

Now we just need a name for the show...