What to Expect from President Trump on Space Exploration

What to Expect from President Trump on Space Exploration

- Our space program has been a driving force in our technological development, a source of national pride at home and prestige among nations.  American youth have been inspired to pursue science, and it has made us all dream.  It is in space that we can best research our planetary environment, improve our communications, and study the magnificent creation of the universe.  One day, not far into the future, we will need to find extraterrestrial natural resources and living space for our growing human population, which is already nearing seven billion.  Space has always been our final frontier.

America’s national fervor for space exploration has steadily dwindled since the climax of the moon landing of 1969.  A recent surge of interest followed the Vision for Space Exploration Program announced by President George W. Bush in 2004.  The new space policy called for a replacement for the Space Shuttle before its retirement, a return to the moon, and extending our human presence in deep space.  However, the passion for space exploration dwindled again during the administration of President Barack Obama, which began in 2009.  In 2010, the Constellation Program designed to replace the shuttle was canceled, and a proposal to extend the service of the Space Shuttle fleet was denied.  The Space Shuttle was prematurely retired without a replacement in 2011.  American astronauts have been forced since then to depend on travel in Russian Soyuz Rockets, something which many Americans have found humiliating.  The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has been instructed to limit future deep space exploration programs and to mostly limit its operations to near-earth orbit.  Further budget cuts for NASA were included in the last budget approved in 2016.  We seem to have been voluntarily yielding our lead and have decided to wait for other countries to catch up with us; China has not wasted the opportunity.

 There is a new race to the moon with China.  What nation will be the first to establish a human habitat on the surface of our celestial companion?  China’s ambitious Chang’e Lunar Exploration Program has already placed satellites circling the moon in 2007 and 2010.  In 2013, it soft-landed a lunar rover, and this year, it will send a new craft to land on the moon and return samples to Earth.  Our last soft landing on the moon dates back to 1976.  There is an abundance of valuable resources on the moon, including Helium III, which will fuel the nuclear-fusion energy revolution of the future.  The investment will be richly rewarded for all who take the challenge.

We now have a new president who promised that America will start winning again and space is a good place to prove that point.  Funding will greatly increase soon and it will fall in line with the new job creation agenda.  Once again, we will enthusiastically reach for the stars and be the first to establish a human base on the moon.  NASA will continue to lead our space program, but new government initiatives and incentives will open the door widely for American free enterprise to participate.  We already have commercial competition heating up among companies like Space X, Orbital Sciences, Blue Origin, Bigelow Aerospace, Virgin Galactic, and others.  America is ready to compete and to win again in the space race.

Visit my website at www.CarlosArce.net

Visit my blog at www.CarlosArceBlog.com

Purchase my books from Amazon.com