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05/03/2004: "Is it all a photo-op?"

Former Astronaut John Glenn's (to Kerry's right) sharp rebuke of Bush's new space vision was reported in today's news. The resource reallocation needed to fund the Mars-via-the-Moon trip might imply cutting scientific research that was already mostly pay for, not so much to save money but in order to 'mark the change in priorities'. While having a man standing on Mars is specific enough to be shown as an accomplishment (with great fanfare), the many milestones to get there will involve small (unspectacular) steps forward.

One can legitimately question if the need to show more spectacular milestones (to guarantee political support and to show that the project is going forward) won't have as a consequence the emphasis on resource-consuming intermediary objectives (such as building a station on the Moon) - this to garner as much political capital as possible, thus limiting resources available for the end-objective. The photo-op could end up higher on the political agenda than the 'bold vision of a human presence across the solar system'. In other words, a flag-waving press conference on the Moon could mark the premature end to the trip to Mars.
> CNN.COM - John Glenn's criticism of Bush's space vision