As much as I want to put the politicizing overtones of this topic aside, I simply can't. It seems all too obvious to me that this is not merely just an issue for Bush to make his mark as a "great" president, but it is also a huge wag-the-dog issue in terms of Iraq and possibly the economy (if the consequences of the deficit catch up). It also seems somewhat likely that Bush is attempting to show his pseudo pro-science side in some strange ironic fashion, considering he pretty much rejects most other scientific research to suit his pro-business policies.
But if I try to scrape the political notions aside for a moment (which is pretty darn difficult), I must concede that I also dream of the moment for man to travel to Mars as well as return to the moon. It seems that the technology and know-how is present for such adventures, so my heart definitely jumps at the thought. However, my mind looks at the reality of the huge financial constraints we are currently under right now, and it simply doesn't seem plausible. We have many other issues to worry about today, and I'd like to see them get addressed before we fund NASA any further for such adventures. Nevertheless, I do believe such space trips will be seen in the next 20 years or so.
Here's to hoping.
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