More NASA Letters

Popular Science rightly advocates sending humans to Mars. But I feel that NASA is "stuck in a box" that dramatically increases the difficulty. Why should people endure two years of travel for two weeks of science? And why send tons of return-flight fuel so many millions of miles?


In line with 'faster, better, cheaper', my own mantra is "one person, one way". Make it a one-way colonizing trip. Without all that fuel, there'd surely be room for useful equipment (for building, traveling, and producing air and fuel). Instead of days of study, there would be years.


Who would want to go? Only about a million intrepid individuals! The explorer's name would live in thousands of scientific discoveries, and they would experience the ultimate in gratifying lives-every broadcast or email breathlessly attended to, countless scientists eager to get their observations, and the entire population eager to help them solve the problems they email home.


It would be a mega-boost for public interest in space programs, vastly increase the scientific yield, and who knows, maybe a decade later there would be companions or a return trip after all.


Jim Papadopoulos



I am a retired aerospace engineer, with several books on the subject under my belt. Here are a few suggestions for NASA:


1. Either eliminate all planetary programs or conduct them in cooperation with other nations. If scientists want to learn more about our solar system or universe, let them do it via universities or private research agencies.
2. Place more emphasis on next generation civil and military aircraft programs through the combined power plant concept: turbojet, ramjet, and rocket. We are flying decades old aircraft. We need supersonic and hypersonic terrestrial and orbital transportation as the next quantum step.
3. NASA should get rid of a lot of real estate by reducing agencies and staff by one half.
4. Cooperate with the Air Force on the next generation of launch vehicles, all of which should be reusable to reduce costs.
5. Drastically cut back on astronaut training. We should have a regular cadre of astronaut pilots that are only replaced as they age.
6. Space tourism and space rides should be the domain of private enterprise. Tax dollars should not be used for these purposes.

Alfred J. Zaehringer
Troy, WI