I see hope in a combination of NASA and civilian companies in the future exploration of space.

I was 23 years old when the first manned mission landed on the moon in 1969. At that time I expected that we would have a base on the moon or would have have succeeded in landing astronauts on Mars by now.

Okay as a byproduct, not as an end-in-itself. But I consider it a travesty that over 40 years since the Lunar landings, we don't have a base there and are not exploiting the moon and the asteroid belt for necessary raw materials, especially given the inevitable exhaustion of non-renewables on Earth.

Which I suppose leaves me open to accusations of being a Capitalist. But actually, of course, I'm just a Malthusian.

-- Mal

or mining the asteroid belt, Capitalists may be a better choice than a government agency to run the program.

A government agency has a budget set by politicians and going to the moon again doesn't seem to be a high priority issue with voters.

Of course there is always a possibility of another space race.

If the capitalists were real Adam Smith capitalists -- people who actually did have the welfare of others in consideration, and not just profits -- then it would be a Good Thing. That's the stuff of much of the moon/solar system science fiction of the past couple of generations. Unfortunately, I think the Adam Smith capitalists are a dying breed.

I don't see how a civilian base would be a deterrent to military bases. Unless the human race undergoes an immense change in attitudes some day, wherever we go, we're gonna take our guns along.

-- Mal

to another nation establishing a military base.

I can only hope the exploration of space will be peaceful and benefit mankind. If our species ever has any hope of traveling to the stars, we have to overcome our innate aggression. I feel that currently we face the biggest test for any developing civilization. In order to visit the near planets in our solar system, let alone to journey to other stars we have to have a high level of technology. We also have to be able to use our technology responsibly and not destroy ourselves.

There is a possibility that other spacefaring civilizations are watching us with interest. Once we pass the test I described, they might welcome us. At this point in our development we may merely be an interesting study for alien anthropologists.

It's just a shade hubristic for us to assume that any alien civilizations (should they exist) would be oh-so-eager to open communications with us at this point. I've often toyed with the idea that we're just some research outpost of the Galactic Overlords, and that the few unexplained UFO sightings are simply the result of boredom, high jinks, or stupidity on the part of some grad students in xenoanthropology.

It's a simple equation, anyway -- if we want the human race to survive beyond the next few years, we better get off the damned planet. This one is going down the toilet sooner or later.

-- Mal

One of the first uses will be on the ISS for station-keeping. This will reduce the amount of fuel that has to be sent up.

It's also a first step towards fusion propulsion.