Industry (Halliburton et al.) hopes soar with space plan

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21186-2004Jan15.html

Industry Hopes Soar With Space Plan
Energy, Aerospace Firms Have Lobbied NASA for Years
By Mike Allen and Greg Schneider
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, January 16, 2004; Page A01

President Bush emphasized American ingenuity, international cooperation and human destiny when he announced his new space policy this week, but the plan also reflected long-held ambitions of the U.S. aerospace and energy industries.

... Industry officials said yesterday that they see a huge boon to business in Bush's "renewed spirit of discovery," which set a mission to Mars as a long-range goal after astronauts build a science base on the moon. Among the companies that could profit from the plan are Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin Corp., the Boeing Co. and the Halliburton Co., which Vice President Cheney headed before he joined Bush's ticket.

... Halliburton's interest in Mars was first pointed out yesterday by the Progress Report, a daily publication of the liberal Center for American Progress. Administration officials scoffed at the idea that Halliburton had anything to do with the development of the space policy, which was headed by Bush's domestic policy adviser, Margaret Spellings, and Stephen Hadley, the deputy national security adviser. Another administration official said Cheney did not take a lead role in the interagency work on the space policy but gauged support on Capitol Hill and served in an advisory capacity.

An industry official who refused to be identified said the oil and gas industry, including Halliburton, would benefit considerably from technology that was developed for drilling on Mars, including the tools, the miniaturization, the drilling mechanism, the robotic systems and the control systems.

more

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/15/national/15BUSH.html?pagewanted=2

Bush Backs Goal of Flight to Moon

"The plan was put together under the direction of the National Security Council. Participants said that Vice President Dick Cheney had run several meetings and that the deputy national security adviser, Stephen J. Hadley, had organized many of the options. "The president didn't make these choices, but he approved them," a senior official said."

What's that called? Welfare?

for lots and lots of taxpayer money that's going to be diverted to aerospace/military contractors pockets to move towards military control of space/earth orbit by the U.S., under the guise of exploration and expanding man's reach and knowledge of the universe.

... if one knows where to look.

Jim McGowan of NASA has looked into this and feels that there is a distinct possibilities that some sort of petrochemicals (oil or natural gas) might be found.


John F. McGowan III, "Oil and natural gas on Mars," in Instruments, Methods, and Missions for Astrobiology III, Richard B. Hoover, Editor, Proceedings of SPIE Vol. 4137, pp. 63-74 (2000).

ABSTRACT

On Earth, according to conventional theory, the largest, by mass and volume, identifiable trace of past life is subsurface oil and natural gas deposits. Nearly all coal and oil on Earth and most sedimentary source rocks associated with coal, oil, and natural gas contain molecules of biological origin and is proof of past life. If Mars possessed an Earth-like biosphere in the past, Mars may contain subsurface deposits of oil and natural gas indicating past life. Life might still exist in these deposits. Subsurface oil and natural gas on Mars would probably cause seepage of hydrocarbon gases such as methane at favorable locations on the Martian surface. Further, if Mars contains substantial subsurface life, the most detectable signature of this life on the Martian surface would be gases generated by the life percolating up to the surface and venting into the Martian atmosphere. In this paper, systems that can detect evidence of subsurface oil and gas, including ground penetrating radar and infrared gas sensors are explored. The limitations and future prospects of infrared gas detection and imaging technologies are explored. The power, mass, and volume requirements for infrared instruments able to detect venting gases, especially methane, from an aerobot is estimated. The maximum range from the infrared sensor to the gas vent and the minimum detectable gas density or fraction of the Martian atmosphere - as appropriate for the instrument type - is estimated. The bit rate and bit error rate requirements for transmitting the data back to Earth are also estimated.

Paper: http://www.jmcgowan.com/mars_reprint.PDF

Presentation: http://www.jmcgowan.com/oilmars.pdf

From: http://www.jmcgowan.com/papers.html

As scary Uncle Dick would say, "It's our due."

... if the BFEE is reelected for an unprecedented second term.

These guys do things for two reasons: to help corporations and for photo ops. This one plays it both ways.

This is a surprise.