Do you support personed space flight?

It's a real word, which can't be said of "personed."

Or "human" if you want to be extra careful.

But to discuss the central question, I consider human space flight to be essential to the survival not only of our species but all other species on the planet (or at least those left).

If so, I can't see why anyone would be against that.

I've thought a bit about this since the Apollo years, which I was fascinated by as a kid.

If the general populace had the thinking skills of scientists, they would see the exploration of space a worthy, even necessary endeavor. And with due consideration to issues on earth that require attention, unmanned exploration is dramatically cheaper, safer, and could generally produce the same outcome as manned missions.

But funding of space programs depends on peoples' collective mood about it. We got to the moon in 1969 solely because that goal was pre-determined to be a manned mission. The logical challenges of doing that were offset by the world-wide interest and excitement at the prospect. And hence, the funding.

Those were different times, to be sure. Unfortunately, I doubt the justification for generating that kind of enthusiasm this time around. There really are some pressing issues on planet earth right now that weren't present or simply weren't known during the 60's.

When we've ended the war bankrupting us for no good reason, fully funded public education, instituted universal, single-payer, not-for-profit health care, made sure everyone who wants a job has one, instituted a living wage, abolished poverty, closed the socio-economic gaps in our nation, and put our government back on sound financial footing, I'm for manned space flight.

I'm not now, and have never, been against it. As a 9 yo, I ran out into the street to stare at the moon, and back in to watch the coverage of the first human steps on the moon with everyone else in my neighborhood, and wondered why we stopped there.

I just have priorities. Make sure we're thriving here first, then invest in space travel.