NASA Administrator Michael Griffin in 2007
It is the law of the land to put a man on the moon before 2020
On May 30th 2007 NASA Administrator Michael Griffin was invited by Google to discuss the space program and the commercialization of space exploration. Reflecting on the vision NASA had at that time, it is intriguing to consider how those aspirations have evolved into today's realities. Griffin asserted that it was the law of the land to put a man on the moon before the year 2020, while he also explained the challenges of relying on outdated Apollo equipment, which had been destroyed during the Nixon administration, which ran from January 20th 1969 to Nixon's resignation on August 9th 1974.
Mike Griffin
"So, it is now the law of the land that NASA is directed to take people back to the moon and prepare the way for a journey to Mars, and you should know that.......... There are a number of steps along the way. We are not going to just snap our fingers tomorrow and head for the moon, I mean we can't, although you would be amazed at the number of times I get questions from top level policymakers concerning, why don't we just haul some of that Apollo equipment out of the barn and head back? And of course the answer is there is no barn. We will spend the next ten years recreating a lot of capability for space flight, hopefully going a little beyond, but we will spend the next ten years recreating capabilities that this nation once had and threw away, proactively and with malice aforethought during the Nixon administration." (Video 4:28)
"Once we finish the space station the important thing about it is our next generation system for putting people into space, which will be online not later then 2014, will be capable of taking people not only into orbit but to the moon and that, uhh, that is our trust now, to return to the moon no later then 2020 and then move on from there out into the solar system. Now many people say why so long, we did it in 8 years the first time. Well we will do it in about 8 years the second time too it is just that we're not really starting until 2011 or so, after we finish the (space) station" (Video 6:30)
In 2025, it is evident that none of the initiatives proposed by the NASA Administrator in 2007 have come to fruition. For over 70 years, NASA and its predecessors have discussed the prospect of traveling to Mars, yet even a flight to the Moon appears to be an insurmountable challenge for the agency. It seems that NASA is content to evade accountability for the promises made and the objectives that remain unfulfilled.
Video credit to Google
