Exploração espacial: porquê regressar à Lua

É uma discussão muito mais importante, para todos nós, do que os mais distraídos podem pensar: qual deve ser o faseamento (os objectivos) da exploração espacial nas próximas décadas? Discute-se se ela deve assentar, de modo preferencial, em naves robóticas ou em voos tripulados; no caso de voos tripulados, se se deve ir directamente a Marte, ou passar, de novo, pela Lua. Nomeadamente, à luz da experiência portuguesa dos descobrimentos, sempre achei que a Lua devia vir em primeiro lugar. Esta nota The Space Review: Why the Moon? vai no mesmo sentido - e diz coisas que transcendem a questão do espaço.

"... As much as I would like to see a manned mission to Mars within my lifetime, I don’t think it should be the next step. I see the Moon a little differently. I see a number of reasons for going to the Moon. I see the Moon as vital for the human race to become a true spacefaring species. I see the Moon as vital to our economic future. I see the Moon as vital for maintaining our nation’s technological leadership. I see the Moon as something vital for the long-term survival of the human race. I see Mars eventually as part of these needs. When we started the space program as a race with the Soviet Union for ideological dominance of the planet, few people, if any, were convinced that we should do this to develop communications satellites, microprocessors, weather satellites, satellite television, and all of the other economic spinoffs.

I don’t see exploration as the prime reason to return to the Moon, though I will be fascinated with the pictures and scientific return if we do. To secure a solid future for space travel into orbit, to the Moon and beyond, there needs to be a sustainable economic rationale for it to ever go beyond the hit-and-miss approach we’ve been following ever since the cancellation of Apollo. There are good economic reasons, that few people question, for launching communications satellites and weather satellites. Transport of people into low Earth orbit needs to reach that same sound footing. Exploration and economic exploitation of the Moon needs to reach that same footing. Space needs to help our economy stay on a sound footing and help provide us with solutions, including delivering energy to Earth.

...Hillary Clinton points out that there was an explosion of high-tech companies while her husband was president. She fails to point out that much of the groundwork for that explosion was done in the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s, and that some of the groundwork was done by NASA. .... I think that a return to the Moon is one of the solid steps, among many others, that can be done to give us a better future. I think that a return to the Moon, coupled with developing space-based solar power, could strengthen and reinforce both programs. ...These are some of the reasons why I favor the plans to go back to the Moon..."