Exploring the Planets: A Strategic But Practical Proposal

Abstract

The series of accidents that have grounded all major U.S. rocket systems makes it increasingly clear that the United States will have to choose between competing goals in space. Most of the analyses of U.S. goals have focused only on the troubles in the U.S. space program, but important developments in the Soviet Union's space program and those of other countries could also affect future U.S. choices. The Soviets have dramatically increased planetary exploration and other space science activities in the last decade. Western Europe's space community has become larger, more independent, and more involved in the Soviet space efforts. Gerald Jos. Wasserburg, a professor of geology and geophysics with long experience in space science, argues that these developments call for the United States to reassess its goals in space. 1 A manned mission to Mars is not a realistic goal, Wasserburg says. Instead, he urges the United States to lead a truly international program of unmanned exploration of Mars, Venus, and nearby comets to bring back samples to Earth. Wasserburg recommends that the first stage of this program be a U.S.-Soviet bilateral effort with strong European participation soon after.

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