Not the work for frail mammals

Modern Applications News, Oct, 2008 by Martin Birch

I see no reason to squander scarce resources on your nostalgic attachment to manned space flight. Unmanned probes that can withstand the environment without having to protect frail mammals are far more effective and cost-efficient.

As for your canard about "Great Society rat holes" ["Heads in the Sand," ibid] this is nothing but rank selfishness. If you want to go back to the moon so badly why not sacrifice some social experiments like the middle-class entitlements that include free education for children, mortgage interest deduction. Medicare, and social security?

Those far outweigh the costs of our attempts to use government as a means to help those who do not have the tools to help themselves. Another trip to the moon would just be another great societal rat hole for upper-middle-class engineers and the defense industry. A much better answer is to use tax policy to create market incentives for energy sources that are not dependent on our enemies for supply. That, along with the coming revolution in biotech, is the new frontier. Silicon is a commodity just like wheat now. Space is just a tool.

Martin Birch

Engineering Manager

Microsemi Corp.

Broomfield, CO