Bolden Urges True Partnership

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden argued this week that NASA should move ahead in space exploration by establishing international partnerships. They should also be true partnerships, he said. The U. S. should not decide on a program and invite other nations to join the effort. Rather, other nations should be brought in on the ground floor, and the objective should be decided upon together. Bolden argued such an approach would improve America's image in the world. Given the economic straits the world is in at present, and given that a full economic recovery may take several years, spreading the cost of a program among several nations may also be the best way to keep manned space exploration moving ahead.

Perhaps the most obvious program that would fit Bolden's approach would be the establishment of an international lunar base. Several major nations-- China, India, Japan, Russia, Britain, Canada-- have expressed interest in such an international effort, as has the ESA. True, NASA has already started work on such a program, but nothing has been set in stone; a broader project that included other nations, and even private corporations, could still be fashioned.

In his 2004 speech announcing his Moon-Mars initiative, President Bush explicitly stated that international partners and private enterprise could be brought into the effort. NASA under his administration, however, seems to have pursued neither option. Maybe NASA under the Obama administration-- and under economic pressure-- will seek a broader base for putting humanity back on the Moon.