President Obama, in an online chat session with members of the public, expressed his continued support for space exploration. He argued NASA must build the technology base that will allow manned flights into deep space-- to an asteroid by 2025, and to Mars in the 2030s. He also praised the Curiosity rover currently exploring Mars.
The projected budgets of NASA, however, are not necessarily consistent with Mr.Obama's words. The agency is looking at basically flat budgets for years to come, and that includes a substantial reduction in the planetary exploration program, including Mars exploration. There is no follow on to Curiosity in the works, for example. NASA's budget constraints are obviously tied to the larger Federal debt and deficit dilemmas. Perhaps President Obama meant he would support space exploration if the government had the money.
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There's absolutely no funding from the Obama administration for any such deep space missions. And they're set so far into the future that such goals are pretty much meaningless.
Marcel F. Williams
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