Space, The Last Frontier

It is time we get NASA back to work! The technological harvest reaped by the private sector from the space program fueled some of our greatest achievements of the last 50 years. John F Kennedy, jump started the space program, with his "We will go to the moon" speech in 1961. America needs a mission to get behind, America needs a goal, America needs to reach to the stars. America needs to spur the economy create new jobs, energize our youth to get an education so they can be part of an exciting future. The Space Shuttle program is on it's last legs, with nothing to replace it. President Obama wants private sector to develop space, this is one area that is not ready for private industry. The prohibitive cost of R & D, alone will keep industry on the launch pad. Usually I am not a proponent of Government spending, but when it comes to space exploration the rewards outweigh the costs. We need to develop a permanently manned base on the moon, where the costs of launching large payloads into space is less, due to the reduced gravity. Not to mention the mineral resources, which could be mined, and brought back to earth. Perhaps if the right minerals are available, we could mine, refine, and manufacture the next generation of rockets and satellites. With the right attitude and the right challenge, Mars is just a hop away. Perhaps a terraformed Mars, will provide us with a martian colony, who will one day become an independent country and a trading partner. I don't know if "Warp Drive" is possible, or to say travelling outside of the Solar system. But we will never know with our feet stuck on the ground and our heads buried in the sand.