Neil Armstrong, Gene Cernan voice their opinions

William Atkins
Sunday, 25 September 2011 23:18

Science - Space

Former NASA astronauts Neil Armstrong and Gene Cernan told the members of the House of Representatives Science, Space, and Technology Committee what they thought about the U.S. direction in manned space exploration. And, it wasn't pretty.

 

Neil Armstrong, the first man to have walked on the Moon during NASA's Apollo Program, stated in a written supplement to his testimony, "For a country that has invested so much for so long to achieve a leadership position in space exploration and exploitation, this condition is viewed by many as lamentably embarrassing and unacceptable.'

Eugene ("Gene") Cernan, the last man -- so far -- to have walked on the Moon, stated, "Get the shuttle out of the garage. It's in its prime of its life. How could we just put it away?"

According to AFP in NPR, Cernan, ''¦ criticized the Obama administration's cancellation of the Constellation program, which sought to put men on the moon once again."

Cernan states that the Constellation program had been replaced by a "mission to nowhere." [NPR: "Astronauts Neil Armstrong, Gene Cernan Urge U.S. To Bring Back Shuttles"]

Armstrong did say he supported the Space Launch System, which NASA recently announced would provide the rocket to get the United States into deep space (past low-Earth orbit) and to an asteroid or the planet Mars. It is based on some of the equipment from the terminated Constellation program.

He stated, "Predicting the future is inherently risky, but the proposed Space Launch System (SLS) includes many proven and reliable components which suggest that its development could be relatively trouble free. If that proves to be so, it would bode well for exploration.'

For more on the story, please read the following:

Houston Chronicle: 'Moonwalking astronauts take Obama's plans to task' and 'Former astronaut Neil Armstrong faults Obama administration's space plan'

NASA is directed in its space endeavors by plans established by the President, and are provided money to accomplish these goals by the U.S. Congress.

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