DON'T RE-LAUNCH ASTRONAUTS PROGRAM

DON'T RE-LAUNCH ASTRONAUTS PROGRAM Charles Krauthammer and former moon astronauts believe (DesNews 4/22/12) America can’t afford discontinue manned space flights. We can understand hero astronauts over-stating their own importance but pundit Krauthammer gives little reason for his claim that America becomes a third rate nation because the shuttles quit flying. Why do we need to re-discover that the moon has sand and rocks just like the earth. Talk about colonies on the moon and sending someone to Mars simply lacks reason beyond the explanation of the mountain climber – it’s because "they are there". But those climbers didn’t cost the rest of us $billions. How many tens of thousands of babies’ lives in the third world could be saved by that kind of money added for their inoculations and medical health? I’m no Obama fan, but he got this one right. Krauthammer seems to welcome any limb out on which to climb to take shots at Obama.