quote from a linked to article in the piece:
I’ve heard the “been there” line many times..I wonder if supporters of this new space policy have stopped to consider the implications of the “not been there” requirement. The new meaning of exploration contains within it the seeds of its own termination: after you’ve touched the surface, planted a flag, and collected some rocks or deployed an instrument, that destination is “done.”Comment:
Not hard to understand that point of view if you consider what the person having it thinks of the space program. If one thinks of it only as flags and footprints ( bread and circus), then "been there" fits in that mindset very easily.
Clearly, if bread and circuses are all we want, there may be other ways to satisfy those. The space program then becomes expendable.
Should that be what we want?
Obviously, I think not. We should want to settle space because that has the potential to be the next big growth industry. That is, if growth is what you seek.
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