Now let me get this straight: more space exploration is   justified because we need another PLANET to live on? Because we've f*cked up this one by being a bunch of greedy, impatient pigs with no concept of why we should think about future generations?

Gee whillikers, wouldn't it be easier and more desirable to clean up the one we got? I mean, at least we have oxygen here...

I do think space exploration is important in terms of gaining   knowledge that will help us improve life on the planet humans were made to live on...but any notion of living in a Mars-based space station seems very pie in the sky to me...Learning about how to counter environmental damage, yes this is useful; how to determine astronomical events before they happen, useful also...perhaps how to   mine extra-terrestrial elements for medicinal or other value, sure.

I agree with Barney Frank on this one; the bills that come due for another space program push will be well after Bush has left office (and go far beyond the single billion he is proposing); he is looking to establish a legacy he does not deserve, and win votes for it, and wag the dog's attention away from the nightmare he has wrought...

And I also believe the reason he has gotten away with half of what his administration has done, and why he will get away with this (despite its lack of economic justifiability),is the vulnerability and fear people still feel in the wake of 9-11. Despite distastrous and deadly accidents on space shuttles in recent years, Americans want to feel like they are winning against dangerous odds. It's easy to subdue a bunch of starving Afghanis. Finding a way to get a shuttle to re-enter the atmosphere safely, now there's a challenge...