Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D.

To the Editor:

Tom Wolfe’s essay gives the impression that manned spaceflight makes sense at this stage in the development of human technology. It doesn’t.

Mr. Wolfe cites Wernher von Braun’s claim that we must start now to migrate to other planets and stars because our Sun will burn up. But the Sun won’t threaten the Earth for a few billion years. We have time first to advance science and medicine, and to end poverty and war.

In the meantime, NASA’s budget should be cut to $5 billion per year and devoted entirely to sending scientific instruments into space to study the universe and the Earth.

Kevin Cahill
Albuquerque, July 19, 2009
The writer is a professor of physics and astronomy at the University of New Mexico.

Note from KBJ: I hate to break it to the good professor, but as long as there are human beings, there will be poverty and war. Has there ever not been poverty? Has there ever not been war?