The latest moon missions are 50 years too late and new space advances from Russia and China show that America needs a resurgence of our space program for the sake of national security.

::::::::

The latest moon missions are 50 years too late and new space advances from Russia and China show that America needs a resurgence of our space program for the sake of national security.

Article originally published in The Orlando Sentinel

By Robert Weiner and Ting Cui

After a failed lunar landing mission by Peregrine exploded over the Pacific last month, NASA put its hopes on a second spacecraft developed by SpaceX and Intuitive Machines that launched early Thursday morning.

The endeavor, known as the IM-1 moon mission, saw the Nova-C lander named "Odysseus" or "Odie" lift off from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 1:05 am EST on Thursday. If successful, Odie could become the first U.S.-built lunar lander on the moon since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972 - nearly 52 years ago.

The timing of the Peregrine and Odysseus launches, at 2:18 am EST and 12:57 am EST, respectively, has raised questions. These launches were scheduled during hours when few would tune in. This contrasts a time when The Apollo 11 moon landing captivated an estimated 150 million viewers - even the spectacular Super Bowl LVIII ending drew only 123 million viewers.

NASA announced last month that its Artemis II mission, the latest endeavor in the national space program aimed at returning astronauts to just the moon - not beyond - will be postponed to September 2025 or even 2026 after numerous challenges.

Recent launches are a small step in the right direction - better late than never to get to the moon, Mars, and beyond - but they're not enough. We require a greater commitment from the United States to uphold our leadership in space.

China, Russia, Japan, and India may be laughing at our latest lunar attempts. These four nations have now accomplished successful soft landings on the moon. They could outpace America in returning to the lunar surface and venturing onward to Mars and Venus. Just as in 1961 when Russia first rocketed Yuri Gagarin into orbit and John F. Kennedy committed the U.S. to landing on the moon, the US will feel pressured to catch up.

Long-time aviation specialist Miles O'Brien told CNN on January 8th, as the first unmanned moon-landing mission in 54 years took off, that the earlier moon missions five decades ago were "ahead of our time". This is simply not true. We were never ahead of our time - we didn't send Alan Shepard into space until a month after Yuri Gagarin was already there.

Astronauts Mark Kelly and Col. Terry Virts, even in 2015 in an appearance at the National Press Club, said that the reason the US did not continue manned space missions to Mars was because of a "lack of political will".

The United States government spent $6.13 trillion in 2023, of which $25.4 billion - just 0.4% - was provided to NASA. NASA's budget has stayed at less than 1% of the federal budget for more than 30 years after peaking at 4% under President Nixon when we took our first step on the moon.

We have spent countless trillions of dollars on failed wars with wasted results, but nowhere near what we need to accomplish manned science in other parts of our universe. Space exploration could have amazing givebacks in resources and knowledge. If nuclear fission inspires everybody as much as it does, who knows what's out in space? What's the energy that fuels the universe?

China landed a rover on Mars in May 2021, built and launched a space station with a shuttle, and became the only country to land on the far side of the moon. They intend to be the second country to land astronauts on the moon and the first country to ever build a research base on the moon's south pole by 2040. NASA administrator Bill Nelson, former astronaut and Florida's U.S. senator for 18 years, has referred to China as "a very aggressive competitor".

On February 14, Russian advances in developing a new space-based nuclear weapon were disclosed by current and former officials who were briefed on the matter. This weapon could threaten America's satellite network, and pose risks to civilian communications, space surveillance, and military operations.

Congress now has every reason to find the political resolve it needs to allocate funding for these crucial projects. Investing in our interstellar capabilities has become crucial for preserving the United States' national security in space.

To beat China and Russia in the new Space Race, we need political will to get back to where we were 50 years ago.

Joe Biden must recreate the U.S. vision, as John Kennedy said back in 1962, "not because it is easy, but because it is hard". America needs a resurgence of our collective aspirations for the moon, Mars, and beyond - or else other countries will beat us to it.

Robert Weiner was a spokesman in the Clinton and George W. Bush White Houses, and Chief of Staff for Rep. Claude Pepper (D-FL). He was Communications Director of the House Government Operations Committee, and Senior Aide to Four-Star Gen/Drug Czar Barry McCaffrey and Reps. John Conyers, Charles Rangel, Ed Koch, and Sen. Ted Kennedy. Ting Cui is a Policy Analyst at Robert Weiner Associates and Solutions for Change.

Authors Bio:

Robert Weiner,
NATIONAL PUBLIC AFFAIRS AND ISSUES STRATEGIST

Bob Weiner, a national issues and public affairs strategist, has been spokesman for and directed the public affairs offices of White House Drug Czar and Four Star General Barry McCaffrey, the House Government Operations Committee and Chairman John Conyers (D-MI), Congressman Charles Rangel (D-NY) and the House Narcotics Committee, and was Chief of Staff for the House Aging Committee and Chairman Claude Pepper (D-FL). He also was Legislative Assistant to Ed Koch of New York and a political aide to Ted Kennedy (D-MA) for his Presidential and Senate races. Bob worked at the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate as youth voter registration director in 1971-1972 when the constitution was amended to allow 18-year olds the vote.

Since he left the White House in 2001, Bob heads up a public affairs and issue strategies company, Robert Weiner Associates. He is a regular political analyst on Radio America and has appeared on Bill Maher, CNN Crossfire, Today, Good Morning America, and the CBS, NBC, and ABC evening news. He is widely published in columns he writes on national issues in major papers throughout the country including recently the Washington Post, Denver Post, Miami Herald, Christian Science Monitor, New York Daily News, Baltimore Sun, Boston Globe, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Atlanta Constitution, New York Post, Washington Times, Sacramento Bee, Palm Beach Post, Salt Lake Tribune, Minneapolis Star Tribune, and Adweek. He is also regularly quoted in key media coast-to-coast, including the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, AP and Reuters, concerning the presidential campaign and national issues.