1989
On the twentieth anniversary of the first Apollo moon landing, speaking at the National Air and Space Museum, President George H. W. Bush said:
Today we don’t have a crisis; we have an opportunity. … I’m proposing a long-range, continuing commitment. … Back to the Moon; back to the future … And then a journey into tomorrow … a manned mission to Mars.
2004
In 2004 while unveiling his new space policy, George W. Bush said:
With the experience and knowledge gained on the moon, we will then be ready to take the next steps of space exploration — human missions to Mars and to worlds beyond.
2010
And last week in Florida as part of canceling the Constellation program Barak Obama professed commitment to manned spaceflight and exploration and said:
By the mid-2030s, I believe we can send humans to orbit Mars and return them safely to Earth. And a landing on Mars will follow. And I expect to be around to see it.
The Thing of It
Obama might expect to be around to see it, but why am I skeptical? Why does this seem like just another kick of the can? Why do I find myself thinking strike three?
The thing of it is, even if this should come to pass, even if there is no more kicking the can down the road, even if we do get there in the mid-2030s, the problem is this: I won’t be involved; I will have been retired for years; I will have spent my whole life waiting. Waiting for something that never happened.
Now don’t get me wrong. Mars itself wasn’t important to me. Frankly it made me roll my eyes. What I’m saying is that there are only so many times you can reboot a machine before you really ought to give up.
Tell me, how many times is that?