Hi E.P.,

The scary thing is, I have seen spots in Arizona which are more treacherous than Mars appears in this image.

Asteroid detection, research and funding will only occur after an impact of reasonable size hits. The sad logic in DC states that a problem doesn't exist until some constituents have died or gotten sick and have lawyers lobbying the legislature to pass favorable laws.

While I would love to see an observatory on the moon - or better yet a "super-shuttle" with a deployable observatory that can be taken around the solar system as needed and other detection satellites deployed throughout our solar system as well - I know that it is very unrealistic since even after two asteroid movies no serious financial action or technological development has been undertaken.

Mars Society is not the enemy of asteroid detection. The real enemy of detection is apathy. Apathy of the public, and apathy in government.

In an era where people are just starting to realize life is bigger than our borders and what's on TV - I figure space will have a popular resurgance sometime in the twenty-first century - perhaps in ten years or twenty - or maybe long after we are all gone and this board is but a faded memory.

Either way, detection and 'space-eyes' will eventually be employed for one reason or another.

Von Braun's visions of Mars were not delusions or frauds perpetuated by the military. The military does NOT want people on Mars or people out in space!

The military's private playground is LEO and beyond is their backyard. If too many manned ships start buzzing around the earth the security of the US 'assets' is greatly degraded.

If anything, space exploration is underplayed by the government - they desperately want people NOT to look up - because there are lots of things looking down.

Manned exploration of space is heavily undermined by many branches of our government which have far greater clout than does NASA.

Mars Society folks and others are viewed in the same light as Protestants were by the Pope - namely pains in the rear.

Everyone knows money is not really the issue. If you believe it is - it is because they have done a really good job on almost everyone.

Money is just a convenient excuse. When the government looked like it had trillion dollar surpluses - I did not hear Congress or any candidate say, "Let's build up, research and venture into space!"

The real issue is that too many internal US government folks obstruct, interfere with and dismantle all serious manned space projects.

An observatory on the moon requires a manned mission.

I know lots of folks here think I am exaggerating - but it is all too true.

It's almost as if our govt. was observing, an unspoken law implemented after Apollo was abruptly cut off - "no human shall trespass beyond low earth orbit."

Best wishes,