"So, a NASA rep says that spending billions building a moon base would improve the chances of detecting an impactor."

Actually, these are not "reps", they are skilled engineers at several NASA centers, and they are all reaching the same conclusion: the best way to handle the asteroid and comet impact hazard is with man tended facilites built on the Moon.

"No one is going to appropriate the billions it would take to build such a base. It just isn't going to happen because the cost is so high compared to the marginal improvement you'd get (and that's very questionable) over a more reasonable technology like satellites at L1. "

Actually, the gains in detection are NOT "marginal", and given the costs of the next hit, a hit which will inevitably occur, these gains justify the additional expense of the best system many times over.

"Your continual failure to recognize this basic fact makes you look like someone with a very loose handle on reality."

Your reality and mine are different. I don't have any delusions about the size of the impact hazard or the restrictions of other detection systems, and I don't have any compulsive escapist obsession about manned Mars flight which prevents me from facing reality. If I appear delusional to the Mars "enthusiasts" who congregate here, it really doesn't matter too much, except where it impedes the flow of information to others about a real danger to them which is approaching.

"Political reality is that there is no support in Congress or in the White House to build a moon base for any reason, much less for something that would cost many times more and take many years longer to achieve than a satellite system. The simple sad fact of the matter is that there isn't even enough support in Congress to fund more than a token search effort with a few ground-based telescopes. The whole effort doesn't cost more than a few million dollars a year (if that). Without the political support, the money simply will not be appropriated to make it happen. To deny that is to deny reality for some fantasy that has no chance of ever happening. "

The political reality is that nearly all the Representatives working this problem are pretty well fed up with NASA ineptness in dealing with the impact hazard, and are waiting for a report from the NSF on the hazard before they take action, which will come in 2003. (This includes Rep Bartlett, R - Goddard and Wallops.) One can only hope that this wil not be similar situation to that which occured with Al Qaeda, where the policy options were to be considered September 14.

The other political reality is that the public is pretty well fed up with NASA spending money on "pretty stuff", including manned Mars flight, before they take of the immediate business at hand, which is finding the next one of these things before it hits.

Fortunately, in some cases where government officials fail to perform their job, they get fired. One can only hope that this will be the case here, and that government will function.

Unfortunately, in the case of public discussion of policy issues, there is no penalty for failing to keep a civil tongue.

In closing this note, I'd like to thank all here for their enthusiastic support of greatly increased monies for asteroid and comet detection.

ep