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Space Shuttle Columbia hurtles toward space on mission STS-107 on January 16, 2003. Bush and Kerr

In preparation for the upcoming election, both President Bush and Sen. John Kerry have taken differing views on human space exploration and what NASA’s main mission should be.

Throughout his administration, Bush has made progress in developing space programs and fulfilling his mission. In January 2004, he announced his space exploration vision at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Bush stated his first goal would be to complete the International Space Station by 2010. Others included the development of new spacecraft capable of leaving the earth’s orbit and landing on other planets and moons.

“Our third goal is to return to the moon by 2020, as the launching point for missions beyond,” he said.

President Bush’s budget for the 2005 fiscal year promises the addition of an extra $12 billion over the next five years, a White House press release noted.

In contrast to Bush, Kerry’s plans concerning human exploration of space are more cautious. Kerry says he will siphon funds from human exploration and focus on other aspects of space exploration and research, according to the campaign Web site.

“The Kerry-Edwards administration will focus NASA on those areas of aeronautics and space research where the greatest public benefit can be realized,” Kerry said in a statement on his views of space policy, which is posted to his Web site.

He stated that he had a plan to pay for a strong, stable and balanced U.S. aeronautics and space program, proposing a five-part plan that would include an increase in funding for NASA.

It would also include the pursuit of a space and aeronautics program which would place an emphasis on aeronautics research and development.

“Space exploration is a global undertaking that would unite all nations in the common quest for greater understanding, ” Kerry’s Web site said.

The decisions Bush or Kerry make once elected could affect the types of research UCLA scientists working with NASA will do.

Geophysics and planetary physics Professor Gerald Schubert is enthusiastic about human space exploration.

“Human exploration is very exciting and has always been a desire by human beings to seek the unknown and discover new worlds, whether here on earth or elsewhere,” he said.

He is currently involved in a project called Jupiter Icy Moon Orbiter, through NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The mission is part of a program called Prometheus, which was established by the Bush administration to provide nuclear powered spacecrafts and give technical expertise to explore outerspace.

The new mission would send nuclear powered spacecrafts to look for life on Jupiter’s moon, Europa, and would be the first nuclear powered mission. Space nuclear reactors are already being developed.

According to a December 2001 NASA study, space travel is hazardous to health. One problem is a loss of bone calcium that lasts indefinitely the longer a person is in space.

“The risks to human health of long duration missions beyond Earth’s orbit, if not solved, represent the greatest challenge to human exploration of deep space,” the NASA study reported. Scientifically, Schubert said more can be accomplished with a machine.

“With a person in space, you need a lot of money and building materials for spacecraft, which a robot doesn’t need. So you can put all that into experiments and research,” he said.

“Whether human exploration is good or bad really depends on the situation,” he said.