Published on: Wednesday, February 03, 2010

By Brian J. Karem

President Barack Obama and his budget put me there this week.

I'm sorry, but for all that Obama wants to accomplish he took hope away from me by killing the only thing I truly cared for with any passion in the federal budget: A trip back to the moon.

That's not to say there wasn't a lot wrong with the Constellation program. It was over budget and behind its deadline, and that was disheartening.

But to kill the mission entirely puts a close on 40 years of hope for me.

I have always wanted to go to the moon and now it looks like we may not get back there in my lifetime.

What is going on?

To support the infant private sector commitment to space is admirable, yet it is only a cottage industry and it is foolish to abandon our nation's one program that few could challenge in its purity.

Pure science. Pure exploration. And not for us, but as the plaque states on the moon, we came in peace for all mankind.

The United States has, since President John F. Kennedy challenged us, led all nations in outer space.

Kennedy told us that we chose to support and do these things because they are difficult.

He appealed to the noblest intentions in all of our hearts.

Has that nobility died?

It appears so, but if you need a crass reason to support NASA and another trip to the moon, remember, the entire computer industry sprang forth from that challenge and from our race to get to the moon. There are unseen treasures to be found as we move off this planet, into space and our ultimate destiny - the stars.

Obama is a man of my generation. He sat as I did, a young child, watching NASA survive and thrive even after the Apollo 1 disaster claimed the lives of three true American heroes - names seared in my memory until I die; Grissom, Chaffee and White.

Their sacrifice wasn't in vain then, but we dishonor their memories now by, in essence, abandoning manned space flight.

It's ludicrous, and for those nay sayers who scream otherwise, I can only reiterate my heartfelt feeling that you are doomed.

There are many reasons why we need to go back to the moon, and eventually push on to Mars - and in my lifetime it is still possible.

Why climb a mountain? Because it is there. And that’s all the justification I need for a vibrant space program.

But there are other, more tangible reasons for continuing NASA's plan to revisit the moon.

If we do not get off the earth and expand into space, our species surely will not survive. We are depleting the earth of natural resources that we need to survive. There's water on the moon and other elements we will need to thrive.

What if the earth were to suffer an extinction level event? I mean an asteroid, a nuclear catastrophe, storms, earthquakes, feast, fire or famine?

I would live better knowing our species has a chance to survive because we've diversified our locations of living.

For so many reasons we must continue to stretch into space, reach for the stars and find our ultimate destiny there.

This might yet happen.

I hope it does. I hope never to lose that hope.