What is the future of the human space program?

Question

I don't think it should be NASA and Europe going back to the Moon and then to Mars, it should be humans going. Not Americans or Russians but humans. Do you think that all the nations with space programs could unite into one body. Maybe even call it "Earth Space Agency" or something cool like that. I believe that is the only way we can spread out humanity in space. If we stay on earth, we will eventually die out. Leaving Earth gives us a better chance of surviving.

Answer 1

I think the next 10 years will see some government programs, like Chinese orbital programs and the start of NASA's new lunar program. But the real exciting new thing is private space tourists. Billionaires paying millions to go to orbit and millionaires paying two hundred thousand to go suborbital. That will pump money into private space flight companies and drive the cost down. Maybe before I die I can afford a suborbital flight.

Answer 2

There already exists international cooperation in regards to space. When the United States converted Space Station Freedom to the I.S.S., this was among the beginnings of multinational efforts in regard to manned space flight. I would consider this to be a positive step.

However, in regard to government-run space administrations, I am less optimistic. The return to the moon seems to be perpetually extended, with a manned Mars mission even further down the road. Although there is a glimmer of hope with Project Constellation, I can easily see that being delayed and the costs associated with it spiral out of proportion.

Outside of the U.S., it's not much better. Russia still launches the Soyuz capsules that the Soviet Union designed in the 1960's. Europe seem to have little interest in funding their own manned programme. China has a spark of adventure, but given that they take a year or two between manned flights, they might take a long time to get anywhere that the U.S. and Russia have already gone.

In terms of something like a United Earth Space Agency (a precursor to Starfleet?), I fear that national rivalry will impede it even if it comes into being. Perhaps an arm of the United Nations could be developed to further manned space flight, but I suspect that the problems that plague NASA and other government agencies would be magnified on a huge scale.

Where I see the future of manned space flight is in private ventures. As seen by groups such as Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic, they have the drive and are slowly but surely developing the technology. At present, it's not yet cost effective, but given time and the incentive to realise a profit, I can see a time when manned space flight is profitable.

As a side note, I tend to agree that spreading the seeds of humanity to the other planets and even the stars themselves increases the chances of human survival. There are a few groups out there, such as the Living Universe Foundation, that seeks to colonise space with this goal in mind. Imagine if one of these idealistic groups manages to partner with an energetic space flight agency. The results can be tremendous.

Answer 3

One of the things that really pushed the Apollo program forward was the fact that we were in competition with other countries to get there first. I think some cooperation between nations is helpful but it's also good to have some competition involved. I think in the near future, private companies will start doing more with their own space vehicles. The free market will provide the competitive drive toward exploring and eventually exploiting the vast resources of the solar system.