Scientific Method / Science & Exploration  Bill introduced
directing NASA to establish a moon base  There's a House Bill
that would direct NASA to have a permanent Moon base in …
Throughout the Bush administration, NASA had been given the goal
of preparing for long-duration missions in space, first to the
Moon and then eventually Mars. Upon reaching office, the Obama
administration performed a detailed analysis of NASA's
priorities and budget, which revealed some ugly truths: NASA
didn't have the money to build the systems needed to accomplish
any of this, and even if it were to get a budget infusion, the
schedule was unworkable. The report recommended we give up on
Mars, skip the Moon, and focus on developing the technology to
enable long-duration space travel.  The cancellations that
accompanied this change of direction have not gone over well
with either space enthusiasts or those who represent the
districts in which some of the hardware would be built. But the
plan does have a significant risk, in that N