Jeff Greason Answers: Why Humans In Space?

In a video over at the XCOR Aerospace website, founder Jeff Greason describes, among other things, what human spaceflight should be about and why NASA should be doing it.

I believe passionately in the value of humans in space.

One of the most overlooked findings on the Augustine committee, I think, was an inquiry into the reasons why this is so.

Nobody in Congress could care less why this is so from what I see publicly, but if you don't know why you're doing what you're doing it's very hard to discuss what the best way is to do it.

You get science from people being in space. It's a myth that you don't. You know, ask the guys at JPL if they would like to have human beings on some of these targets - they'll tell you "absolutely".

But that's not the reason you do it. That's just a benefit you get.

You get international good will from doing things in space. Especially if you do it with an international component. You know, ask the guys who run the Russian and Indian space programs if that's not true - it's absolutely true. It is a great benefit to the United States - it's hard to quantify, but it's a soft power thing.

But that's not the reason you do it. That's just a benefit you get from doing it.

The reason - in my words - why we have to put human beings in space is: You don't learn to live on other planets with robots. Space holds the future homes for humanity - we're going to live there some day if we are going to be a long term surviving civilization.

I don't think we should be afraid to say that.

I think we should be very open about saying that.

And I agree with him.

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