[FPSPACE] NASA bduget in deep trouble, and Milkusky tries to play the "China card"

[E.P. Grondine]

http://www.thespacereview.com/article/855/1

I don't know on what basis Sen Milkusky is forming her opinion that China 
intends to establish a military base on the Moon, but China's stated goals 
for the Moon are mining He3 and building CAPS, the Comet and Asteroid 
Protection System:

http://www.friends-partners.org/pipermail/fpspace/2006-May/019800.html

"The Moon Project's ultimate objective is establishing on the Moon a
permanent outpost of our country's own, the mining of the lunar surface's
serviceable mineral resources and shipping them back to the Earth, and THE
CARRYING ON OF A MORE THOROUGH AND WIDESPREAD DEEP SPACE SURVEY IN THE
FUTURE."

      Li Dong, Chen Minkang, Guo Linli, and Zhu Dongge,
      A Tentative Idea about Lunar Exploration

I think that China's leadership has spoken many times about their opposition 
to the military use of space, as has Russia's, so perhaps we'll see serious 
multi-nation talks aimed at preventing a lot of very expensive threatening 
actions, if not with the Bush Administration, then perhaps with the next US 
Administration.

What path will the US be taking? If the poll results are correct, the 
current one of a flags and footepints test on the Moon of a manned Mars 
lander is likely to get dropped as the bill for Iraq comes due.

We'll see.

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