{"id":19673,"date":"2014-11-21T22:15:33","date_gmt":"2014-11-21T14:15:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/listen-to-four-nasa-astronauts-discuss-the-future-of-space-flight\/"},"modified":"2014-11-21T22:15:33","modified_gmt":"2014-11-21T14:15:33","slug":"listen-to-four-nasa-astronauts-discuss-the-future-of-space-flight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/listen-to-four-nasa-astronauts-discuss-the-future-of-space-flight\/","title":{"rendered":"Listen to four NASA astronauts discuss the future of space flight"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"space121\"
Former astronauts Rusty Schweickart, Franklin Chang Diaz, Ed Lu, and Gregory H. Johnson.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Can we stop asteroids from slamming into Earth? Will people live in space? Are astronauts going back to the moon?<\/p>\n

An accomplished group of four former and current NASA astronauts discussed fascinating questions like these today at Spacefest, a three-day event organized by the Museum of Flight in Seattle.<\/p>\n

\"Photo
Photo via Ed Lu, who snapped this photo from the International Space Station.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Rusty Schweickart, Franklin Chang Diaz, Ed Lu, and Gregory H. Johnson \u2014 who have a combined 14 missions to space between them \u2014 shared memories from their experiences above the clouds and offered up opinions on the future of space flight.<\/p>\n

One topic was the public perception of space travel. NBC News Science Editor Alan Boyle, who moderated the panel, brought up the fact that many Americans think space travel is something we used to do and how interest is trending downward with the closure of NASA\u2019s Space Shuttle Program in 2011.<\/p>\n

However, the speakers expressed optimism with where the next generation of space travel is headed, but also noted the differences between what\u2019s already been accomplished and what\u2019s planned for the future.<\/p>\n

Schweickart used the analogy of a tall skyscraper to describe the history of space travel, noting how the first two floors can be considered the \u201cearth, moon, space\u201d level.<\/p>\n

\"15660999687_aaa359bf82_z\"\u201cWhat we\u2019re doing now is heading toward operating on the rooftop of that skyscraper,\u201d he said. \u201cThere is a huge gap between operating in earth-moon-space and in deep space when you\u2019re talking about going on the other side of the sun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boyle noted that the rooftop of the skyscraper \u201cseems pretty far away,\u201d and explained how it\u2019s hard for the public to get excited about something that won\u2019t be happening for possibly decades.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an extraordinarily difficult thing to do,\u201d said Diaz, who\u2019s traveled on a record seven Space Shuttle missions. \u201cSometimes people think that because we\u2019ve gone to the moon, we can just go to Mars. It\u2019s not so simple. We have to give astronauts a fighting chance \u2014 otherwise, we\u2019ll have a crew on their way to Mars and they\u2019ll be doomed. It\u2019s important we get serious about this, take our time to do the homework, and develop the technology that needs to be done so we do it right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lu, who\u2019s trying to prevent asteroids from smashing into Earth with the Sentinel Mission, talked about getting people motivated about the future of space travel. He said it\u2019s all about \u201cdoing big things,\u201d and recalled watching Apollo 11 land on the moon 45 years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were people watching in Times Square, on the streets of Paris, in Tokyo and Moscow,\u201d Lu said. \u201cIt was a world-unifying experience. I think to myself, what could be the next event like that?\u201d<\/p>\n

Lu said that something similar could happen when we figure out how to deflect an asteroid.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone will be waiting for that mission to be successful,\u201d he said. \u201cI think that is going to be a world-unifying experience because that is a cause for celebration \u2014 human beings successfully working together to solve their political problems on the ground and then building a spacecraft. We\u2019ll keep an asteroid from hitting Earth. At some point, this scenario has to play out \u2014 if not, we\u2019re in trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today, the astronauts are dabbling in varying space-related ventures. Schweickart and Lu are co-founders of the B612 Foundation; Diaz is president and CEO of Ad Astra Rocket; and Johnson is president of CASIS.<\/p>\n

You can listen to the entire conversation below:<\/p>\n