August 17, 2009
Obama's Plan for NASA Could Change Academic Space Science
Ben Cooper
NASA's Kepler spacecraft was lofted skyward in March, on a search for Earth-like planets elsewhere in the galaxy. Space scientists disagree about the desirability of such unmanned missions over sending astronauts into space.
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Ben Cooper
NASA's Kepler spacecraft was lofted skyward in March, on a search for Earth-like planets elsewhere in the galaxy. Space scientists disagree about the desirability of such unmanned missions over sending astronauts into space.
If NASA ever wins approval to send men back to the moon and then onward to Mars, the U.S. space agency may need a new generation of electrically powered rockets designed by Edgar Y. Choueiri and his graduate students at Princeton University.
Because of the weight of rocket fuel, electric propulsion is the only viable option for a spaceship that could travel vast interplanetary distances, says Mr. Choueiri, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering. But NASA, in a recent rush
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