Calling Planet Natasha!

Get real Natasha. Have you not heard of Peak Oil? As a mother of a young child you should have and you should be vitally concerned! There will be no long term space future for any nation since this is a high-energy activity. Space exploration and exploitation will rapidly fall by the wayside as we struggle to survive the coming Peak Oil depression here on Planet Earth. Talk to your own very sensible party member Sandra Kanck who will fill you in on Peak Oil and the other challenges Australia and the rest of the world faces. Stop wasting your time writing science fiction!

I'd argue that we don't pull out all stops to move forward on space colonisation soon, humanity is doomed anyway. If nothing else, regardless of human-induced climate change, the current stable climate period won't last forever, and a new ice age would quickly destroy most of humanity, dependent as it is on agriculture adapted to current conditions. Further, the risk of natural calamities such as asteroid collisions or super-volcanoes will always put humanity's existence at threat as long as we're dependent on a single planet. Peak oil is largely a liquid energy crisis that needn't be a show-stopper as far as space exploration goes (after all, the amount of solar energy that can be collected once out of the Earth's atmosphere is virtually unlimited).
I can fully understand and appreciate the skepticism of those who see space colonisation as the ultimate in technological wishful thinking and cornucopianism, but I would still argue it's better to try than to not even make the effort, and guarantee ourselves a limited future.

Seems strange that a party that continually complains about not enough being spent on social services now wants to play space games.

From the outset let me say I'm a fan of big science, space exploration and astronomy. OTOH, I'm sensible enough to realise that to date the costs have largely outweighed the benefits, although I'm sure that people are glad there are astronomers looking out there for rogue asteroids for example ("Say that one is getting awfully close"). e.g.,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroid_deflection_strategies

Australia does have two very useful contributions that can be made. Most importantly, we have a lot of space and a relatively clean atmosphere; we could be real leaders in astronomy. Secondly, again due to our open and flat environment we make a good launching pad. If the Democrats wish to promote our strengths go right ahead.

Hello there. Natasha, I havent really taken the Dems seriously since Chippy's passing, however I do appreciate your voice. The rest of the Dems arent worth bothering with, and certainly dont rate a ripple of interest....they'll all be gone in a few weeks anyway along with most of the coalition in the coming Ruddslide. However, staying on topic, you are bang on....if we dont participate, if we're not frontline stakeholders, then we're going to be fighting desperately for scraps. It neednt be that way. As for michael in adelaide, peak oil is very real, however space booster rockets run on liquid oxygen and kerosene, not oil. Besides which, other systems and technologies currently in development use a range of fuel and power technologies which arent necessarily dependent on fossil fuel. The problem isnt wanting to 'drive to Mars'. The problem is driving to the shops, when we could just as easily take the bus or walk.

Dont stir up silliness Natasha.
The space race is over.
The travel was always too distant for the earth no matter what thought was put into it technologically.
Besides...its almost time for the events of THE BOOK OF REVELATION and that means time to look to God through Jesus Christ each and everyone of us. And time for Defence (click on kings of the east).
Its all over and has been since the day the New World Order began to indoctrinate for the mark/microchip/e-tag on either the right hand or forehead banking/surveillance system thats mentioned in Revelation 13:16-18 and 14:9-11.
When the "beast", the antichrist, the worlds final great dicator, appears on the world stage, as he will soon, the last 7 years prior to the Second Coming have begun. Its over. John Howard would have known. Good man.