Dan Rather

NASA's Vision for Space Exploration promises a future that looks a lot like the imaginings of the past. There was a time when science-fiction writers dreamed of colonies on the moon. And once Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin actually reached the place, such developments seemed only a matter of time. We did not think, in the glory days of the Apollo programme, that a quarter-century would pass before even the first serious plans would be made for establishing a permanent base on the moon.

But amid all the pressing news of earthly developments in Iraq and Washington, America's space agency has released its outline for doing just that. By 2020, if all goes according to schedule, the moon will receive human visitors again for the first time since astronaut Eugene Cernan stepped back into the lunar excursion module in 1972. It seems a lifetime ago, and many who remember that last goodbye, your reporter included, may not be around to see the next small step for man.

Stepping stone

A small step - as opposed to a giant leap - is what the proposed lunar base is all about. A stepping stone to human exploration of Mars and beyond. Because, even with the accelerated march of technology in the years between Apollo and today, the distances involved in space exploration are still vast, and the laws of physics remain inviolate. If human beings are ever to move into the beckoning universe, we've got to start somewhere.

In its broad view, it is a vision to renew old dreams of new worlds, and inspire new ones. Yet it is not without its critics. Some look at today's budgetary constraints alongside those that loom in the coming decade and wonder how we could possibly afford such a venture. Others, closer to the ongoing debate over NASA's spending priorities, worry that the moon will become a questionable end in itself - such as the International Space Station - and that proceeding to Mars will remain an unfulfilled dream. There are those, too, who look at the enormous costs and risk associated with manned exploration and say that robots can do it all faster, better and cheaper.

And who knows, in 14 years the idea of going back to the moon may seem passé - "so 20th century." But I doubt it. For many in America and throughout the world - for this is to be an international venture - the next time we set foot on the moon will be the first time such a thing is seen firsthand, and this time it will be broadcast in colour. Technology has facilitated what many scientists see as a new golden age in astronomy, but manned exploration of space is the thing that connects the rest of us with the drama of discovery.

Greater appetite

We once had a greater appetite for big adventures, a 'because it is there' approach to the cosmos that did not feel compelled to justify every space-related expenditure in terms of ancillary benefits. Yes, we can look back at the 'space race' of the 1950s and '60s and understand that it drew much of its impetus from the desire to develop ballistic-missile technology superior to that of the Soviets, but that it is not why the public embraced so fervently John F. Kennedy's call to land a man on the moon.

America rallied behind the first vision for lunar exploration because it was audacious and bold, like the American character. Much has happened to temper these national traits since President Kennedy made his appeal in 1961. It would be a shame, though, if the troubled years since that last lunar footprint had dimmed our enthusiasm for new ventures, ventures which represent daring steps in their own right.

Dan Rather is an American television broadcaster.