Andy backs mission to moon, The Australian, 17 October, 2005.
Andy backs mission to moon: [1 All-round Country Edition]
Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 17 Oct 2005: 5.
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Dr Thomas said Mars posed enormous problems, including the difficulty of carrying enough fuel to get there and back, while themoon was a far more accessible option.
"When these great explorations to the moon and Mars do start, Australian children are going to look up in awe at them, but sadly there won't be any Australian contribution to them, which I think is tragic," he said.
Other winners of Australian Geographic Society awards included Menna Jones, for her work on the disease ravaging the Tasmanian Devil, David Noble for the discovery of the prehistoric Wollemi Pine and Rex Pemberton, the youngest Australian to climb Mount Everest.
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AUSTRALIA'S first man in space, Andy Thomas, has backed NASA's controversial plans to focus its space program on revisiting themoon.
The public, along with much of the scientific community, sees Mars as a far more exciting and potentially fruitful destination.
Dr Thomas said Mars posed enormous problems, including the difficulty of carrying enough fuel to get there and back, while themoon was a far more accessible option.
"I think we need to go to the moon first," he said.
"We have never done planet exploration before. You have to learn to drive around the block before you drive to Perth."
Dr Thomas said NASA's current plan was to retire the shuttle in 2010 and develop a new exploration vehicle that could support theinternational space station and travel to the moon and back.
He said he hoped to return to Houston shortly to help develop the vehicle, which should be launched by 2013. He said there was unlikely to be any more Australians going into space in the near future, partly due to the enormous competitiveness of getting a spot in the program.
"When these great explorations to the moon and Mars do start, Australian children are going to look up in awe at them, but sadly there won't be any Australian contribution to them, which I think is tragic," he said.
Dr Thomas is in Australia for three weeks. He helped open the new Adelaide airport -- where a road is named after him -- and yesterday was given the Chairman's Award from the Australian Geographic Society.
Speaking at the awards ceremony held in Sydney's Botanic Gardens, he said he had never thought of himself as a geographer until going into space, when he had recognised the characteristic landforms as he circled Earth every 90 minutes.
He said that seeing the darkness of the Indian Ocean give way to the red of the Australian deserts, mixed with the great salt lakes and the rich texture of the land, was a "gorgeous sight".
Other winners of Australian Geographic Society awards included Menna Jones, for her work on the disease ravaging the Tasmanian Devil, David Noble for the discovery of the prehistoric Wollemi Pine and Rex Pemberton, the youngest Australian to climb Mount Everest.
Also published in The Courier-Mail.