My recent take on the things our space program is facing.

Why it is so difficult for Humanity to Migrate to Outer Space, and
why it is still worth it.

The space program here in the USA is enormously expensive. Just
to launch a Shuttle costs around 200 Million dollars, all told (estimate).
An army of contractors must swarm all over the vehicle and boosters,
mating everything together. Checking thousands of items (and from
the sounds of it after the Columbia investigation, not very well).
Fueling the vehicle. Provisioning
the astronauts. On and on. These vehicles are still not routine,
far from it. Every launch retains an element of the experimental and
the unknown, as there is a lot that can go wrong. Now we have lost
two Shuttles. More delays, more checks and balances, more cost.
NASA's top concern is evidently to bring it's people back
home safely - and that costs a lost of money. The on again-off again
work on a replacement to the Shuttle is on again, barely. Now they
are talking somewhere around 2012. (Could this be the final
dwindling of the US as a major space power?). So things are not
looking very bright right now.

European and Asian countries are singly unable to muster much
more than satellite launches, the occasional probe to the Moon or
somesuch. The ESA, or European Space Agency, is able to collectively
do more. They contribute astronauts to the ISS, they launch
satellites, space probes and telescopes. But they still rely on the
Russians or the US to send up astronauts. It is believed that
someday soon the ESA will have its' own conveyance for astronauts,
but this remains to be seen. China is getting ready to launch its'
own "Taikonauts". They are using a modified Russian capsule for the
most part. And proceeding slowly - the rate is expected to be around
one launch a year. Space Travel is costly. The Chinese are doing it
on the cheap. So you have, at present, three or four major entities
sending people into space right now (July, 2003). (there are five major space agencies in the world today). No one has been to
the Moon since 1972. We all just keep sending people into Earth
orbit.

Not what we would have envisioned back in the 1970's, eh?

As useful as combining resources towards space travel is, it is
sometimes a tough road to walk, with setbacks. US-Russian relations
got pretty frosty in 1999 during the Serbian-Kosovo conflict. At the
time, the Russians were to deliver a key module up to the
International Space Station to help get the ball rolling. Funnily
enough, the thing got delayed two years, and only then got 'boosted'
with some help from NASA funding. Today, Europe and the US are
squabbling about a lot of things. Nothing is heard about an ESA
module originally planned for inclusion in the ISS. Part of that
problem can be traced to the fact that NASA had to cut funding for an
extended crew habitation module. Now, we have several tin cans
strung together up in orbit, and it ain't going nowhere without a lot
more international cooperation. Co-operation which is noticably
absent right now.

Another difficulty is that Space is and always will be such a
hostile enviornment to human life. Weightlessness takes a
devastating toll on muscles and bone over time, even with vigorous
exercise. Rapid temperature changes subject craft to brutal
extremes of heat and cold. The Sun pours out lethal doses of
radioactive particles. Astronauts must carry with them all of their
air, food, drink, and even waste containers. They must contend with
long periods away from home and family, and other psycological
issues. Space is not a very friendly place to be.

So - there are a lot of barriers and obstacles that Humanity faces in
confronting the ultimate frontier.

But it is STILL worth it to keep on pressing outward - to go!
With the pressure of increasing population, fresh water sources are
dwindling, greenhouse gases are increasing, we are running out of
tillable land. The economies of the world are in a slump,
increasingly stimulated only by starting a war with someone.
Continued strong efforts to move people out into the Inner Solar
system will give companies and people something to build besides
weapons. The inspiration of new vistas will stimulate creativity and
optimism, especially among the young. The people of the world,
struggling through their daily routines, will be given some hope of a
better future. Even though much of the world lacks the luxuries that are enjoyed in the leading industrial nations, it is still up to them (G-8, China, etc) to be the leading vanguard, pushing upward, outward and onward, lest the whole world stagnate endlessly.

Asteroids and Moons can be checked for availability of minerals
and Water Ice. (Ice has already been detected on the Moon and on
Mars) Automated mining and building machines can be designed to pave
the way for colonies on the Moon, Mars, and Asteroids. Solar Energy
can be harvested on a large scale and used for a variety of
purposes. Some nuclear energy can also be utilized, especially in
colonization of more remote places, such as the moons of Jupiter.
Humans can collectively take possesion of our vast inheritance, the
Solar System, and all of the myriad resources contained therein.

Safeguards could be emplaced by the UN and World Court, such as
laws of outer space, property rights, conflict resolution and so on.
This would require cooperation between all nations, including the
US. And this would probably have to be an ongoing work in progress,
just as court cases nowadays provide the foundations for future
cases to be settled.
In addition, the possibility of additional scientific
discoveries in the areas of astronomy as well as practical
applications of technology exists. There would probably be some
useful spin-offs for Earth use in the interim. And someday, groups
of humans could begin to move outward en masse, and claim our newly
enlarged living areas. There is a potentially big payoff here in
our future.

So, yes, there are a host of difficulties. But it is worth
it!

What you can do:

1. Make this an issue in the 2004 elections (here in the USA) or
whenever your major elections
happen. Ask your politician(s) what they are going to do to help
humanity escape the bounds of our one meager planet, and move
outwards to claim our vast inheritance, the Solar System and beyond.

2. Give some financial support to (reputable) space organizations.
The Planetary Society is one; Space Frontier Foundation is another.
A check of major space-related websites will turn up some more.

3. Support science education in the schools, and science outreach in
your community.

4. Actually mention Space exploration and Science, and speak positively about
it, to some of your friends.

5. Teach your children about Science and Space subjects at home -
make it 'safe' and 'okay' to be into these things.