Vivid Illustration of Why the Bush Space Plan is Moronic

Not only do NASA engineers agree that landing people is a colossal waste, but the ACTUAL, VITAL use of humans in shuttle operations for satellite maintenance is ending so we can plant a US flag on Mars... sigh. From Discovery Channel:
With the shuttles' days numbered, NASA has decided to end servicing missions to the Hubble Space Telescope, a move that likely will clip three years off one of the most productive science instruments ever put into orbit.

"Life without Hubble is going to be a shock," said Ray Villard, an astronomer with the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Md. "But we are married to the shuttle, so our fate goes with the shuttle."


A new national space policy announced by President George W. Bush directs NASA to end shuttle missions by 2010 and refocus efforts toward developing spacecraft and technology to return to human expeditions to the moon and beyond.

Say goodbye to the pictures of the universe, much less the colossal improvements in astronomy... gotta get that flag up and show the Martians they're living in an American colony now, just like the Iraqis.