When U.S. astronauts return to the moon in 2020, some 600 Coloradans will know they helped propel this country to extraordinary heights.
That’s because workers at Lockheed Martin in Jefferson County are developing Orion, the next-generation space vehicle that’s expected to take Americans back to the moon — and beyond.
But it’s that “beyond” that has us a bit worried.
With math and science scores lagging across the country, and other countries doing a better job of graduating engineers, it’s not too early to begin wondering about who might build the next generation of space vehicles beyond Orion.
Considering Colorado’s stake in the aerospace industry — we’re in the top three in the country for aerospace jobs — it’s a real concern. Where will tomorrow’s engineers come from? And can they be educated in a state that doesn’t adequately fund higher education?
NASA came to Colorado last week to shore up public support for its programs. The agency wants to show people how inventions for space travel can be applied to everyday life. They launched a website that shows things such as automatic insulin pumps that use space-derived techniques.
With tight budgets, NASA is smart to engage taxpayers. But their best work will be done if they can inspire a new generation of Americans who want to grow up to be engineers and inventors. NASA spends about $200 million each year on classroom education projects, and is actively thinking of ways to engage young people, including talking to Hollywood about ways to slip space and science into more TV shows and movies.
It’s been reported that some of today’s inventions, such as the clamshell cellphone, or flip phone, were actually inspired by the TV show “Star Trek.”
Allowing young Americans to dream about space and innovations is one key to a successful economic future. But in Colorado, we still need to do a better of job getting young people into college with a strong background in math and science, while also appropriately funding those colleges and universities.
