A Mission for Mankind in Space

During his 1988 run for the U.S. presidency, Lyndon La­Rouche proposed a forty-year project to develop a science city on Mars—a “colony” rather than a “base.” A colony would require building Earth-like artificial domes on Mars that would be capable of fulfilling all of the requirements to sustain human life: air, water, power, and more. A pro­gram to colonize Mars remains a necessary component of an American economic recovery. LaRouche, addressing a Moscow conference in 2009 said the following:

In order to realize the objectives which stand before us now, we have to give mankind a new mission—man­kind as a whole. The mission is typified by the idea of the Mars colonization program. This requires us to make the kinds of changes, in terms of scientific progress, which are needed for mankind’s future existence.

We have many problems on this planet. And we can not solve those problems, ex­tensively, without going into a development of the Solar System as a habitat of mankind. We’re on the edge of doing that, scientifi­cally. There are many scientific discoveries, yet to be made, which will make it possible to act for man’s colonization of Mars. That will be in some time to come. But what we need now is the intention of accomplishing the Mars colonization program. We need to educate and develop generations of young people who will be oriented to that kind of mission. In the coming period, we will have the birth of young people who will be part of the colonization of Mars, in one way or the other, before this century is out.

We need to give mankind a sense of purpose, devel­opmental purpose, not only throughout the planet, but through the influence of Earth on the adjoining regions of the Solar System, and beyond.

The economic implications of a mission to colonize Mars are enormous. When we commit to a scientific mis­sion, we are compelled to make breakthroughs in science and production. The effect on the economy as a whole is the key. Lyndon LaRouche explained that in this process, “advances in technology are transmitted into the produc­tive process as a whole through the incorporation of im­proved technologies in capital goods, most emphatically capital goods of the machine-tool or analogous classifica­tions.” The productive powers of labor are increased.

This process makes accessible to everyone the benefits of the program, including—as documented by NASA's Spinoff magazine—the over 2,000 spinoff technologies that have come from NASA projects.

NASA is currently targeting September 2026 for Artemis III, the mission that will land astronauts on the moon.

NASA is Needed

Space is not a playground for billionaires to fulfill tour­ist fetishes. Calls to “save money” by withholding funds from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and other government agencies and “leave it to private entrepreneurs” won't work. None of the $250 bil­lion+ (in today's dollars) that was put into the 1960's Apollo project was spent on space. It was spent here on Earth: in employing workers in the public and private sectors, in the purchase of materials, in the production of the capi­tal goods used in the process of production. In monetary terms, it is estimated that every $1 spent on the Apollo project returned $10 to the economy.

• Commit to lunar industrialization—currently an ob­jective of NASA's Artemis program—as a needed step­ping stone to Mars colonization. Lunar soil should also be mined for Helium-3 for fusion power.
• Congressional funding authorizations must be made in 5-10 year cycles. Research agencies and technology firms cannot function with frequent changes in funding allocations.
• Eliminate the Wolf Amendment. China is rapidly developing its space program. This amendment, which restricts NASA from collaborating with China, is counterproductive to our own scientific advancement and our potential to be friends!