Using Old Pictures To Mislead

Human Needs: Sustaining Life During Exploration, NASA

“Human needs have not changed for centuries. As the world’s first explorers set off to discover new lands and map uncharted territories, they had to make sure that basic survival requirements were met.”

Editor’s note: In this NASA story a large picture of a closed environmental growth chamber is shown. Looks impressive. It was. I stood in it many times – nearly two decades ago. Friends of mine ran this research. Indeed, this picture looks like one used in a NASA Spinoff article I helped write in the late 1980s. Alas, virtually none of this research is going on at NASA anymore. Yes, this research provided clear value to the future human exploration of space and is worth mentioning. But to put such an image up and not also mention that this is decades old research and that all such research has been utterly erased from NASA’s portfolio is very misleading impression to give visitors to this NASA web page. The “take home message”? NASA no longer sees the value in funding such research. Someone at NASA is trying to get one last use of an old picture they obviously do not understand.

Oh yes, and then there is this marvelous building at KSC that was supposed to support all of the amazing science we’d be doing on ISS – science that has all but disappeared. They are still trying to figure out what to do with this building: NASA KSC Modification to a Previous Notice Space Life Science Laboratory Sub-lease