The space-exploration advocacy community needs to change. It must be reinvigorated and refocused, in order to overcome the lack of political will that currently hinders space exploration.

To begin with, the community as it stands is surprisingly miniscule. While space-advocacy groups have a combined 200,000-plus members, this number is tiny compared to the population that surveys indicate to have an interest in space. An important priority must be active recruitment of new membership.

Money begets money. If space groups invest more money in seeking new members, then new money from a growing membership could be put towards a campaign for greater space-exploration allocations. Moreover, increased membership would also mean increased credibility in the eyes of policymakers.

Another needed approach is building permanent mechanisms to influence the federal budget process. Last year, when a House subcommittee proposed slashing NASA's budget, space groups scrambled to react. The Planetary Society placed a special page on its website for the occasion. The National Space Society (NSS) created a "space action committee" in early August -- far into the budget process.

Such an ad hoc response gets only temporary results. The public support that space proponents generated for NASA last year shows little sign of continued momentum now.

Space groups' resources to help citizens influence policy too often consist only of membership action alerts and information on how to contact Congress. A bright exception is the Mars Society, which has web pages dedicated to fighting against any repeat of last year's budget-cut proposals.

More generalized space groups should take the Mars Society’s lead. They should provide resources for their memberships and the interested public. Space groups’ websites should have plain-language descriptions of how monies are allocated in the federal government. The complicated policymaking process should be explained to show why advocacy needs to be stepped up at certain points in the year. And, space groups should coordinate with each other so there is united support for a common agenda.

The next president's inauguration provides a wonderful opportunity for the space community to influence government policies. An administration usually undertakes its most farsighted and costly programs early in its term. This is all the more reason to prepare for intensified advocacy efforts by early 2001.

The public support that space proponents generated for NASA last year shows little sign of continued momentum now.
     

Space activists must help quell misperceptions about space-program expenditures. Focus groups set up by the American Physical Society in 1997-1998 revealed many participants had misconceptions about NASA's budget. Some even thought NASA's budget was more costly than Medicare! (For the record, NASA comprises less than one percent of the federal budget, while Medicare is more than 10 percent.)

Such ignorance is a black eye to further space exploration efforts. Space groups must reverse such misperceptions through public education and outreach. Their first concern must be their "customers" -- the public which space groups represent. An educated public will be a base of support that space advocates can draw upon in future policy debates.

Indeed, the public must be made to understand it has a stake in the space program. Space groups should find ways to give individuals "ownership" of particular parts of the space program. An "adopt-a-spacecraft" program, for instance, might go far towards raising awareness about the policy issues surrounding the space program. Other methods should be explored to keep the public aware and actively involved.

What I have stipulated is not a detailed program, but rather a broad template. Political support for future space exploration requires a reinvigoration of the space-advocacy community. I hope my words help bring some of the key considerations into focus and spark a debate of further suggestions for the community.