McGovern
gives free talks to about 20 civic groups a year, spreading
the word about NASA and its jet propulsion projects. (Simply
put, NASA projects send humans into space; its jet propulsion
missions use robots) He's one of about 300 ambassadors nationwide.
He'll
speak Oct. 4 at Strategic Air and Space Museum, part of
a series of speakers the Ashland museum will host as part
of its new exhibit, "Quest for the Moon."
The
exhibit, which opened Saturday and runs through Jan. 4,
celebrates America's fulfillment of President John F. Kennedy's
1962 rallying cry, "We will go to the moon . . . not because
it is easy, but because it is hard."
"Quest
for the Moon" features two space capsules that will be part
of the museum's permanent collection, as well as numerous
artifact replicas created for use in the Tom Hanks movie
"Apollo 13" and the Emmy Award-winning HBO documentary "From
the Earth to the Moon." The museum has on loan from those
projects a number of replica spacecraft and spacesuits.
Aside
from McGovern, the museum hosted NASA astronaut Clayton
C. Anderson for a talk last Sunday. Also, pioneering aviator
Wally Funk will speak Nov. 21 and 22. Funk was one of the
"Mercury 13," a group of female aviators NASA recruited
in the 1950s to be part of the space program. The program
was scrapped in 1961.
As
an ambassador, McGovern has to stay abreast of the latest
news and innovation emerging from NASA. Lately, no matter
what the topic of his presentation, people want to know
about the Challenger space shuttle disaster that killed
seven astronauts Feb. 1.
"It's
always foremost in people's minds," said McGovern, who has
been an ambassador for four years.
He
said immediately after the disaster he - along with about
70,000 other people associated with NASA - received an e-mail
from the space agency telling them not to speculate publicly
about the cause of the crash.
Recently,
an investigative board issued a report calling for major
changes in the "culture" of NASA. The report pointed to
a can-do-no-matter-what attitude that permeated NASA and
contributed to the Columbia disaster.
McGovern,
who has read only summaries of the report, calls this the
"go fever" of NASA, a condition that was cultivated during
the JFK years.
"There
has to be more care built into what they do," he said.
McGovern
predicts there will be a scaling back of human missions,
aside from the work being done with the International Space
Station. The longtime goal of putting a human on Mars by
2125 may not remain a priority.
"It
still possible," he said, "but it's not as urgent of a goal."
"Quest
for the Moon" will be on exhibit at Strategic Air and Space
Museum in Ashland through Jan. 4. The museum is located
off Interstate 80 Exit 426. Museum hours are 9 a.m. to 5
p.m. daily. Admission: $7 adults; $6 for seniors and active/retired
military; $3 for children ages 5 to 12; children under 5
are free. Call 944-3100 for more information and a schedule
of speakers for "Quest for the Moon."
