NASA . . . to boldly go . . .

Every time I think I have heard it all, something blindsides me. The latest really hit me hard because it has to do with NASA, the organization that got us to the moon, put the Hubble telescope in space to reveal some amazing photographs of the universe, and sent two incredibly hardy rovers to Mars where they have been exploring the surface for over five years.

NASA administrator Charles Bolden recently gave an interview with Al Jazeera. I was flabbergasted when I came across this statement by him: "When I became the NASA administrator -- or before I became the NASA administrator -- he {Obama] charged me with three things. One was he wanted me to help re-inspire children to want to get into science and math, he wanted me to expand our international relationships, and third, and perhaps foremost, he wanted me to find a way to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with dominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science ... and math and engineering."

Now, think about NASA. What does it represent? I think of science, careful calculations, the universe, the mysteries of the solar system, human and robotic exploration, incredibly complex machinery, clever fixes of difficult problems. What don't we think of when we think of NASA? Helping different cultures "feel good" about themselves. When did it become NASA's job to stroke egos across the globe? Apparently it's now the "foremost" task of this agency, thanks to our current President, who never misses an opportunity to grovel before the rest of the world.

Well, maybe I'm missing something here. NASA is always searching for new ways to do things, new technologies, new attempts to explore the frontier of space. Maybe the Moslem world has techniques to help NASA. Let's think about this . . . what recent developments has Islam given us? Beheadings, stonings, demotion of women, suicide bombings, threats, riots over cartoons. So, all we have to do is figure out how to channel this technology into rocket flight, long-distance communication between the planets, miniaturization of scientific instruments. Hey, if Charles Bolden can channel this hatred and ignorance into advanced technology, then President Obama has made a wise choice.

But I have my doubts. It was the Judeo-Christian worldview that gave us modern science. I would be much happier if NASA concentrated on its original mission and left pandering to the experts (cue Obama).