‘Today’ Show Spotlights Matsunaga

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Hawaii was spotlighted on NBC’s “Today” show this morning with a report on Tropical Storm Ignacio and Hawaii Sen. Spark Matsunaga’s ideas for the space program.

A map of Hawaii with the storm passing was shown just before Matsunaga appeared on the program from the NBC studio in Washington. Ignacio was downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm yesterday.

Matsunaga discussed his proposal for an International Space Year (ISY) in 1992 as an intermediate step toward a manned mission to Mars late in the century.

Supporting the plan was Louis Friedman, executive director of the Planetary Society, who participated in the television interview from New York.

Matsunaga introduced legislation this month calling for the International Space Year as a sequel to the International Geophysical Year that ushered in the space age in 1957.

He chose 1992 for the international venture because it will mark the 35th of the IGY, the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America by Columbus and the 75th anniversary of the Russian revolution.

Matsunaga proposed that all nations with space programs get together and plan for a cooperative space year instead of getting into a prestige battle such as occurred after Russia launched Sputnik.

His legislation asks the president to endorse the plan and discuss it with foreign leaders. It also calls on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to explore the opportunities for an International Space Year and report back to Congress next spring.

Matsunaga said he believes an ISY would create the necessary political climate to consider an international manned mission to Mars later in the century.

Friedman agreed that it is important to begin thinking and talking about the Mars mission now.

The interview was inspired by a Conference on Human Exploration of Mars held July 16 at the National Academy of Sciences. The meetings were sponsored by the Planetary Society and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.