Space Cadets

Vadim Alekseev

Age 24

Resides Brooklyn

Occupation Employee, ad agency

Is the space program a waste of money? No! I’ve been following everything very closely, from the decision to create the station to its completion. I am disappointed that the Russians have decided to shoot the Mir space station down into the Pacific Ocean. Why not attach it to the international station as a kind of backup or for storage?

Would you like to go to outer space? It’s the dream of my life. I have a telescope at home, and we just went through the process of having a star named after my niece. Astronomy is a big part of my life. It’s interesting that in Russia, which has a big space program, they blame all technical malfunctions on the crew. That was true of the fire on Mir, and also true of the explosion on the Kursk. Casting blame is the Russian way.

What person would you most like to send to space? What about sending prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment there? They’d work on a substation and would be free to move about, though of course they couldn’t go anywhere.

Efa Williams

Age 39

Resides Queens

Occupation Customer service

Is the space program a waste of money? It’s a huge waste of money. It’s also corrupting the atmosphere and making all this terrible new weather. When the ships are not up there, the weather down here is fine.

Would you like to go to outer space? No, I’m already in outer space in New York City.

What person would you most like to send to space? Rudy Giuliani. No orbiting, no landing on Mars or the moon for him. I’d send him straight into deep, deep space.

Lija Nollendorfs

Age 30

Resides Manhattan

Occupation Waitress

Is the space program a waste of money? No, but I’d like to know more about it. It barely gets any coverage, and I’m sure most people don’t know what’s happening.

Would you like to go to outer space? No.

What person would you most like to send to space? George W. Bush. My boyfriend is a Republican. I didn’t know that when I fell in love with him.

Mohammed Rahman

Age 36

Resides Queens

Occupation Messenger

Is the space program a waste of money? I’ll quote from a song by Bob Marley: “You see men sailing on their ego trips, blast off on their spaceships, million miles from reality, no care for you, no care for me. So much trouble in the world now.” That’s the way I feel about it.

Would you like to go to outer space? No. I’m curious, but I like it where I am.

What person would you most like to send to space? I wouldn’t send a movie star or a politician, but I would like for a real space engineer to go, someone who would be working to make actual discoveries for average people.

Lauren Adrian

Age 25

Resides Manhattan

Occupation Personal assistant

Is the space program a waste of money? It has value, but it’s given the wrong level of priority. There are so many other issues that should be given time and energy. The fact that the elderly in this country still can’t buy cheap prescription drugs is crazy.

Would you like to go to outer space? No. I don’t even like to fly.

What person would you most like to send to space? ‘N Sync and Britney Spears. We could do without them for a while.

Aaron Goodson

Age 19

Resides Manhattan

Occupation Student

Is the space program a waste of money? No. Space exploration is very important. People just don’t pay attention because the program isn’t covered well. Anything we can learn about the universe is good, because it’s the unknown and that’s exciting. It should just be marketed differently so people get interested.

Would you like to go to outer space? Yes, definitely.

What person would you most like to send to space? Pauly Shore should be taken off the planet.

Julio Gonzalez

Age 35

Resides Manhattan

Occupation Disabled

Is the space program a waste of money? Yes. So many people on earth are starving, and so many programs can’t get funding to help them. Also, the space program doesn’t even keep track of their ships! What about that thing they sent to Mars? They lost it!

Would you like to go to outer space? No, I have no interest. I’ll go see Mission to Mars, but I don’t want to go there myself.

What person would you most like to send to space? Bill Clinton, as a punishment. His priorities have been totally screwed up.