The music blared last Friday in Santa Maria, Calif., from a sound truck a few feet away from Michael Jackson as he entertained an estimated crowd of more than 1,000 fans from the hood of a black S.U.V. Fans cheered and chanted words of support and endearment to the pop superstar. Members from the Nation of Islam provided the security and even distributed invitations to ns to invitations to an aftattend an after party retreat at Jackson's Neverland Ranch. The New York Times described the affair as, "a remarkable scene that mixed a courtroom appearance with a frenzied street carnival." The spectacle occurred immediately after Jackson left a court hearing to which he arrived 15 minutes late and pleaded not guilty to nine felony charges.

On Jan. 14, President George W. Bush charged NASA with the task of replacing the space shuttle as well as establishing a lunar base and beginning manned flights to Mars by 2020. While his vision of an astronaut planting the American flag on Martian soil within the next 20 years is an inspiration to all who value scientific learning and achievement, the journey to get there efficiently and successfully requires more than Bush has planned.