On hearing about the Google Lunar X Prize, my first reaction was a rather confused mix: I don’t know how valuable it’s going to be, and in a way it doesn’t seem as impressive as the original X Prize, and even a bit of “ho-hum the prize idea was cool the first time but now it’s just imitation.” I admit I’m embarrassed by that last and have deliberately forced the thought out of my mind. But I still wonder about the first point. But then I’m undecided about the general value of stimulating private, i.e. commercial rather than governmental, ventures into space. To me there was something tangibly exciting about the Ansari X Prize; one of the planned entries, modeled on a V-2, visited New York, and I went and saw it, and I got a bit of a thrill thinking that I could potentially climb into something like that myself and go rocketing up into what counts by aeronautical standards as space. I get less of a thrill in contemplating a privately-developed mission to do what a few governmental projects have already done–i.e., land a rover with a camera. But my personal thrill response isn’t a good basis for judgment. Robotic ventures into space seem to me more sensible in many ways than manned missions; on the other hand, what is the point of trying to send a rover to the Moon? I can see that you’re more sure on this point, and I’d be glad to hear more.

On the subject of public transportation, I’m concerned with you that a big assembly of visions of the future omits it altogether. Can we really not conceive of anything but more powered personal vehicles?