President Bush’s Jan. 14 proposal encouraging U.S. expeditions to the moon and to Mars has drawn criticism from many Americans, including lawmakers and economists.

One place from which criticism is unlikely to come, however, is the department of aerospace engineering at Iowa State. Students and faculty in the department, some of whom have worked for NASA, said they are excited for the job opportunities and developments the proposal may bring to their field of expertise.

“I don’t know that the return to the moon is as exciting as the continued exploration into space and on to Mars,” said John Jacobson, assistant professor of aerospace engineering. “That’s what people are really excited about.”

Chris Kostyk, senior in aerospace engineering, has worked on a co-op with NASA four times while at Iowa State and will work full-time at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, Calif. after he graduates in May. He said he saw opportunity for aerospace engineering students in the new proposal.

“This is a mammoth project; it’s absolutely huge,” he said. “NASA is going to be shuffling its workforce, and a lot of projects could go by the wayside, which could give [aerospace engineering students] jobs,” he said.

Jacobson said the proposal could lead to more jobs in a field already expected to have a 44 percent increase in employment during the next four years.

Bush’s proposal, opposed by 61 percent of Americans in a Time/CNN poll released Sunday, called for the development of a new spacecraft and the establishment of a permanent base on the moon between 2015 and 2020. Bush indicated an expedition to Mars would follow, though no timetable was given.

To pay for the moon mission, Bush suggested reallocating $11 billion within NASA’s current 5-year budget of $86 billion and adding an additional $1 billion in funding from new taxes over the next five years.

The technological advancements that could come from the missions make them worth that high price, said Kara Kranzusch, senior in aerospace engineering.

Kranzusch spent last semester on a co-op at the Johnson Space Center in Houston working for NASA.

“A lot of stuff we take for granted now came from the Apollo program,” she said. “We developed things like microwave technology, wireless communication technology and Velcro. A mission like this can have a big effect on the economy.”

Kostyk agreed.

“There will definitely be immediate benefits in returning to the moon,” he said. “There’s tons of technology that the whole world gains from sustained human activity in space.”

Most of the advancements from a new moon mission would be in medical and biological sciences, Kostyk said, as researchers found ways to keep humans healthy in an unforgiving environment like space or the moon.

In addition, NASA itself will also improve as a result of the new moon mission, Kostyk said.

“Like any organization, NASA can benefit from refocusing,” Kostyk said. “There’s lots of management, and everyone has his or her own ideas. A project like this focuses everyone on the big picture and gives them a unifying goal.”

Kostyk said he supported the proposal as long as its scope and time frame were clearly defined.

“It’s a great idea, as long as the public isn’t sold on an unrealistic product,” he said.